The World’s 10 Largest Hydroelectric Dams

It is amazing to think how many of these really large hydroelectric projects have only taken place in the last several decades.

"Hydroelectricity is one of the fore-runners of the renewable energy industry, accounting for over 16% of global electricity production, with a predicted annual increase in production of 3.1%.  China is the current global leader in hydroelectric production with four dams on the top ten list, with total hydroelectric production accounting for 17% of domestic electricity use.  Hydroelectricity represents an attractive option in the renewable energy market given its relatively low cost, flexibility in terms of production relative to demand and lower output levels of greenhouse gas when compared with fossil fuel energy plants.

10. Robert-Bourassa
La Grande, Canada
This plant is part of Quebec’s James Bay Project and has a generating capacity of 5,616 MW. The dam is named after Premier of Quebec Robert Bourassa and was originally commissioned in 1981.

9. Krasnoyarsk
Yenisei River, Russia
This dam originally came online in 1972 and has been operating ever since. It’s located in Southern Russia and has a generating capacity of 6,000 MW.

8. Longtan Dam
Hongshui River, China
The Longtan Dam is the tallest of its type in the world and has a generating capacity of 6,426 MW. It’s relatively new, as it was only commissioned in 2007.

7. Grand Coulee
Columbia River, United States
Washington State’s Grand Coulee dam is a classic. It’s been around since 1933 and remains one of the biggest in the world. It has a generating capacity of 6,809 MW and is currently undergoing major overhauls.

6. Xiangjiaba
Jinsha River, China
This dam operates on a tributary of the Yangtze River and has a generating capacity of 6,400 MW. This dam is also very new, beginning operations in 2012.

5. Tucuruí
Tocantins River, Brazil
This dam was the first large-scale hydro power project in the Amazon rainforest. It was commissioned in 1984 and has a generating capacity of 8,370 MW.

4. Guri
Caroní River, Venezuela
The Guri Dam is huge. It is 7,426 meters long and 162 meters high. It’s also quite old, as it was commissioned in 1978. It currently has a generating capacity of 10,235 MW.

3. Xiluodu
Jinsha River, China
This dam has a generating capacity of 13,860 and also provides flood control for the region. It’s brand new, as it was only commissioned in 2013, and is operated by China Yangtze Power.

2. Itaipu Dam
Paraná River, Brazil/Paraguay
This dam occasionally has a higher generating output than the number one spot. With 14 GW of installed capacity it’s quite impressive. It also straddles the line between two countries, making initial negotiations difficult.

1. Three Gorges Dam
Yangtze River, China
Here it is: the big one. With a massive generating capacity of 22.5 GW, the Three Gorges Dam is the biggest hydro dam in the world. China had begun dreaming up this dam in 1919, and in 2008, it came alive. It’s a beast of a hydro dam and is a marvel of modern engineering."

Kevin Smead

The World’s 10 Largest Hydroelectric Dams:

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Tiny Spanish Island Nears Its Goal: 100 Percent Renewable Energy

Now this is what we need to be talking about when referencing the possibilities of the future with regards to renewable energy supply.  Wind supported pumped storage is something every system in the world, with storage backed hydroelectric power can exploit.  If you cannot pump, then simply curtail production when the wind is blowing.  When it is not, utilize the water that had been stored.  This is an old concept and an exisitng practice of hydroelectric companies.  However, rather than following the wind, they follow the rate at which the power is being paid for. If wind were ever to play a significant enough role in the energy mix, it would affect the price of energy, and effectively drive production or release of stored power.

Read the article below regarding El Hierro's ambitious and successful plan to cut off their need for fossil fuels with their combined wind and pumped-storage  facility.



It actually takes quite a lot of fossil fuel power to reach the tiny Spanish island of El Hierro. You have to catch a commercial jet flight, a propeller plane and then a ferry to reach what was once the end of the known world, before Columbus set sail.

But once you're there, there's no need for fossil fuels at all. The ancient island off the west coast of Africa is now a model for the future, within months of running on 100 percent renewable energy, which consists of a mix of wind and hydro-power.

El Hierro, the most remote of Spain's Canary Islands, is now billing itself as the world's first energy self-sufficient island that has never been hooked up to a power grid.

A Danish island, Samso, is also energy-independent, but was previously hooked up to the Danish grid and didn't make the change in isolation, like El Hierro.

Because of the topography of the surrounding seabed, El Hierro, an active volcanic island with a population of about 10,000, could never hook up to Spain's power grid.

Instead, it used big barges to ship in 6,600 tons of diesel fuel — the equivalent of 40,000 barrels of oil — each year, to power electricity generators. It was an expensive, time-consuming and dirty endeavor ... until now.

This past summer, El Hierro inaugurated the Gorona del Viento power plant, a $110 million wind and water turbine farm. By the end of this year, the plant will generate all of the island's energy needs of up to 48 gigawatt hours per year."

Tiny Spanish Island Nears Its Goal: 100 Percent Renewable Energy : Parallels : NPR: "

First Nations ultimatum: Site C dam or LNG, but not both

"OTTAWA — The power struggle between B.C. First Nations and the federal government over resource development in the B.C’s North escalated this week with both sides issuing public statements about who has the final say over major projects.

Tensions have been high since a Supreme Court of Canada decision in June ruled the Crown can only infringe on an aboriginal or treaty rights if it meets a tough test aimed at reconciling those rights with the broader public interest.

The court ruling, which stressed the need for consent, has triggered lawsuits from First Nations challenging numerous proposed economic development projects.

A delegation of B.C. First Nations leaders travelled to Ottawa this week to warn the federal government not to approve the Site C hydroelectric project in northeastern B.C. They said the provincial and federal governments would have to choose between Site C and the liquefied natural gas developments that affect the Peace River in northeastern B.C.

Chief Roland Willson of the West Moberly First Nation said his people, who would be affected by Site C, are not opposed to resource development. But multiple developments would be too much.

“I’ve said you can’t have both,’’ Willson said told The Canadian Press. “If you want to push Site C, we’re not going to be in favour of any LNG projects, any of the pipeline projects up there. We don’t want to be there but if that’s the case, we don’t have any other choice.’’

The government of Prime Minister Harper has been at the United Nations this week for discussions on global security. But it took the opportunity to tell the world that Harper believes aboriginal people do not have a “veto” over development.

The UN assembly adopted a “consensus outcome document” Monday, which essentially reiterated a 2007 declaration, stating that governments must obtain “free, prior and informed consent” before adopting administrative or legislative measures that might affect indigenous peoples.

The Harper government appears to consider consent in that mean veto. But First Nations leaders said they do not have a veto but that the UN document, like the June Supreme Court of Canada ruling, means government must consult with native governments and seek their consent. Only after that process, if an agreement has not been reached, can Ottawa go on to make the argument that public interest trumps aboriginal rights,

The Harper government adopted the 2007 UN declaration in 2010 but stated publicly that it was an “aspirational” document and that “free, prior and informed consent” shouldn’t be interpreted as a “veto” on development.

On Monday, the Canadian government issued a similar caveat, saying that the new “outcome document” again contained wording on “free, prior and informed consent” that could be “interpreted as providing a veto to aboriginal groups and in that regard, cannot be reconciled with Canadian law.”

Canada was the only member state at the UN General Assembly gathering Monday to object to the UN document.

Aboriginal leaders accused the federal government of misinterpreting the UN declaration and disregarding the Supreme Court of Canada decision involving B.C. Tsilhqot’in First Nation.

Grand Chief Ed John said the Canadian position was an “inflammatory” move aimed at implying that “consent” means “veto.” Stewart Phillip, president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, said the government is “thumbing its nose” at Canada’s highest court."

First Nations ultimatum: Site C dam or LNG, but not both:

Canada missing out on green energy revolution

Trade and investment in wind, solar and other green technologies rising, says Clean Energy Canada

Canada could make its renewables technology into a trade advantage, says advocacy group Clean Energy Canada (CBC)

Race to renewables

At a time when investment in clean energy technologies is growing worldwide, Canada is “looking the other way” and risks missing out on trade and growth opportunities, according to a new report from an advocacy group for green energy.

 The study from Clean Energy Canada was released Monday to coincide with the United Nation Climate Summit in New York City. It says Canada spent $6.5 billion on the renewable energy transition last year.

•  Global CO2 emissions break record ahead of UN Climate Summit 
•  Renewables to make up 1/4 of world's energy by 2018 

That is minuscule compared to the $207 billion spent worldwide, including $55 billion in China alone.

While major trading partners such as China, the U.S., Japan and Germany are big spenders on wind and solar, both to reduce pollution and provide clean sources of energy, Canada is not developing its industries quickly enough to take advantage of the shift, the report says.

“While other economies have made clean-energy industries and services a trade priority, some of us cling to the notion that our carbon-based fuels constitute our only competitive advantage,” the report says, referring to the federal government’s trade agenda, which focuses heavily on oil.

China’s imports of clean energy technology and services from Canada have tripled since 2001, to $63 million in 2011.

"What we’ve found is that the world’s leading economies, places that are major markets like the U.S., China, the EU – they’re really reducing their dependence on fossil fuels and are embracing clean energy like wind, solar, hydro," said Merran Smith, director of Clean Energy Canada.

She said that shift could cut into Canada's oil and gas sales. The opportunities to innovate in the field of renewables could be a stimulus to the economy, she said in an interview with CBC's The Exchange with Amanda Lang.

"Canada has been ignoring the climate issue and the clean energy revolution — they’re pretending it’s still a boutique and side issue," Smith said. 

She urged Ottawa to start "giving it the same kind of support it has given to every major industry in Canada, including the oilsands, which has received billions of dollars in federal support."

Costs fall 

 Plunging equipment costs, strong investor interest and good policy are driving a global shift to renewable energy sources such as wind, sun and water, the report said.

Smith said the cost of renewable energy sources has been dropping, especially since China started investing in them.

"When China got into the game of clean energy and started investing in solar technologies, that is what has made the cost of solar technologies plummet.  Many people don’t know that the cost of solar has gone down 83 per cent in the last five years and that’s part of what’s driving this revolution," she said.

The report highlights some of the forces that are driving interest in green technologies, including the development of electric car technology, new green bonds and a commitment by multinationals such as Google, Starbucks and Ikea.

It also calls attention to the role of leadership. U.S. President Barack Obama’s cleaner energy agenda and renewable targets in some states are bringing about a slow shift in energy use south of the border while B.C.’s carbon tax has reduced fuel use by 16 per cent.

Almost half the new electricity produced in Canada since 2000 is wind and solar because of heavy investment by Ontario and Quebec.

But microgrids, which encourage neighborhoods to put solar panels on roofs and share resources locally, are facing legal and social barriers in Canada, the report said.

Get ready for Paris 2015 

 Canada also fails to take part meaningfully in international forums that could advance its clean energy trade interests, Clean Energy Canada said, citing the case of the International Renewable Energy Agency, which the country does not belong to.

Clean Energy Canada urged Ottawa to “play a constructive role in the Paris 2015 climate talks.” Canada was shown as a  laggard in cutting greenhouse gas emissions at the Copenhagen climate talks in 2009.

The group said Canada should be able to show progress in cutting back on emissions that cause climate change before the Paris talks."

Canada missing out on green energy revolution, report says - Business - CBC News: "

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B.C. Hydro on the edge of change as huge growth planned for North

B.C. Hydro on the edge of change as huge growth planned for North

B.C.’s north is in a frenzy of planning. There are applications for port expansions, coal and mineral mines, oil terminals, pipelines, synthetic fuel plants, liquefied natural gas facilities and hundreds of new drill rigs for shale gas extraction.

While the North is poised for unprecedented growth, BC Hydro is at pivotal moment in its history. Key energy decisions remain undecided by the policy makers in Victoria who will shape how big, how fast and how green that development will be.

Competing interests are demanding lower rates, more flexible service, a tougher watchdog, a leaner corporation.

Since 1962, the Crown utility has played a fundamental role in opening up the province to industrial development. What happens next in the North will determine what role B.C. Hydro plays in the province’s in the future.

The electricity grid mostly runs one way: The North supplies 35 per cent of all of B.C.’s hydro-electric power, but half of that is consumed in the South.

For all the North’s new, energy-hungry endeavours – which could easily double +BC Hydro's current industrial demand if only a third of them are built – the power isn’t set to return.

Sandwiched between demands for huge dividends to the provincial government and outrage from its ratepayers over threatened rate hikes, B.C. Hydro is prepared to walk away from its new customers. If these developments are built, many will have to provide their own power by burning natural gas.

This runs counter to the government’s legislated targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

But that core agenda of Gordon Campbell’s B.C. Liberal government no longer resonates with the Liberals under Premier Christy Clark. The clean-energy mantra has been replaced by one that puts investment first, and fiscal restraint a close second.

But B.C. Hydro is poised to pass along hefty rate increases – as much as 26 per cent – to its 1.9 million industrial, commercial and residential customers.

That figure, contained in a leaked draft document, has become a lightning rod for customer complaints about bloated Hydro salaries, the $1-billion smart-meter program, contracts with private power producers, and more. In that framework, Hydro can use the need to contain spending as insulation against demands to offer new supplies of clean, renewable power.

“The challenge is that we find ourselves, in 2013, with limited options for taking that pressure off,” Energy Minister Bill Bennett said in an interview. Months ago he was vowing to “get a grip” on Hydro’s gold-plated operations. Now, he warns it is a long-term turnaround project. “It’s a large Crown, under repair.”

Residential customers – who still enjoy some of the lowest rates in North America – would direct their anger at the B.C. Liberal government that promised to keep rates low, but the next election is more than three years away. In 2006 British Columbia had the second lowest rates of 22 jurisdictions and in 2012 B.C. was fourth lowest.

Bigger customers have other leverage: Investment decisions may hinge on what Hydro will or will not offer. And those already on the grid warn the threatened rate hikes would lead to job losses.

Catalyst Paper is Hydro’s largest industrial customer, consuming 5 per cent of the entire provincial electricity load. The company sent every MLA a warning this summer: The company contributes $2-billion annually to the provincial economy across 25 communities – and that is at risk in the face of double-digit rate hikes.

“Energy is a big cost item for us,” said Lyn Brown, Catalyst’s vice-president for marketing. It is the company’s second-largest expense, after fibre. Having just climbed out of creditor protection through a major restructuring last year, “any rate increases could wipe all that heavy lifting away,” she said.

Part of the difficulty in tackling rate hikes is that the government has been circumventing the utility’s regulator to suppress rates in advance of the election.

By “smoothing” rates, B.C. Hydro has racked up billions of dollars in “deferral accounts” which it now must start to repay.

And, the aging infrastructure needs to be maintained. The Ruskin dam in the Fraser Valley is more than 80 years old and increasingly unreliable. B.C. Hydro is now spending more than $700-million to reduce earthquake risk and upgrade the powerhouse. It’s just one part of the $2-billion it is spending each year to maintain the grid.

Given those limitations, letting industry in the North use cheap, abundant natural gas to satisfy new energy needs offers a tempting relief valve.

The Clean Energy Association of B.C. estimates that, conservatively, the potential load growth in the North could add up to 35,000 gigawatt hours annually by the year 2026. Last year, B.C. Hydro’s load for the entire province was about 51,000 gigawatt hours.

Paul Kariya, executive director for the association, believes that B.C. could meet the pending demands in the North with clean energy. But he worries that the government is too preoccupied to consider the long-term planning that is required.

“There are two things on government’s mind: the rate hike and the balanced budget,” he said. B.C. Hydro will contribute about $1.8-billion in dividends over the next three years and that reliance on the Crown corporation limits just how big a stick Mr. Bennett wields.

“They want to get through the next two years somehow, but they’ve got to do something about the bow wave of those rates,” said Mr. Kariya, adding that the government may need to consider a reset for Hydro, to write down some of the debt to start fresh.

There is little appetite in Victoria for such an intervention, however. Mr. Bennett wants the corporation to behave more like a commercial operation, but he appears to be largely in agreement with B.C. Hydro’s current approach to new demand.

The Crown utility will table its integrated resource plan later this month, mapping out how it intends to meet future needs. But its draft plan offers to meet just a fraction of that potential new load. Some of the biggest demand would come from the new LNG industry that the provincial government has made a top priority. B.C. Hydro concludes that most LNG proponents will meet 90 per cent of their energy needs with natural gas. To meet the ancillary demand, Hydro proposes to build its own gas-turbine-powered electrical generation facility in the Kitimat region.

The final plan hasn’t yet been approved by the province, and a backlash is building. An internal report, obtained by The Globe and Mail, shows industrial users are frustrated by the Crown utility’s modern concept of customer service.

“Delays in transmission availability are cited as an obstacle to industrial development in British Columbia. B.C. Hydro’s transmission interconnection process is perceived as slow, cumbersome, unresponsive and expensive by customers,” the draft report, dated Oct. 4, says.

Tom Syer, senior executive for policy at the B.C. Business Council, released a report last week urging the province to take a stronger role in making sure the Crown utility becomes more nimble.

“They were, and remain, a foundation of our industrial infrastructure,” he said. “It is a critical time. We have serious competitive challenges and it is an identified issue for those who want to make big investments – they need to know B.C. Hydro’s system is working for them.”

A major policy obstacle remains the province’s climate-change targets, he said. By law, British Columbia must cut its greenhouse-gas emissions by at least 33 per cent below 2007 levels by the year 2020.

“There is a need to reconcile and where necessary revise climate-change objectives,” Mr. Syer said. “The simple reality is you cannot do this level of development – even if we did choose to use clean electricity inputs – and meet the GHG targets.”

The Energy Minister says those are decisions that still must be made by the B.C. cabinet. But this is a government that has been consumed with the pursuit of a new LNG industry – the climate-change law was the agenda of a previous Liberal administration.

“It may make more sense to let the companies use natural gas to drive their compressors,” Mr. Bennett said. “I’m doing my best as energy minister to try to carve out some opportunity for the clean energy sector in this province to continue investing. Having said that, I can’t do that to the extent that it is going to put pressure on rates. There is enough pressure on rates already.”

Richard Stout, executive director of the Association of Major Power Customers of B.C., said ratepayers big and small all have an interest in seeing B.C. Hydro reined in. He doesn’t quibble about the infrastructure spending but suggests the province is skimming far too much profit.

“Customers would be better off if B.C. Hydro was privatized – shareholders don’t expect that kind of profit.”

The draft report by the government’s industrial rate review, which will be finalized in the coming weeks, points to government intervention as a key problem. Mr. Stout says it is time the B.C. Utilities Commission was restored as Hydro’s watchdog.

“If you don’t allow an independent regulator to get involved, then rates are going to hell in a hand basket.”

The NDP’s energy critic, John Horgan, is not against the notion of burning natural gas in lieu of renewable electricity – especially if it helps B.C. Hydro escape from its present, costly bind.

But choosing the way forward – a future of clean energy or a future that increasingly relies on burning natural gas for power – is a decision that the public should be a part of, he said.

“It’s a big pivot. Let’s let the public decide.”

Justine Hunter - The Globe and Mail

Major changes in works for Canada's electrical grid - Canada - CBC News

This article provides a very comprehensive picture of the current Canadian electricity system.  A long read but informative and worth it!

The power structure in Canada is changing — not the government, but the country's electricity infrastructure.

By 2020, where electricity comes from and how it gets to your door will have undergone an unprecedented overhaul. Windmills will dot the landscapes of the Great Lakes and remote B.C. Smoke from coal plants will be buried in Saskatchewan and Alberta. A massive underwater cable will feed voltage from Labrador to as far away as New England.

It's all part of a complex series of initiatives that will reformulate everything from who produces the energy that powers your stove or dishwasher, to how they produce it, to your own power consumption habits and how much you'll pay each month.

"Electricity is one of the basic fuels of the economy. Not much happens without it," says Pierre Guimond, CEO of the +Canadian Electricity Association, an industry group. "So getting the basics done correctly — yeah, we've got a lot on our plates."

+CBC News  has analyzed hundreds of studies, contracts, reports, strategy documents, maps and statistics about the country's electrical future. Many of the details have never before been gathered and shared with the public. We've produced the first map, for example, of every major generating station that's operating in Canada today or forecast to start up by 2020. And we've calculated what it will likely cost for your electricity, based on each province's current power generation strategy — and the surprising array  of companies you'll be buying it from.

Will there be enough?

To the tens of millions of North Americans who spent many hours in the dark during the blackout of 2003, the question lingers: Do we generate enough electricity to meet the growing needs of homes and businesses, and do we have a robust enough grid to stave off future outages?

The +Cn Tower  is silhouetted against the setting sun as a blackout grips Toronto on August 14, 2003. As many as 10 million people in eastern North America were affected by the massive power failure. ((Andrew Wallace/Reuters))

In 2003, Ontario, Canada's second-largest powerhouse after Quebec, was on the brink. Its independent grid operator made doomful pronouncements about shortages, and Ontario had to import a sizeable chunk of its energy from the United States.

More recently, British Columbia has become a net importer of current from south of the border. Alberta, Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan also rely on foreign sources.

The outlook has improved, but there's still cause for caution.

Ontario now sends $400 million in electricity to the U.S. each year, while B.C. is aiming to be self-sufficient by 2016. Alberta has seen a torrid pace of generator construction, although a March report by +Canaccord Genuity Wealth Management  predicts the province's power consumption is expected to rise by an estimated 4 per cent a year, putting pressure on the amount of power available and driving prices up. On the East Coast, the hydroelectric development of the Lower Churchill River will eventually bring online enough capacity to power any one of the Atlantic provinces in its entirety. 

Overall, the country's system still needs massive cash infusions.

The International Energy Agency estimates Canada will require $10 billion a year in investments in its electrical infrastructure  from now until 2030. A little over half of that will go towards generation and the rest to improve the bulk transmission  grid and the more modest power lines  that distribute electricity to homes.

The most recent assessment from the North American Electric Reliability Corp. – which is authorized by both the Canadian and U.S. governments to ensure the adequacy of the grids in both countries and ensures there's an adequate power supply — isn't overly rosy, either. NERC says that as of 2012, Quebec "needs additional resources" on its generation side, while B.C. and Alberta still need to "accelerate … resource development" to meet their needs for 2020. Ontario, despite its scheme to bring hundreds of small-scale generation online through guaranteed rate offers, is predicted to be a "tight area." 

How much will it cost?

As a result, in almost every region of Canada, electricity prices are going up . Way up. (Try the interactive calculator  to get an idea of what you'll be paying for base electricity in the coming years.)

Customers in several provinces are already seeing it. BC Hydro raised its rates 7.3 per cent this year and has announced it will seek an additional 30 per cent hike over the next three. The Ontario government declared in late 2010 that the province's rates will rise an estimated 46 per cent by 2015. Alberta still has the fourth lowest electricity cost in the country, but the Canaccord Genuity report noted that the cost of wholesale electricty has surged recently, more than doubling in January and February compared to last year, and it is expected to continue to rise over the next few years.

With the possible exception of Manitoba, nobody will be spared cost increases. A CBC News analysis of provincial utilities' power-purchase agreements and financial statements suggests the average price per kilowatt-hour countrywide will rise more than 50 per cent by 2020.

The Jean-Lesage hydroelectric dam in Baie-Comeau, Que. A large amount of Canada's electricity currently comes from sites like these but the cost to generate power will increase as new, more expensive projects are constructed. ((Jacques Boissinot/Canadian Press))

Until now, prices have stayed relatively low — among the cheapest of the nations belonging to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) — because the majority of Canada's power comes from hydroelectricity, most of which was developed decades ago and has been paid off for years. The operating costs of hydro dams are minimal, which is why Quebec can generate its power for a couple pennies per kilowatt-hour.

But those power plants are no longer enough to meet the country's needs. And the new plants being built, plus the copper and aluminum heavy-transmission lines to reach them, will cost a lot more. The end result is that ratepayers will end up footing the growing bill.

"Newer hydro that has been built is a lot more expensive than what was built generations ago," the Canadian Electricity Association's Pierre Guimond says. "Everything is more expensive nowadays, because the sites are further away, they're more difficult to develop, and that is reflected in the cost of electricity."

Take Quebec's current biggest hydro project, a series of dams on the Romaine River north of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It's anticipated to generate power at a cost of close to 6.4 ¢/kWh — or more than three times the price of electrons from that province's currently installed capacity.

What's happening with hydro is happening with every kind of generation. In Ontario, new wind farms get paid 13.5 ¢/kWh, and rooftop solar systems 80 ¢/kWh. A recent power industry study found new nuclear plants cost twice as much to build as they did only seven years ago. Coal-fired plants, once a cheap source of energy based on an abundant fuel, cost far more because of emissions restrictions.

It spells certain pain for consumers' wallets.

"We've underinvested in our electricity system across the country for decades," says Tim Weis, the director of renewable energy and efficiency policy for the Pembina Institute, a national think-tank on sustainable energy. "Whatever you're going to build today is going to be more expensive."

Who will generate it?

Crown-owned utilities once dominated the production and transmission of electricity. A recently as 10 years ago, more than 80 per cent of the generating capacity in Canada was run by provincial governments. But since then, the private sector has held sway.

In the past, most of the generating capacity has been owned by public companies, such as the Pickering nuclear plant. By 2020 nearly all of the new generating sites will be privately owned. ((OPG))

All new net generating capacity constructed since 2000 has been by private companies, and virtually all planned future net capacity will be built by the private sector. From now until 2020, private power sources will grow by almost 50 per cent countrywide, whereas government-provided electricity will nudge up a mere three per cent.

In British Columbia, where the government's procurement policy for new power sources relies almost exclusively on for-profit corporations, companies like General Electric are building hundreds of megawatts of new generating capacity.

In Alberta, oil patch heavyweights Suncor, Imperial Oil and TransCanada are putting up big plants fuelled by natural gas.

In Ontario, +TransAlta Corp. runs four gas-fired stations, but also three wind farms. And in the Maritimes, TransAlta is erecting dozens more wind turbines alongside a host of small specialist companies.

For some critics, it's a disquieting trend: Natural resources such as waterways are falling into private hands, while consumers pay higher prices to effectively subsidize the private development of new industries in solar and wind power. There are also few if any provisions for all the new generating assets to transfer to public ownership once the companies' power-purchase contracts are up, and no guarantees those companies won't seek to hike their prices when that day comes.    

Where will it come from?

A worker pulls on a rope to help guide the blades while installing a wind turbine for Toronto Hydro at Exhibition Place on Dec. 18, 2002. The future of generation lies in wind and gas, experts say. ((Kevin Frayer/Canadian Press))

The first half-century of electrification in Canada was all about the country's hydro power. Then came coal, oil and nuclear. The future is written in wind and natural gas.

From fewer than 100 megawatts in wind turbines at the dawn of the millennium, Canada has been rapidly expanding its capacity   to 3,500 MW today, and plans to have 12,765 MW by 2020. That still represents less than 10 per cent of national capacity, but the country is adding more wind power than any other type (with the possible exception of hydro if the full development of Labrador's Churchill River proceeds). And the extra capacity will help enable the shutdown of one of the country's worst sources of greenhouse gas, the Nanticoke generating station in Ontario.

The move away from coal will also be aided by the slew of gas-fired plants that have started up in the past decade. While politicians prefer to tout their provinces' investments in enviro-chic renewable power, the reality is that natural gas is driving the grid's expansion. Sixty per cent of the new generation built in the 2000s is gas, and the sector is slated for another 25 per cent growth by 2020.

It's not perfect — the best gas-powered plants still emit about 40 per cent of the green house gases (GHGs) of a coal-based generator — but staring at the bogeyman of global warming, it's a significant step.

How dirty will it be?

High voltage power lines spread out from Ontario Power Generation's Nanticoke Generating Station. Ontario will shut down 11 of its coal-fired plants by 2014. ((Frank Gunn/Canadian Press))

The electricity sector is far off track from meeting its share of Canada's Kyoto emissions commitments (try the emissions calculator  to see just how far, and experiment with ways to minimize them). The sector emitted 117 million tonnes of GHGs last year, down from a peak of more than 130 Mt in 2003. But that level is still well above the 89 Mt the industry would have to trim to by 2012 to be in line with the Kyoto protocol.

"It was pretty clear that there wasn't going to be an effort made to meet that target," the Pembina Institute's Tim Weis says. "It wasn't an unrealistic goal; we were just too slow to go get going."

Looking ahead, though, the emissions picture gets somewhat better.

The federal government has set its own goal of cutting GHGs 17 per cent from 2005 levels by 2020. Under that scheme, power plants would have to cut back to 102 Mt in emissions in the next nine years, and they may be able to achieve it.

Ontario will shut down all 11 of its remaining coal-fired units by 2014, while Alberta and Saskatchewan are exploring new (though still unproven) ways of stashing their coal plants' carbon dioxide underground. Add to that Ottawa's plan to put strict emissions caps on coal-fired power plants, and the sector could hit the federal government's milder GHG target.

If it doesn't, Canada will have a hard time achieving any emissions-reduction objectives. Electricity generation accounts for a sixth of the country's GHGs, the second-largest source after transportation.

"The government needs to lead, whether at a federal or provincial level," Weis says. "Anywhere you've seen major reductions, whether in Europe or Ontario, it's all happened because the government has taken the initiative to make it happen."

Integrated Balance of System Solution: The Next Solar Cost Savings Frontier

Phil is First Green Energy's go to expert on all things Solar!  Great read for those interested in the solar industry. Reducing BoS field labor and material costs on projects are critical to achieving competitive system performance and pricing.

By Phil Winters As PV modules decline in price, the focus on cost savings increasingly turns to the Balance of Systems (BoS). Though material costs of BoS continue to rise (copper, aluminum, steel, etc.), costs savings are derived primarily from the engineered integration of the BOS system which can reduce labor and materials on the job site. Two recent studies concluded that BoS costs will likely exceed the costs of PV modules in the near term, becoming the highest cost portion of a solar system (this is including the mounting system, which we are including in BoS descriptions). According to GTM research, “…attention from developers and EPCs will increasingly be placed on a project’s balance-of-system (BoS) costs. Historically, innovation in the BoS space has been somewhat limited, given its smaller share of the total system. However, BoS costs will represent more than half of total project costs by 2012, and many BoS players are beginning to integrate their offerings into full-service component packages and positioning for greater share in the market via meaningful economic gains.” As well, the recently launched U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative ‘aims to dramatically decrease the total costs of solar energy systems by 75% before the end of the decade’. Much of the focus of this initiative is on BoS and labor savings advancements. During the last decade, we have seen a series of shifts in the PV landscape. In 2002, the solar industry was squarely focused on the modules while the inverter was considered a mysterious box with a limited 3 year warranty that could be sourced from only a handful of suppliers in the market. Slowly the focus changed to the inverter, which now comes with standard 10 and 20 year warranties, and boasts thousands of suppliers globally. Until recently, nary a thought was given to the BoS, with integrators frequently building their own mounting systems out of strut, stuffing their own combiner boxes and cobbling together their BoS solutions from a series of manufacturers via their local electrical distributor. Thankfully, the industry has matured and many of these ‘home-made’ solutions have abated over time with suppliers like Eaton stepping in with high-quality, volume manufacturing. This has contributed to the decreasing installed cost of PV. There is, however, much to improve upon where significant BoS cost savings can occur, which Eaton is now squarely addressing. Take for instance, the current state of connecting modules to combiner boxes. Most contractors currently do all this work manually; running PV cable the length of the combiner box to module connection point, cutting and stripping the wires, crimping their contacts, assembling the connectors, attaching ID labels and terminating the string in the combiner box. This will be repeated dozens, hundreds and thousands of times depending on the scale of the project. Did we mention this is generally being done by highly paid electricians? Like days of old, with homemade mounting systems and combiner boxes, this practice results in more cost, more connection points, more leak paths and definitely more potential quality and safety issues due to human error. On top of this, it is questionable whether testing is conducted on every one of those connection points─i.e. pull, hi-pot and continuity testing─thus further increasing potential human error trouble spots, which can be dangerous down the road, costing significant resources to fix. There’s an option, Eaton BoS alternative: a custom made PV cable assembly that is manufactured for your project in a controlled condition, by highly trained personnel using precision Swiss made equipment. These custom assemblies arrive at the job mapped, labeled, guaranteed and 100% certified for pull test, continuity and Hi-Pot. This approach also reduces material and labor costs up to 30% while significantly increasing the quality and certainty of long-term system performance. The Eaton solution replaces a highly laborious and time consuming process with a plug and play solution. BoS breakthroughs like this are driving the reduction in system costs while driving solar towards grid parity. Companies like Eaton, with their integrated total BoS solution, are driving innovation and cost reductions across the system to benefit the entire solar industry. Part of what differentiates the Eaton approach to BoS is how the engineering teams from each product work together to optimize layouts and system designs to achieve material and labor savings. Eaton engineers across product disciplines work together, so our designs are focused on reducing labor and materials in the field. While other mounting manufacturers design their mounting solution and provide a quote around this one component of the system, the Eaton approach is to review the electrical design parameters of the project to ensure mounting, cable, cable management and combiners are all designed in one integrated fashion to maximize efficiency and cost savings opportunities on each specific project. A complete BoS engineered solution looks at every angle of the project, ensuring consideration of every component in tandem rather than in a vacuum. This reduces cost while increasing certainty of construction logistics, material costs and performance of PV asset. Let me give you a real-world example: Eaton recently worked on a 10 MW project which had received three quotes from three different companies to provide single component solutions (mounting, combiner boxes and PV cable solutions). Standard solutions at a standard price. Then, Eaton got involved with our Total BoS Solutions. What we were able to achieve by integrating our design practices across our BoS solutions was a 15% reduction in mounting costs, and a reduction in pier requirements by 33%. By matching our mounting configuration to the string sizing of the system, were able to reduce PV cable costs by 50% while reducing the labor on PV cable installation by 70%. This is a remarkable achievement on one project─and this approach drove the advancement of innovation at Eaton. It is a remarkable and positive change for the PV industry that one company can offer roof and ground mounting solutions, combiners and re-combiners, cable management solutions, PV cable harness assemblies, wireless monitoring and grid tie solutions all from one qualified highly bankable vendor. As solar continues to step onto the world stage of large scale utility and massively distributed rooftops, the manufacturing community also needs to step up their game to ensure they are integrating BoS solutions which provide better performance, higher long-term certainty and reduced costs in materials and labor. Phil Winters is the Renewable Energy Business Development Manager for Eaton in Canada. Prior to joining Eaton, Winters launched and led project development and EPC firms serving the Canadian and global solar markets. Winters is a graduate of both Solar Energy International (1999) and the Ontario Solar Academy (2009), and is currently the Vice President of the Solar and Sustainable Energy Society of Canada. He holds MBA from Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business. http://www.interpv.net/market/market_view.asp?idx=814&part_code=03

Stay Clear, Stay Safe - Dam Safety

Always an important message when it comes to hydroelectric power.

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) is urging the public to exercise extreme caution around waterways, and to be mindful of water safety especially near or around hydroelectric stations and dams.

"Stay clear, stay safe is a simple message," says Mike Martelli, OPG's Senior Vice President of Hydro-Thermal Operations. "Ontario's lakes and rivers are popular holiday weekend destinations but people need to keep themselves and their families safe by paying attention to the warnings signs, fences and booms around hydroelectric stations."

Most hydroelectric facilities are controlled remotely by operators located many kilometres away. As a result, dams can suddenly open at any time, creating rapid change to water levels and flows, while producing deadly undertows.
Additional water safety information can be found online at www.stayclearstaysafe.ca including links to OPG's water safety partners - the Ontario Provincial Police, and the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters.

SOURCE Ontario Power Generation Inc.

 @opg Stay Clear, Stay Safe

Quebec-Ontario electricity trade is smart, but not simple - The Globe and Mail

Quebec-Ontario electricity trade is smart, but not simple - The Globe and Mail:

Last week, Quebec’s and Ontario’s premiers announced their desire to work together on crucial issues, including climate change, interprovincial trade and infrastructure. It is very positive for Canada when our two largest provinces recognize the benefits of co-operation. We should certainly hope they succeed, but let’s also be mindful of the obstacles in their way

Especially interesting is the prospect of greater interprovincial trade in electricity. This would be a game-changer in Canada, and a very positive one. Quebec has a great deal of low-cost hydroelectricity available to export, and its current U.S. markets are becoming less interested in purchasing long-distance hydro power because of their own development of low-price shale gas. At the same time, Ontario’s economy continues to grow but has few options for increasing its electricity capacity at costs anywhere close to Quebec’s. So the idea of Ontario buying electricity from Quebec is obviously sensible.

Any idea that is so obviously sensible must have serious problems, and there are at least three that come to mind.

The first will be the pressures from within Ontario to resist importing cheaper Quebec electricity. It will be argued that Ontario has built a world-class nuclear industry and that refurbishing existing nuclear plants and building new ones is necessary to keep this expertise at home. The fact that approximately nobody in the rest of the world wants to purchase this expertise or the associated technology will be ignored, or perhaps held up as an example of how government needs to do more to sell these products. Other “anti-importers” in Ontario will argue along the lines of securing jobs and economic development – that building electricity capacity (of any kind) within Ontario keeps the projects and associated construction jobs at home.

Though they may be dressed up and spun differently, these arguments are nothing more than simple protectionism. Hopefully Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne will see this and focus on the bigger picture: In a world where Ontario needs electricity and Quebec has it in spades, it can only be good for Ontario to purchase it.

This brings us to the second obstacle, and it will come from la belle province. Quebeckers have no problem with selling their surplus electricity to Vermont and New York at prices that exceed the internal Quebec ones. Except in a few small industries, Quebec firms do not see themselves as competing with American ones.

But many won't want to make the same offer to Ontario, as they will see it as giving an advantage to competing firms. Indeed, Ontario will argue that having access to Quebec’s cheaper power will improve the competitiveness of its firms; so it’s only to be expected that Quebeckers will view the same transaction as causing their own competitive decline.

Again, these arguments are nothing more than raw protectionism, and hopefully Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard will resist them strongly. Quebec as a whole will benefit by selling its surplus power to any jurisdiction prepared to pay the price; it will also benefit if the consequent greater development in Ontario leads to more trade in other products between the two provinces, which is very likely.

The third obstacle is the toughest. Suppose Ontario and Quebec enter into a long-term partnership in which Ontario’s electricity needs are increasingly satisfied by Quebec’s production. This would be great for both provinces. But increasing Quebec’s electricity capacity means the construction of more hydro generating stations, and this will require more development in Quebec’s northern regions. This will certainly require the close involvement of First Nations communities.

First Nations communities will demand genuine consultation at every step of the project, and that close attention be paid to the project’s impact on the environment and on traditional hunting and fishing grounds. They will also demand a share of the income generated. The Quebec government will need to recognize the legitimacy of these demands and partner with the First Nations in a genuine and transparent manner. All of this is possible, but it is not simple.

To any objective observer from far away, greater electricity trade between Ontario and Quebec would appear to be a no-brainer. And it is. But there are real obstacles. We should all celebrate the fact that Premiers Wynne and Couillard are starting this much-needed conversation, and we should wish them all the luck in the world. They will need it.