All the new electrical generation and metal mining required means EVs
The federal government has mandated that all new light duty vehicles be electric by 2035. Achieving that goal would require vastly more electrical generation capacity and an enormous expansion of charging stations.
A Fraser Institute study published in March found that handling the higher load would require either 13 large new gas plants or the equivalent of 10 new mega-dams the size of B.C.’s $16-billion hydro Site C. Just one problem: almost all viable hydro sites have already been dammed. Plus: it took 10 years to get environmental approval for Site C and another 10 to build it. That leaves the natural gas plants. But powering EV’s with natural gas puts the kibosh on zero emissions.
The cost of building and operating 13 new gas plants would be enormous. Who would pay for them? It’s virtually impossible to separate power billing by source, so they would need to be rolled into existing electricity rates. That would increase costs for Canadian businesses, many of which are already struggling.
For the rest of this column: https://financialpost.com/opinion/ottawa-ev-mandate-trouble-good