Ontario — The Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA) has issued an urgent call to Canada’s governments, utilities, regulators and electricity system operators, recommending five priority actions to dramatically accelerate the deployment of wind energy, solar energy and energy storage technologies in Canada.
“As Canada sets out on a transformative journey to reach net-zero GHG emissions by 2050, we need a powerful boost from wind energy, solar energy and energy storage,” said CanREA President and CEO Robert Hornung in his opening remarks at the Electricity Transformation Canada conference today. “These technologies will play a central role in driving the rapid decarbonization and massive expansion of electricity production required to make net-zero a reality.”
Powering Canada’s Journey to Net-Zero: CanREA’s 2050 Vision presents an illustrative, but realistic, scenario to support this net-zero target by relying on Canada’s abundant and low-cost wind and solar energy resources to supply two-thirds of the new electricity required by 2050. This requires an almost ten-fold expansion in this country’s wind and solar energy capacity in the next 29 years.
“We have no time to waste. Getting to net-zero by 2050 will require Canada to build out wind energy, solar energy and energy storage at an unprecedented scale and speed,” said Hornung. “Our industries are up to the challenge, but require clear signals from governments, increased collaboration among electricity sector decision-makers, and immediate actions to address existing barriers to this urgent deployment.”
CanREA presented its new 2050 Vision at a special launch event in Toronto today, after which a panel of diverse stakeholders shared their thoughts. From L to R: Dan Balaban (Chief Executive Officer, Greengate Power), Isabelle Turcotte (Director of Federal Policy, Pembina Institute), Brendan Costigan (Director, Power & Utilities Investment Banking, National Bank of Canada), Robert Hornung (CanREA President and CEO), Michelle Chislett (CanREA Board Chair and Managing Director of Canada and US Development, Northland Power), Tonja Leach (Executive Director, QUEST Canada), and Patrick Taylor (Principal Program Manager, Microsoft).
CanREA’s 2050 Vision outlines 5 key tasks and 15 immediate actions required from governments, utilities, regulators and system operators to enable this pathway to net-zero.
The key tasks on Canada’s to-do list include:
1. Decarbonization of the electricity system by 2035,
2. Modernization of electricity markets and regulatory structures,
3. Diversification and expansion of procurement opportunities,
4. Prioritization of efficient use and regional approaches to transmission infrastructure,
5. Implementation of comprehensive strategies to support increased use of decarbonized electricity and green hydrogen.
“We need to rapidly build new capacity throughout Canada. Our industries recognize that ensuring community support and customer satisfaction, creating economic advantages for Canada and its communities, and contributing to sustainability and environmental protection are critical elements for success,” said Hornung.
“We are committed to working with all stakeholders to ensure that Canada fully capitalizes on its wind, solar and energy storage potential in its pursuit of the least-cost, reliable and sustainable pathway to Canada’s net-zero objective.”
Following Hornung’s presentation, a panel made up of Dan Balaban (Chief Executive Officer, Greengate Power), Isabelle Turcotte (Director of Federal Policy, Pembina Institute), Brendan Costigan (Director, Power & Utilities Investment Banking, National Bank of Canada), Tonja Leach (Executive Director, QUEST Canada), and Patrick Taylor (Principal Program Manager, Microsoft) presented their thoughts on CanREA’s new 2050 Vision.
The accelerated deployment of wind energy, solar energy and energy storage is supported by a diversity of stakeholders, as illustrated in CanREA’s 2050 Vision by statements from organizations like Bell Canada, Canada Green Building Council, Clean Energy Canada, Electric Mobility Canada, Indigenous Clean Energy, Marsh, National Bank of Canada, Quest Canada, Pembina Institute and Swiss Re.
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