The Canadian Council on Renewable Electricity (CCRE) released its report, “Canada’s Advantage: A Vision for Renewable Electricity in Canada,” which identifies renewable electricity resources that will cut carbon pollution as Canada shifts from fossil fuels to clean energy. CCRE released the report in advance of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau hosting a First Ministers’ Meeting and a meeting with First Nations, Inuit, and Metis leaders Dec. 9 in Ottawa, in Ontario, to discuss, among other things, clean energy growth and climate change.
CCRE said in the report that one of the ways in which Canada will reduce its use of fossil fuels involves using smart grids and cites information that conveys, “Renewable power is not only a key factor in driving the need for a smart grid, but also in making a better grid possible.”
In its mention of key factors driving the need for a smart grid, the report says, “Canada has a critical advantage over many other jurisdictions to help smooth over variability issues [related to smart grids]: substantial hydropower resources.
“Electricity grids have always required storage and flexible resources, and hydro power is the only large scale, dispatchable non-emitting resource that can both store electricity and very rapidly ramp up and down (increase or reduce its supply) in response to changing requirements.”
Abundant renewable electricity resources offer the country a competitive advantage in global efforts to cut carbon pollution and deliver clean growth and can power Canada’s economy as it shifts from fossil fuels to clean energy, according to the report. Hydropower industry executives added their thoughts related to the report and the need for clean energy growth in Canada.
“Different sources of renewable electricity have different attributes that, when put together, can complement each other to ensure we have clean, reliable and affordable electricity across Canada,” said Elisa Obermann, Marine Renewables Canada executive director.
“Canada is a trading nation, and the renewable electricity sector can step up its contribution to clean growth,” said Jacob Irving, Canadian Hydropower Association president. “From exporting clean electricity to the United States, to sharing our technologies and know-how with countries around the world, we can compete in the fast-growing global market for clean energy solutions.”