Clean Energy Canada is a clean energy think tank at the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue at Simon Fraser University. Through media briefs, we aim to provide useful factual and contextual information related to Canada’s clean energy transition. Please use this as a resource, and let us know if there are any topics that you would like to see for future media briefs.
A handful of influential B.C.-based organizations and commentators have made claims about B.C.’s energy system this past year that we believe are misinformed and likely to mislead British Columbians. To set the record straight, Clean Energy Canada is releasing a special media brief to respond to four consequential myths we’ve seen appear over and over again.
Claim: Deploying EVs and heat pumps will overwhelm our energy grid, and therefore governments should undo efforts to support EVs and heat pumps.
Fact: Electricity demand for EVs is very manageable, while heat pumps greatly improve energy efficiency.
- BC Hydro estimates that current EV sales requirements will increase electricity demand by 2% in 2030, consistent with other global forecasts. Long term, as the number of EVs climbs and their share of overall electricity demand grows, that growth is spread over 30 years, providing BC Hydro ample time to bring resources and grid upgrades online.
- Heat pumps use significantly less electricity than baseboard heating, lowering grid demand and saving money for the 40% of B.C. households heating their homes this way. A heat pump is also three to five times more energy efficient overall than a natural gas furnace, resulting in less electricity demand than some commenters have assumed. In fact, a forthcoming Clean Energy Canada report shows that a typical B.C. household transitioning from a natural gas furnace to a heat pump is expected to save $550 a year.
Claim: Importing electricity from other jurisdictions drives up costs and means B.C. can’t meet its own demand for electricity.
Fact: B.C. both imports and exports electricity, a practice that keeps rates lower for consumers.
- B.C. benefits significantly from electricity trade with its neighbours. Importing and exporting electricity helps us manage our system in a manner that keeps rates more affordable for customers. Over the last decade and a half, B.C. was a net importer in seven years and a net exporter in the other eight (including during the period from 2019 to 2023).
- With more of our partners deploying larger quantities of cheap renewables—and generating a surplus of energy at certain times of the day—B.C. is able to buy power when prices are low, helping conserve water in our reservoirs for periods of high demand, like during the winter months.
Claim: B.C. doesn’t have enough electricity to meet its climate commitments.
Fact: BC Hydro has taken a number of steps to ensure it’s bringing online the resources it requires.
- In January, BC Hydro announced its intention to invest $36 billion over the next 10 years to support the growth of B.C.’s electricity system, a 50% increase in planned spending compared to 2023.
- Additional capacity is being brought online through Site C, which will be operational in 2025 and add 8% to B.C.’s grid capacity. The most recent 2024 BC Hydro call for power will add another 5% capacity to the province’s electricity grid, starting in 2029.
- In September 2024, BC Hydro announced it had received 21 proposals from independent power producers representing three times the amount of electricity generation needed in its call for power, indicating that a strong pipeline of projects exists in B.C. to meet growing demand.
Claim: Renewables like wind and solar can’t provide the reliable power B.C. needs as electricity demand grows.
Fact: Renewables are extremely cost-competitive, work in tandem with other technologies, and are already being used successfully at scale in other countries.
- Wind and solar globally are the cheapest sources of power. An analysis from Clean Energy Canada found that solar and wind with battery storage are set to produce cheaper electricity than natural gas in Alberta and Ontario, and this trend is expected to be similar for B.C.
- While wind and solar are variable resources, solutions are available to complement them, from batteries and dispatchable power, to stronger grids and interconnections, to technological demand-side measures (ie. storing and sending power where and when it’s needed). These options can enable relatively high shares of wind and solar on a grid.
- A look at other countries around the world offers plenty of examples of high wind and solar shares, such as 67% in Denmark, around 40% in Germany and the Netherlands, and 28% in Australia. In a scenario where Canada achieves a net-zero economy by 2050, wind and solar would be responsible for only 30% to 40% of required electricity production, less than some countries produce today.
