Canada missing out on this sunny way

It might come as a surprise that solar power will provide about six per cent of the world's electricity this year.

- DAVID OLIVE

After all, the world is still using record amounts of oil. And among alternatives to fossil fuels, solar continues to trail hydro, nuclear and wind in Canada as a source of clean power.

Some governments have put up roadblocks to rapid adoption of solar.

For instance, the U.S. government this year increased tariffs on solar equipment from China, the world's biggest supplier.

Closer to home, the governments of Ontario and Alberta imposed restrictions on renewable energy development other than hydro and nuclear.

If the world is at the "dawn of the solar age," as the Economist recently declared, Canada didn't get the memo.

Canada relies on solar power for just 0.5 per cent of total energy consumption, lagging most major economies including the U.S. (2.4 per cent), Germany (five per cent), Japan (5.2 per cent) and Australia (seven per cent).

Yet how quickly realities can change.

A reality for Ontario is that dynamic economic and population growth require that the province more than double its power production by mid-century.

So, Ontario Premier Doug Ford has committed to a multibilliondollar expansion of the province's nuclear power capacity.

And in a reversal of his 2018 cancellation of green power projects, Ford is now encouraging development of 2,000 megawatts (MW) of renewable power projects, including solar, wind and bioenergy.