Renewable Energy In Canada

The next major renewable energy in Canada is wind-generated power, which has garnered significant attention since the 21st century, resulting from emerging wind-farming capabilities used to produce electrical energy. The development of wind-generated electricity is becoming increasingly promising as costs of production decline practically every year. Over the last ten years, Canada’s wind power has grown thirty fold; “over 3750 wind turbines generate electricity in 170 wind farms across the country” and are expected to increase (Energy and Mines Ministers’ Conference, 2013). If wind energy continues to expand, experts say it can satisfy 20 percent of Canada’s electricity demand by 2025 (CanWEA, 2012) Offshore and coastal regions have a large wind potential capacity, but turbines remain limited to areas in the vicinity of existing electrical grids. Moreover, wind energy requires constant …show more content…
We have to bear in mind that renewable energies are not completely void of negative environmental impacts, for example; burning biomass creates green house emissions, building large hydroelectric dams is not conducive to the surrounding ecosystem, and even implementing renewable resource technologies can cause habitat deficiencies. In terms of sustainability, renewable sources an abundance of supply, but resources that go into making renewable energy technology can be unsustainable, like the rare element neodymium, which is commonly used in wind turbines “might become a constraint for future wind power development” (Zhang, 2013). Solar energy faces similar concerns, with certain materials that go into making solar panels are currently unsustainable. Canada’s extensive landmass and diversified geography, means that renewable energy opportunity varies across the country. Development of renewable energy sources needs to be seen through sustainable terms rather than economic