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BARRIERS TO INNOVATION IN THE CANADIAN ELECTRICITY SECTOR AND AVAILABLE POLICY RESPONSES
The document identifies systemic barriers to decarbonizing Canada's electricity grid, including misaligned utility mandates, vested interests, siloed planning, and market access restrictions. It recommends implementing system-wide decarbonization mandates, technology-neutral Clean Electricity Standards, and performance-based regulation to incentivize innovation. The paper also emphasizes the need for improved interprovincial transmission and larger grid-balancing regions to integrate variable renewable energy.
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Document type: Research paper
Improving integration and coordination of provincially-managed electricity systems in Canada
The paper analyzes the diverse structures of Canadian provincial electricity markets, noting that a lack of coordination creates economic inefficiencies and hinders the integration of renewable energy. It identifies six primary challenges to integration, including constitutional jurisdictions and vested interests in price differentials. To address these, the author proposes four strategies: enhancing bilateral projects, adopting a bottom-up Nordic-style collaborative model, utilizing the Canadian Free Trade Agreement, or implementing a federal healthcare-type framework of shared principles.
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Document type: Research paper
Technical pathways to aligning Canadian electricity systems with net zero goals
The document identifies a stark divide in Canada's electricity sector between low-emitting provinces (B.C., Manitoba, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Ontario) and fossil fuel-based provinces (Alberta, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia). To achieve net zero, the author proposes five integrated pathways: expanding variable renewable energy, implementing clean firm supply, enhancing interprovincial transmission, increasing demand flexibility, and deploying energy storage. While wind and solar are now the lowest-cost energy sources, their integration requires complementary resources to manage intermittency and seasonal variation, particularly in Canada's high-latitude environment.
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Document type: Research paper
Power Play
The report finds that Canadian provinces are generally underplanning for industrial electricity growth and lagging in transmission investment, though hydro-led jurisdictions possess a natural advantage in system flexibility. It recommends that the federal government support inter-provincial planning, provide strategic funding for grid build-out, implement flexible Clean Electricity Regulations, and prioritize system flexibility in investment programs.
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Document type: Executive summary
Améliorer l’intégration et la coordination des secteurs de l’électricité gérés par les provinces au Canada
The document analyzes the diverse structures of Canada's provincial electricity markets, noting that a lack of coordination creates economic inefficiencies and hinders the integration of renewable energy. It identifies key barriers to integration, such as constitutional jurisdictional splits and political inertia, and proposes four strategies—bilateral collaboration, a Nordic-inspired bottom-up approach, a free-trade framework, and a health-care-style principles-based model—to foster a more integrated national grid necessary for deep decarbonization.
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Document type: Research paper
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.
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Document type: Report
Trajectoires techniques pour aligner les secteurs de l’électricité canadiens avec la carboneutralité
The document outlines a strategy for Canada to achieve a net-zero electricity sector by 2050, noting a sharp divide between 'clean' provinces (e.g., Quebec, Ontario) and those reliant on fossil fuels (e.g., Alberta, Saskatchewan). It proposes five key technical trajectories: increasing variable renewable energy, securing clean firm capacity, enhancing interprovincial transmission, improving demand flexibility, and deploying long-duration storage. The author argues that while the economic cost of wind and solar has plummeted, the primary barriers are now financial uncertainty regarding carbon pricing and the technical need for firm capacity and seasonal storage to manage intermittency.
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Document type: Research paper
Enhancing the resilience of Canadian electricity systems for a net zero future
The document analyzes how climate change and the transition to net zero impact the reliability and resilience of Canada's electricity grid. It identifies risks across generation, transmission, and distribution, and proposes solutions such as infrastructure hardening, increasing system flexibility, and updating regulatory frameworks and building codes.
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Document type: Research paper
Renforcer la résilience des réseaux électriques canadiens pour un avenir carboneutre
The document analyzes how climate change and the transition to a carbon-neutral economy threaten the resilience of Canada's electrical grids. It details risks to power generation, transmission, and distribution, while highlighting the danger of 'cascading effects' where power failures disrupt other essential services. The paper proposes mitigation strategies including infrastructure hardening, increasing grid flexibility through energy storage and decentralized resources, and improving energy efficiency. It also identifies systemic obstacles, such as regulatory frameworks that prioritize short-term reliability over long-term resilience and outdated building codes based on historical rather than future climate data.
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Document type: Research paper
Coup de circuit
The document argues that while Canada possesses a competitive advantage in clean energy, its electricity grids are often optimized for legacy technologies and lack sufficient planning for industrial growth. It compares Ontario, Alberta, Quebec, and British Columbia with international peers, highlighting that hydro-dominant provinces have a flexibility advantage, while others must proactively develop storage and interconnections. The report recommends that the federal government support interprovincial planning, provide targeted funding for grid development, ensure climate policy stability, and prioritize grid flexibility to avoid wasting renewable energy and to attract global capital.
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Document type: Executive summary
SASKATCHEWAN: Risks and opportunities in the global low-carbon transition
Saskatchewan faces significant economic risks due to its reliance on oil and gas, with 6% of its workforce in transition-vulnerable sectors. While the province has strengths in agricultural technology, critical minerals, and renewable energy potential, it lags behind other Canadian provinces in attracting transition-consistent investment. Growth is concentrated in Saskatoon and Regina, primarily within ag-tech and alternative proteins. Barriers to scaling include a lack of early-stage policy support, low R&D funding, and continued subsidies for fossil fuels, which create uncertainty for clean-tech investors.
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Document type: Report
SASKATCHEWAN : risques et occasions de la transition mondiale vers la carboneutralité
Saskatchewan faces significant economic risks due to its heavy reliance on the oil and gas sector, which generated 16% of its provincial GDP in 2019. While the province possesses strong competitive advantages in wind, solar, and critical minerals, it lags behind other Canadian provinces in attracting transition-related investments. Most current growth is concentrated in agtech and alternative proteins, while public and private funding for broader research and development remains limited. The report highlights a critical need for more ambitious climate policies and better support for workforce transition, particularly in small communities like Coronach, to avoid severe economic decline.
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Document type: Report
Energy Scenarios for Various CO2 Limits
The study evaluates three energy scenarios (A, B, and C) to determine the fuel mixes required to limit atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Scenario A assumes unlimited CO2 increase, while Scenario B limits the increase to 75% and Scenario C limits it to 440 ppm. The analysis highlights that achieving these limits would require a massive shift toward non-fossil fuels, such as nuclear, solar, and biomass, as coal and shale oil are identified as high-emission sources. The document warns that CO2 concentrations reaching 500 ppm would likely cause undesirable climatic changes, whereas 440 ppm is considered a relatively safe level.
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Document type: Research paper
Wind and Solar Power 101
The document provides an introductory overview of wind and solar energy, detailing how photovoltaic and turbine technologies convert natural elements into electricity. It highlights the transition from utility-scale to rooftop installations, the challenge of intermittency, and the significant cost reductions in solar and battery technology between 2009 and 2019. The text argues that renewables support more jobs per unit of electricity than fossil fuels and are essential for reaching net-zero emissions to avoid dangerous global warming.
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Document type: Guide
1104_Country case study Peru_FINALx
Peru's emissions are projected to triple by 2050, driven by economic growth and energy demand. While the country has established mitigation plans and Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs), implementation is hindered by financial, regulatory, and knowledge barriers. Significant potential exists in renewable energy, forestry, and waste management, though the energy sector is currently dominated by natural gas. The report suggests that SECO can support Peru through capacity building for market mechanisms, financing marginal abatement cost studies, and promoting specific technologies like solar water heaters and energy-efficient industrial equipment.
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Document type: Case study
1104_Country_study_VietnamV10x
Vietnam faces high vulnerability to climate change and rapidly growing emissions, projected to reach 387 Mt by 2030, primarily driven by energy supply. While the government has established the National Target Program and various energy efficiency laws, the report finds that existing and planned projects are likely to harvest only 12% of the available abatement potential between 2015 and 2030. Major barriers include low electricity and coal prices, limited technical and financial capacity among stakeholders, and institutional overlaps. The study recommends a coordinated national mitigation programme and specific sector-level interventions in REDD+, wind policy, industrial energy efficiency, and waste management.
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Document type: Case study
Political Economy of Net Zero: Nigeria
The briefing outlines a pathway for Nigeria to reach net-zero emissions by 2060, emphasizing the need to move away from oil dependency through Public-Private Community Partnerships (PPCP). It identifies critical opportunities in waste management, clean energy access, and the AFOLU sector, while proposing the use of debt-for-climate swaps to fund the USD 410 billion Energy Transition Plan. The authors argue that systemic transformation requires engaging key government stakeholders, such as the Office of the Vice-President, and supporting local cleantech entrepreneurship to create green jobs.
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Document type: Briefing
BRIEFING: AZERBAIJAN PROSPERITY POST FOSSIL FUELS
The document examines Azerbaijan's transition from a fossil-fuel-dependent economy to one incorporating renewable energy, highlighting the role of COP29 as a catalyst for climate ambition. It identifies key risks, such as the economic reliance on oil rents and the potential for renewables to merely supplement rather than replace hydrocarbons. The author recommends developing a targeted energy transition strategy, protecting vulnerable groups from subsidy removals, and increasing private sector competition to ensure a just and sustainable transition.
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Document type: Briefing
BRIEFING: Ghana PROSPERITY POST FOSSIL FUELS
Ghana is navigating a contradictory energy landscape where the government pursues both petroleum exploration and a net-zero target by 2070. While the National Energy Transition Framework (2022-2070) outlines a path toward decarbonization, the country's energy mix remains heavily dependent on oil and gas, which provided 64.1% of the energy supply as of April 2024. The transition is complicated by a top-down technocratic approach that has led to public resistance against policies like the ban on salvaged vehicles and carbon levies on petrol and diesel cars. Furthermore, there is a tension between domestic desires to utilize all available fossil resources for economic growth and global donor-driven pressures to accelerate the phase-out of hydrocarbons. The document recommends operationalizing a National Energy Transition Fund, improving procedural justice through public engagement, and harmonizing donor engagement to ensure a more equitable transition.
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Document type: Briefing
An Assessment of India’s Energy Choices
The assessment examines the paths to renewable energy penetration in India, finding that wind and solar energy now offer higher returns and lower risk than coal and natural gas. It further indicates that achieving the 175 GW renewable energy target could create between 2 million and 4.5 million jobs in the wind and solar sectors by 2042.
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Document type: Report