A price tag in the tens or hundreds of billions of dollars, and a project scope akin to that of the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the 1800s is the scale of investment needed in Canada's electricity grid as the country reaches for net-zero emissions.
CALGARY -- A price tag in the tens or hundreds of billions of dollars, and a project scope akin to that of the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway in the 1800s.
"I don’t think Canadians ... are recognizing or prepared for how monumental a task this is ahead of us.”The federal government, in its emissions reduction plan released last week, describes the need for "nation building" interprovincial transmission lines if Canada is to have a shot at meeting its climate target of cutting emissions by 40 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, and net-zero emissions by 2050.
But it's not a straightforward task. In Canada, electricity falls under provincial jurisdiction, and each province's system has developed independently from the rest. Alberta, for example, has a fully deregulated electricity market, while electricity in neighbouring B.C. is produced and sold by a Crown corporation.
But a great deal more work will be required to make the Atlantic Loop, or any other regional intertie project, a reality. Not only are new transmission lines expensive , they tend to be controversial — often attracting pushback from local residents and other interest groups. Binnu Jeyakumar, director of clean energy for the environmental think tank The Pembina Institute, said Canada's political leaders must start working to build support for these types of projects now.
She said the federal government's promised Clean Electricity Standard, which aims to support a net-zero electricity grid by 2035, will send another clear signal to investors and will incentivize spending on grid upgrades and intertie projects.
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