OTTAWA—A new continental target for clean electricity generation could open the door for greater Canadian hydro exports to the United States, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday, June 29.
More work needs to be done on setting common standards and building transmission grids, but the promise to have fully half of Canada, the United States, and Mexico’s common electricity come from non-emitting sources by 2025 should be good news to governments in British Columbia and Newfoundland.
Both those provinces are in the process of building multi-billion-dollar hydro projects that have been heavily criticized because there’s no immediate market for all the electricity they'll bring online.
At a lengthy news conference marking the end of the one-day North American Leaders’ Summit, Trudeau gave a subtle nod toward completing B.C.’s Site C dam on the Peace River and Labrador’s Muskrat Falls power project.
“Certainly the agreement we’ve concluded today values our shift towards cleaner, renewable energy,” Trudeau said when asked if increased electricity exports are in the offing.
“Canada has a tremendous amount of energy that comes from clean sources right now and we’re always looking to create more.”
U.S. President Barack Obama also waded in to respond, saying the respective national governments have set a goal and are co-ordinating and synchronizing best practices, with each country deploying its own best energy mix.
“Some of it is going to be determined by how well we can integrate the grid and transmission of power,” said Obama.
“So there may be some wonderful hydroelectric power that we'd like to get to the United States. The question is, are there enough transmission facilities for us to buy it at a competitive price?”
The climate and energy promises among Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. formed the centrepiece of the colloquially named “Three Amigos” summit and won widespread plaudits from electricity producers and environmental groups.
