Renewable energy in Canada
| Autor | Luis Alejandro Pando |
| Cargo del Autor | Abogado de la Universidad del Rosario |
| Páginas | 217-258 |
217
renewable energy in canada
luIS aleJaNdro paNdo*
1. overvIew
According to Natural Resources Canada1 renewable2 energy
is energy obtained from natural resources that can be natu-
rally replenished or renewed within a human lifespan. In
other words, the resource is a sustainable source of energy.
Renewable energy is an energy source for generating elec-
tricity that is not based on fuels with limited reserves. Inclu-
ded are solar power, hydro-power, wind power, geothermal
power, and tidal power. Biomass energy is also considered a
renewable resource but only if its rate of consumption does
not exceed its rate of regeneration.
Renewable energy resources are naturally replenishable,
but flow-limited. They are virtually inexhaustible in dura-
* Abogado de la Universidad del Rosario. Máster en Derecho de la Energía,
Instituto Superior de la Energía (España). Máster en Economía y Regula-
ción de Servicios Públicos, Universidad de Barcelona (España). Candidato a
Ll. M., Universidad de Alberta (Canadá). Docente del Departamento Minero-
Energético, Universidad Externado de Colombia.
1 Online: [http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/energy/renewable/1297]
2 Oxford Canadian Dictionary: Renewable: adj. – 1 able to be renewed. 2 (of a
source of material or energy) not depleted by utilization n. a renewable source
of material or energy.
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tion but limited in the amount of energy that is available
per unit of time. Some (such as geothermal and biomass)
may be stock-limited in that stocks are depleted by use, but
on a time scale of decades, or perhaps centuries, they can
probably be replenished.
Advances in science and technology, and a growing in-
dustry of equipments related to renewable energies (i. e. so-
lar panels, wind turbines, etc.) have made possible the use of
alternative energy that can be produced in the form of elec-
tricity, industrial heat, thermal energy for space and water
conditioning, and transportation fuels. Utility renewable
resource applications include bulk electricity generation,
on-site electricity generation, distributed electricity genera-
tion, non-grid-connected generation and demand-reduction
(energy efficiency) technologies.
Canada is a world leader in the production and use of
energy from renewable resources. Renewable energy resou-
rces currently provide about 16% of Canada’s total primary
energy supply (including hydropower). However, Canada
rests among the lowest in the
oecd
countries in terms of non-
hydro renewables, with wind and solid biomass the only
other sources of note. Indeed, renewable energy accounts
for 76.9
gw
(62%) of Canada’s electricity generating capaci-
ty, 73.4
gw
of which comes from hydropower. Wind energy
represented 0.5% (1.8
gw
) and solid biomass accounted for
1.3% (1.6
gw
). Solar photovoltaic (26
Mw
) and tidal energy
(20
Mw
) represented a very small portion of Canada’s elec-
tricity capacity.
According to the International Energy Agency (
Iea
), re-
newable energies in Canada still need support; be it fiscal,
directly by means of funding towards research and develo-
pment, or the availability of feed-in-tariffs, quota or obliga-
tion systems, perhaps linked to tradable green certificates.
The
Iea
analysis suggests that the success of any renewables
219
policy is directly linked to three key factors: (i) the country’s
level of policy ambition; (ii) the presence of a well-designed
incentive scheme; and (iii) the capability of overcoming non-
economic barriers, which can ultimately limit the effects of
the policies in place. If these three factors coexist, renewable
energy policies are usually effective. On the contrary, if any
one of the three key factors is missing, this is likely to cause
failure of the policy3.
While the overall contribution of hydropower to energy
supply is high, considerable potential for increased pene-
tration of other forms of renewable energy remains. Indeed,
bioenergy also makes an important contribution to Canada’s
energy mix. Several emerging resources, such as wind and
solar power, are making much smaller contributions but
are experiencing high growth rates. Likely climate change
obligations and the federal government’s commitment to a
low-carbon energy supply have led to efforts, by the fede-
ral government and the provinces, to increase the share of
renewable energy in electricity generating capacity, heating
and transportation fuels.
2. reNewaBle eNergy polIcy aNd regulatIoN
With the exception of hydropower and ocean energy, pro-
vincial governments have exclusive jurisdiction over the
development and management of renewable energy reso-
urces within their respective boundaries. Under the federal
Fisheries Act, the federal government has jurisdiction over
hydropower and ocean energy to the extent that these acti-
vities impact fishery resources.
3
Iea.
Deploying renewables: principles for effective policies, Paris, 2008.
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