2050 carbon targets “impossible in practical terms”
840 solar or 16 nuclear power plants needed to meet Ottawaโs 2050 emission-reduction target
(Vancouver) – The federal governmentโs plan to eliminate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from electricity generation by 2050 is impossible in practical terms, finds a new study published February 11 by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank.
Due to population growth, economic growth and the transition to electrified transportation, electricity demand in Canada will increase substantially in coming years.
โTo meet existing and future electricity demand with low-emitting or zero-emitting sources within the governmentโs timeline, Canada would need to rapidly build infrastructure on a scale never before seen in the countryโs history,โ said Kenneth P. Green, senior fellow at the Fraser Institute and author of Rapid Decarbonization of Electricity and Future Supply Constraints.
For example, to generate the electricity needed through 2050 solely with solar power, weโd need to build 840 solar-power generation stations the size of Albertaโs Travers Solar Project. At a construction time of two years per project, this would take 1,680 construction years to accomplish. If we relied solely on wind power, Canada would need to build 574 wind-power installations the size of Quebecโs Seigneurie de Beaupre wind-power station.
At a construction time of two years per project, this would take 1,150 construction years to accomplish. If we relied solely on hydropower, weโd need to build 134 hydro-power facilities the size of the Site C power station in British Columbia. At a construction time of seven years per project, this would take 938 construction years to accomplish.
If we relied solely on nuclear power, weโd need to construct 16 new nuclear plants the size of Ontarioโs Bruce Nuclear Generating Station. At a construction time of seven years per project, this would take 112 construction years to accomplish.
Currently, the process of planning and constructing electricity-generation facilities in Canada is often marked by delays and significant cost overruns. For B.C.โs Site C project, it took approximately 43 years from the initial planning studies in 1971 to environmental certification in 2014, with project completion expected in 2025 at a cost of $16 billion.
โWhen Canadians assess the viability of the federal governmentโs emission-reduction timelines, they should understand the practical reality of electricity generation in Canada,โ Green said.