I was pleasantly surprised, and equally suspicious, when I saw the announcement today that Natural Resources Canada would be investing $100,000 toward “microalgae systems” for capturing CO2. “The microalgae, a valuable source of biomass, would then be converted into a range of industrial products and by-products such as renewable natural gas, hydrogen and biofuels.”

Specifically, the funding is for a research project related to the development of the I-CAN Centre for the Conversion of Carbon Dioxide, which will be guided by the Alberta Research Council, the Saskatchewan Research Council, Manitoba’s Industrial Technology Centre and an industrial research centre in Quebec. According to a government press release, the microalgae systems could “capture up to 100 million tonnes of CO2 from industrial sources, such as coal-fired plants and oil sands projects.”

I say “pleasantly surprised” because, well, I never expected any talk of algae-based carbon capture to come out of Ottawa, let alone the Harper government. It’s nice to see the technology, which I’ve posted about several times (here, here and here), at least recognized as an option.

Now, the suspicious part: Why only $100,000? Why is this money going to a largely western-based organization? Where’s Ontario in this, given its power plants are the biggest polluters in the country? And why is the government touting something as obscure, and unlikely, as algae farms in the oil sands when we’ve seen zero discussion or financial support around more feasible and practical options, such as geothermal in the oil sands?

Let’s face is, $100,000 is a spit in the bucket, making this announcement seem like nothing more than a pre-election headline grabber to create the perception that Ottawa is taking action on greenhouse gases. And why try to re-invent the wheel when there are several companies — granted, non-Canadian companies — that have spent years trying to prefect the algae-sequestration process? The money would be better spent directly on a pilot project, rather than replication of research.

Perhaps I’m missing something, some detail. Perhaps I’m being a bit too hard on the feds. But I hate seeing money, despite the small sum, spent on research that’s already been done when that money could be spent on applying existing know-how to a problem that needs solving yesterday. The fact is Canada can’t and shouldn’t do everything. It should focus attention on enhanced oil recovery, geothermal and gasification — the things we do best — rather than dabble in a new area that others have, it appears, already mastered.

My Clean Break column today looks at the growing interest in hybrid vehicles in cab fleets. In Toronto, Co-Op Cabs wants to start a pilot project that will put a few hybrid cars — likely Toyota Camry hybrids — into service. Meanwhile, the Cleantech Innovation Institute (part of the Cleantech Venture Network) is trying to negotiate special leasing arrangements for cab/fleet owners to make the switch to hybrids worthwhile and less risky. Jim Harris, former federal Green Party leader and now a managing partner with the institute, says the initial focus will be on four cities — Toronto, London, New York and San Francisco — and the aim is to create enough demand for hybrid taxis that Toyota or some other automaker will boost North American output and offer bulk purchase discounts. Certainly a worthy goal and, on the surface at least, a potential win-win for all parties.

Also, my Clean Break podcast is an interview with Kerry Adler, CEO of SkyPower Corp. of Toronto, who talks about his company’s plans to build utility-scale solar farms throughout Ontario. Initially, SkyPower had targeted 50 megawatt of solar as part of a partnership announced with SunEdison of Baltimore. But Adler says as much as 120 megawatts could be in the pipeline based on the number of potential sites the company has identified for development. The first 10-megawatt farm is expected to be announced this spring. It’s ambitious, even if just a fraction of this potential gets built.

News.com’s Michael Kanellos has a piece looking at the growing interest in solar thermal projects that generate electricity on a utility scale. He begins by providing an update on the solar plant in Nevada that’s generating enough electricity for 15,000 homes using a system of 184,000 mirrors arranged in parabolic arrays that focus the sun’s energy to produce steam. That steam cranks a turbine that produces electricity. Many advocates of solar thermal — including Vinod Khosla — say it is the most economical way of producing electricity from the sun on a large scale and will become competitive with coal over the next two decades, possibly earlier.