The past year proved Canada’s best ever in renewable energy, says Clean Energy Canada in a recent report: “Thanks to provincial leadership, a steady stream of money flowed into projects from domestic and foreign banks. In fact, investment in new clean-power generation approached CAD $10.7 billion—a healthy 88 percent bump over 2013.”
Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia benefitted particularly, where favourable policy frameworks encourage them to do so. Including large hydro gives a figure of roughly 89 GW of renewable electricity capacity in Canada, ranking the country fourth in the world.
Ontario, with its continent-leading Green Energy Act, leads the nation for new clean energy capacity and smart grid investments, while green-leaning Quebec – home of the nation’s biggest wind farms – follows closely behind. British Columbia is also taking advantage of its natural geographic endowment that makes it well-suited for hydro development.
But given that record, still only clean-energy policies will transform provincial energy systems, and in 2014 new or strengthened policies were in short supply, the group says.
Part of the challenge is that, when it comes to policy, the provinces are doing all the heavy lifting. With the exception of Sustainable Development Technology Canada, a federally funded agency that provides critical early-stage financing to clean energy innovators, Ottawa remains largely indifferent to the opportunities of the clean energy revolution. The growth, excitement, and successes happening across the country – even in the absence of federal leadership – is testament to the efforts of provincial leaders and innovative entrepreneurs.
“How much more then could be achieved with a supportive federal government?” the group asks.