The world is turning to renewables and Canada should too with its clean electricity regulations
Countries around the world are ramping up renewable energy at record speed, with global renewable energy installations growing by 50 per cent last year alone.
A year ago, the federal government published draft clean electricity regulations to deliver a net-zero grid. Despite important economic benefits and broad public support for renewable energy, the proposal has been met with vocal opposition from some provinces and industry incumbents, making it hard to decipher facts from fear-mongering when it comes to what Canada’s clean energy future can look like.
With over 80 per cent of Canada’s electricity coming from non-emitting sources, we have a robust head start. Yet, we are rapidly losing ground. To stay competitive, Canada must ramp up clean electricity at the speed and scale others are already achieving to lower energy bills, have healthier air and attract tens of billions in investment.
To stay competitive, Canada must ramp up clean electricity at the speed and scale others are already achieving to lower energy bills, have healthier air and attract tens of billions in investment.
The final clean electricity regulations are expected this fall. Following calls by some electricity providers and provincial governments for more flexibility, the federal government is considering more than 10 separate changes to its draft. One of the proposed changes is to set an emissions limit on an electricity-producing facility as a whole, instead of on each unit of electricity it produces. That change alone would be sufficient to address most of the concerns expressed by producers.
Other options under consideration include exempting existing gas plants from the regulations for up to 30 years or weakening the standard imposed by the regulation by increasing the limit of emissions allowed. These are unacceptable and could undermine the effectiveness of the policy. For example, if fossil fuel companies get what they’re asking for, Ontario could still be reliant on fossil gas electricity as far out as 2050.
We agree there should be support for regions that have more work to do in cleaning up their electricity grids. But we cannot allow blanket exemptions for fossil fuels to continue to be added to Canada’s grid and keep polluting until as late as 2050.
Technologies like wind, solar, battery storage, energy efficiency and transmission links between provinces are ready for their place at the centre stage of Canada’s electricity system. Canada knows how to build cheap renewables, more efficient homes and upgraded electricity grids that can achieve our goals and save money. We just need the policy signal to make it happen.
Alberta, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Ontario are cited as provinces with challenges to meet a 2035 target. To get a sense of what is feasible though, we should look to other jurisdictions for inspiration, as meeting this goal of clean electricity by 2035 is shared by Canada’s allies (and economic competitors) the U.S., EU and U.K.
Germany was in a situation similar to where Ontario and the prairie provinces are today. Now, Germany is on a pathway for 80 per cent clean electricity by 2030 and 100 per cent by 2035. In 2023 alone, Germany installed 17 GW of renewables — more than Alberta’s entire electricity capacity today.
Germany was in a situation similar to where Ontario and the prairie provinces are today. Now, Germany is on a pathway for 80 per cent clean electricity by 2030 and 100 per cent by 2035. In 2023 alone, Germany installed 17 GW of renewables — more than Alberta’s entire electricity capacity today.
Atlantic provinces might take inspiration from the U.K.’s surge in offshore wind installation. As of 2023, the U.K. has approximately 14 GW of operational offshore wind capacity, a four-fold increase in a decade and nearly as much as the entire electricity capacity of Atlantic Canada.
Clear, predictable clean electricity goals provided the stability needed for large-scale manufacturing in places such as Germany and the U.K. In contrast, the whiplash of cancelled projects and programs by some provincial governments is one reason why manufacturing renewables at scale hasn’t yet taken hold in Canada, but that can and should change.
Between 1950 and 2000, Canada’s electricity system grew 10-fold to support a growing population and economy. We’ve done challenging, worthwhile things before, and we can do it again in time to see the benefits — but we have to start by setting the goal.
The stick from the clean electricity regulations paired with the carrot of incentives, such as the clean electricity investment tax credit announced in Budget 2023, are exactly what we need to lock in good jobs, affordable energy and healthier air for Canadians. The federal government must separate facts from fiction and stand its ground on its clean electricity strategy.
This article was originally published in The Hill Times.
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