Canada generates about two-thirds of its electricity from renewable sources, primarily from hydro, but also from wind, biomass and solar, according to a new report released by the National Energy Board (NEB).
Only five countries produce a similar or larger share of electricity from renewable sources: Norway, New Zealand, Brazil, Austria, and Denmark, says the report titled Canada’s Adoption of Renewable Power Sources.
Canada generated about 60 per cent of its electricity from hydro power in 2015, accounting for about 10 per cent of global generation of hydro-electricity that year, says the report. Canada’s hydro power generation is second only to China.
Wind generation accounted for four per cent of the 600 terawatt hours generated in Canada in 2015. This ranked Canada as the seventh largest wind energy producer in the world behind China, the United States, Germany, India, Spain and the United Kingdom.
Biomass provided about 2 per cent of Canada’s electricity generation, while solar power accounted for only 0.5 per cent of Canada’s electricity generation in 2015, with 98 per cent of Canadian capacity installed in Ontario.
In contrast, countries such as Italy, Greece, Germany and Spain generated at least five per cent of their electricity from solar.
“Canada’s hydro generation has allowed the country to be one of the global leaders in renewable energy for years,” said Shelley Milutinovic, chief economist at the National Energy Board. “Now, as solar, wind and other technologies become more cost competitive, we expect to see a continuing increase in their adoption in the future.”
Other renewable technologies, such as offshore wind, tidal power, and geothermal energy, have not experienced significant uptake in Canada, but still have potential, the report said.
Source: National Energy Board
For reasons beyond our control, and for an undetermined period of time, our comment section is now closed. However, our social networks remain open to your contributions.