Ottawa’s rush to net-zero electricity will be risky and expensive
In March 2022, from its green perch high above us mere mortals, the federal government arbitrarily mandated a virtually unachievable net-zero national electricity grid by 2035, which will undermine electricity’s reliability and affordability and cost $54 billion, less hoped for future savings.
Guilbeault, minister of environment and climate change, supported by Jonathan Wilkinson, minister of energy and natural resources, set a policy table groaning with threats and only a few inducements. They specifically decreed that no new unabated natural gas facilities should be commissioned after 2025, i.e. without carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS), which will make the transition exceptionally difficult.
The regulations reflect a government willing to fracture national unity, violate the constitutional division of powers, damage the economy and increase the cost of living of the public it was elected to serve.
“Powering Canada Forward,” a generally informative Natural Resources Canada memorandum released a couple of days before the regulations, occasionally dispenses with dispassionate analysis. Witness this beauty: “Volkswagen picked Canada over the United States because of our ‘high’ standards for environmental, social, and corporate governance.” Nary a mention of the $13 billion in government grants.
For the rest of this column: https://financialpost.com/opinion/perils-rushing-net-zero-electricity