Like MGMT once sang, Ottawa wants to shock Canada like an electric eel.
What happened: Mark Carney announced a new plan to double Canada’s electricity generation by 2050 to keep up with the projected increase in demand. According to the PM, the Powering Canada Strong strategy could lower costs for up to 70% of Canadians.
Zoom in: The strategy in its current form is light on details as Ottawa has just started consultations, but Carney highlighted increasing the use of natural gas for power generation as one area of interest. Existing clean energy regulations will likely be rewritten to do this.
Sources told CBC News that the feds are seeing if the Major Projects Office could be used to build transmission infrastructure, and if planned projects connecting grids across provinces and territories could be fast-tracked under the Build Canada Act.
Why it matters: Compared to many of our peers, Canada already has very affordable and clean electricity, with 80% of our grid powered by non-emitting resources. However, with data centres set to come online, EV adoption (eventually?) ticking up, and the defence sector supercharging production, affordable renewable power will become harder to source.
There are also fears that hydro-electricity — the bread and butter of our affordable energy mix — could become less reliable in the future due to extreme weather.
Yes, but: Carney’s focus on natural gas will surely receive scrutiny — it may be the cleanest fossil fuel, but it’s still, ya know, a fossil fuel — especially because wind and solar have been heralded as the future of clean energy in recent reports.—QH
