Les obstacles à l’innovation dans le secteur de l’électricité canadien et les leviers de politiques disponibles

The document identifies several systemic obstacles hindering the deployment of clean energy technologies in Canada, including misaligned mandates, market access restrictions, and outdated information. It argues that the highly centralized and regulated nature of the Canadian grid creates a path dependency that favors fossil fuels and large-scale hydro over innovative solutions like energy storage and distributed renewables. To overcome these, the report recommends implementing clear decarbonization mandates, adopting performance-based regulation, improving interprovincial transmission infrastructure, and utilizing carbon pricing to shift investment toward zero-emission resources.

• Utility companies and network operators in Canada often lack the explicit mandates or incentives to prioritize decarbonization or climate resilience, focusing instead on providing reliable electricity at the lowest possible cost.
• Planning in the Canadian energy system is fragmented by energy type, province, and government department, which complicates the integration of new technologies that link different energy sources and regions.
• Outdated cost data in long-term planning documents can distort perceptions of renewable energy; for example, 2021 AESO forecasts used 2018 estimates for wind and solar that were significantly higher than actual contract prices seen in Alberta in 2017-2019.
• Energy storage faces a specific regulatory hurdle because it does not fit into the traditional categories of production, load, or transmission, limiting its competitiveness and potential.
• The lack of interprovincial transmission capacity and the existence of small balancing regions hinder the efficient integration of geographically diverse renewable resources.
• The report suggests that carbon pricing and performance-based regulation can incentivize utilities to move away from capital-heavy investments in fossil fuels toward more efficient, low-carbon outcomes.

APA

Hastings-Simon, S., & Kanduth, A. (n.d.). Les obstacles à l’innovation dans le secteur de l’électricité canadien et les leviers de politiques disponibles. Canadian Climate Institute. https://institutclimatique.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ICCC-Les-obstacles-a-l_innovation-dans-le-secteur-de-l_electricite-canadien-et-les-leviers-de-politiques-disponibles-par-Sara-Hastings-Simon.pdf

Chicago

Hastings-Simon, Sara, and Anna Kanduth. Les obstacles à l’innovation dans le secteur de l’électricité canadien et les leviers de politiques disponibles. Canadian Climate Institute, n.d. https://institutclimatique.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ICCC-Les-obstacles-a-l_innovation-dans-le-secteur-de-l_electricite-canadien-et-les-leviers-de-politiques-disponibles-par-Sara-Hastings-Simon.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hastings-Simon |first1=Sara |last2=Kanduth |first2=Anna |title=Les obstacles à l’innovation dans le secteur de l’électricité canadien et les leviers de politiques disponibles |publisher=Canadian Climate Institute |url=https://institutclimatique.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ICCC-Les-obstacles-a-l_innovation-dans-le-secteur-de-l_electricite-canadien-et-les-leviers-de-politiques-disponibles-par-Sara-Hastings-Simon.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hastingssimonndles, author = {Hastings-Simon, Sara and Kanduth, Anna}, title = {{Les obstacles à l’innovation dans le secteur de l’électricité canadien et les leviers de politiques disponibles}}, institution = {Canadian Climate Institute}, url = {https://institutclimatique.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ICCC-Les-obstacles-a-l_innovation-dans-le-secteur-de-l_electricite-canadien-et-les-leviers-de-politiques-disponibles-par-Sara-Hastings-Simon.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }