From: Issue 34 Categories: Energy/Tech
Powering Canada’s energy future: E3 Roundtables Thought Leader Series
Wind power, solar energy, hydroelectricity, and geothermal energy—the general consensus: Canada has underestimated the potential for renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Canada, like any nation looking to build a sustainable future, faces challenges in striking a balance between the economy, energy, and the environment. The key, according to our nation’s leading minds, is renewable energy.
Corporate Knights in partnership with the Energy Policy Institute of Canada (EPIC) set up a series of panels charged with developing a pan-Canadian energy strategy to deliver on our nation’s full energy potential—The E3 Canadian Roundtables. Leading up to the 2011 Calgary and Vancouver panels, we spoke with some of Canada’s key energy thought leaders.
Canada is unique because of our abundance of diverse resources. “[We are] strong in the East in hydro, strong in central Canada in nuclear power, and strong in Alberta in the West in fossil fuel power,” says Jacques Lamarre, past CEO of SNC-Lavalin.
But it isn’t all about plenty. Marlo Raynolds, executive director of the Pembina Institute, believes while Canada is rich in resources, this natural wealth has fueled inefficiencies in production and consumption. “We have this unique potential to be powerful in terms of how we produce energy,” Raynolds says, “but we also have this incredible need and opportunity to be far more efficient in how we actually use energy ourselves.”
For instance, we may be wealthy in our hydropower supply, but we currently aren’t taking full advantage.
Canada’s electricity supply consists of about 60 per cent hydropower, the largest percentage in the world. Christopher Henderson, President of Lumos Energy, insists hydropower is essential to Canada’s energy future. “There are large hydro sites across Canada that can be leveraged to increase our electricity potential from hydropower to 80 or even 90 per cent of our total power base. We could take out coal. We don’t need to bring in any gas. And, we can even stop using nuclear. It can also be the baseboard for how we power electric cars and other electrical transportation.”
While relying more on hydropower makes sense, without a national strategy none of this matters.
