Flame Lit – Part VIII – A limited micro-blog series of energy definitions and quick facts to help improve energy literacy
image/graphic by author
Electricity. How do we make it ? How does it get to our homes? What will happen if we start to use substantially more?
Most electricity in Canada (and the world) is made by spinning a turbine between powerful magnets to induce a flow of electrons. It is then transmitted through high voltage transmission lines to communities and eventually through the overhead or underground wires into our homes.
Turbines are often powered by steam or hot gases made by burning fossil fuels (coal, natural gas) or from the heat expressed by nuclear reactions. Turbines can also be powered directly by fluids such as water or wind. And some electricity is made directly in solar panels.
Watch this video for a quick overview.
Canada produces more than half (60%) of its electricity from hydro. That is, releasing water from behind a dam to drive a turbine. Five regions produce most of our hydro – Manitoba, BC, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, and the Yukon. Canada is the world’s third largest producer of hydroelectric power!
Where does the rest come from?
- 14% – Nuclear Power (Ontario/New Brunswick)
- 12% – Natural Gas (mainly Alberta, Saskatchewan)
- 5% – coal or coke (Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan)
- 6% – Wind (Ontario, Alberta, Quebec, and P.E.I.) and
- 1% – Solar
- net – biomass, diesel, other
Canada generated 625.7 TWhr (Terra-Watt hours) of electricity in 2021. What’s a Terra-watt hour? Just one TWhr could power the whole state of California for 1.5 weeks! We export about 10% of the electricity we make and occasionally import when our demand is high.
Some Electricity Quick Facts:
- 83% of Canada’s electricity is generated from non-CO2e emitting sources such as hydro and nuclear. **
- Canada’s electrical grid emissions have been cut in more than half since 1990, mostly by retiring old coal plants.
- The US derives 60% of it’s electricity from fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, petroleum fuels), 18% from nuclear energy, and 21% from renewables.
- Worldwide, electricity is made from coal, natural gas, and renewables, in that order.
- Electricity provides approximately 18% of the total energy used by Canadians. Another 75% comes from natural gas and petroleum products.
- Canada’s per capital electrical consumption is fourth in the world, behind Iceland, Norway, and Bahrain. This is mainly due to our industrial energy demand and our cold climate.
** (Hydro and Nuclear still have major impacts on the environment – flooding land/ disposing of spent nuclear waste, etc… but they do not contribute much to greenhouse gas emissions.)
Is our electricity consumption growing? Yes, and if we switch more of our energy use to electrical – such as cars and home heating – we will need to generate and transmit a lot more! Natural Resources Canada completed a study in 2020 predicting we might need to increase electrical generation/transmission capacity by 35% over the next 25 years.
Can efficiency, building net-zero homes, and changing the way we get around reduce our overall energy use? Possibly. These ideas will be examined in the next blog: Negawatts.
Alisa Caswell has a degree in chemical engineering. She spent twenty years working in the oil and gas industry, including roles in business development, operations, and energy conservation. You can follow her on Facebook , LinkedIn, or Twitter
Sources and more information can be found in these links:
[1] EIA (US Energy Information Administration)
[2] CER – Provincial and Territorial Energy Profiles – Canada
[4] IEA (International Energy Association)
[5] Canada’s Energy Future 2020, Natural Resources Canada
Alisa Caswell 