The hydro hypothesis: How our industry can power Canada’s net zero future

To reach net zero, we must transition to renewables while also balancing competing needs. Energy mix requires storage to deal with the intermittency of renewables. Solar and wind harbor enormous promise, but their variability and storage requirements mean that their potential depends upon careful integration. That’s why we need clean, efficient, and scalable means for generating and storing power. Given that battery technology is not ready, and that nuclear plants require lengthy timescales for approval, we must do more to exploit our hydropower potential.

Since 1998, over 17,400 MW of new hydropower has been commissioned in Canada. Furthermore, Site-C in BC (1,100 MW) is scheduled for completion in 2025. These are welcome developments, but alone they are not sufficient. Without significant investments in refurbishing existing hydropower assets and in new hydropower projects, Canada will struggle to meet the demands of the energy transition. While hydropower is by far Canada’s largest installed capacity of any electricity-generating energy source, we cannot afford to be complacent. Transitioning to renewables demands that we do more with our hydro capacity.

Time is of the essence. We can no longer afford the status quo of long-term infrastructure project approval cycles. This requires a streamlining of regulatory processes, while also changing our ways of working to unlock greater productivity. Second, we must be more proactive as an industry to promote collaboration across provincial boundaries to take full advantage of the benefits of hydropower.

Fighting fragmentation

Fragmented provincial grids are blocking long-term collaboration and investment. Energy in Canada is the jurisdiction of provinces, each of which has their own grid and generating assets. While some provinces are blessed with lots of hydropower, others have more wind or solar power. The natural solution would be to encourage greater collaboration between these grids, so that they can play to each others’ strengths and achieve mutual benefit. 

However, fragmentation is hard to overcome. Coordinating regions with different priorities, processes, and population centers is challenging, especially over vast distances and difficult terrain. Yet the real problem is a lack of awareness of the benefits that greater collaboration would unlock. Not only would it help specific regions to solve urgent problems (such as decarbonization or capacity problems) but it would also help to unlock investment. Cooperation between provinces can enable a more interconnected and better-planned system. In turn, this can yield greater efficiencies, ease bottlenecks, and improve the management of renewables’ intermittency.

Think national, act regional

Coordinating regional grids requires more than interprovincial goodwill. It requires a coherent national strategy, capable of stimulating collaboration while also expecting local needs. Regulation can help to channel investment to priority areas and incentivize long-term approaches, helping each region to make the most of its resources. Streamlining regulations to allow faster development of hydropower projects (which take decades to develop) and is an important step in the creation of a carbon-free grid. While AtkinsRéalis is not directly involved in that coordination effort, we do have technical skills to contribute to the solutions to create a decarbonized grid

If applied thoughtfully, regulation at a national level can stimulate industry sustainably. Otherwise, bottlenecks and other unintended consequences can impede momentum. Transmission distribution is an example of what happens when everyone looks out for themselves in the absence of national planning. In Ontario, deregulation had the unintended consequence of boosting investment in generation without a corresponding effort in transmission. As a result, the available transmission capacity was used up, leaving few viable corridors left. Regulation can prevent such asymmetries, but only when it is thoughtfully deployed.

From its foundation, AtkinsRéalis - formerly SNC Lavalin - has led Canada’s hydropower industry, totaling over 100 years’ experience across all the major hydropower development projects in Canada and around the world. As a result, we’ve built up one of the largest dedicated hydropower teams of 250+ people across Canada: a multidisciplinary team encompassing all skills from hydrology to civils, mechanical and electrical, capable of concept all the way through feasibility, engineering, construction, and operation. At Site C, we’re close to achieving first power for BC Hydro, representing years of work in developing such a project. When launched, it will produce about 5,100 GWh of electricity each year - enough energy to power the equivalent of about 450,000 homes. AtkinsRéalis is also active in the transmission, renewables, and nuclear sectors, giving us a unique position in developing integrated energy solutions that can help lead towards a decarbonized economy.

Hydropower is a key part of this challenge. However, in order to achieve this demand greater unity is needed than ever before. It requires deep and broad collaboration, both horizontally between regions, and vertically with the national government. Ultimately, that’s what integration means: uniting the industry around better working practices, unlocking efficiencies, and achieving clean, reliable power for all.

AtkinsRéalis is always looking to partner with organizations seeking sustainable solutions – visit www.AtkinsRéalis.com to learn more about our work or contact Christophe Rigny or Sébastien Vittecoq to discuss how we could work together