The report “WATTS AT STAKE: Canada’s $200-Billion Clean Energy Investment Opportunity” published by Canada Renewable Energy Association summarises that Canada is well positioned to capture up to $200 billion in clean energy investment over the next decade, but realizing that opportunity will require improvements to the systems that move projects from approval to construction. The country has strong wind and solar resources, a stable policy environment, deep capital markets and a growing slate of projects already in development. Global capital is actively seeking jurisdictions that can demonstrate reliable project delivery.
Canada has the fundamentals to compete for that capital, but the work required to do so is substantial and time-sensitive. Every major element of the federal government’s nation-building agenda, from manufacturing and critical minerals development to housing, electrified transportation and data infrastructure, depends on electricity being available at the right price and the right time. Whether that happens will be determined in large part by how well Canada’s project development framework, approval systems and supply chains perform over the next several years.
Canada already has approximately 25 GW of wind, solar and energy storage operating across the country, with roughly the same volume currently in development or moving through procurement processes, representing tens of billions of dollars in committed or near-committed investment. Developers are actively pricing and structuring the next generation of projects based on existing market signals, reflecting sustained confidence in the sector’s fundamentals.
To keep pace with electricity demand driven by electrification, population growth, industrial expansion and digital infrastructure, Canada needs to add 54 to 88 GW of new renewable generation and storage by the mid-2030s, including projects already in procurement or development. That means more than tripling the existing base in less than 10 years.
Access the report here