The new Federal Budget will help support CanREA’s 2050 Vision by investing in wind energy, solar energy, energy storage and electricity infrastructure.
The Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA) welcomes the new Federal Budget which announces significant investments in support of Canada’s energy transition.
As announced on April 7, 2022, the new Federal Budget, “A Plan to Grow Our Economy and Make Life More Affordable,” aims in part to help Canadian businesses benefit from the global transition to a clean economy, which includes new federal investments in clean energy.
“CanREA is pleased that the Government of Canada has committed to strategic investments in Canada’s energy transition in its 2022 budget,” said Brandy Giannetta, Vice President of Policy, Regulatory & Government Affairs. “Of particular note are the new investments in interprovincial transmission infrastructure, in the Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program (SREPs), and in interprovincial coordination on electricity sector decarbonization.”
“These new investments will help Canada achieve CanREA’s 2050 Vision, which states that reaching net-zero by 2050 will require an almost ten-fold expansion of Canada’s wind energy, solar energy, and energy-storage capacity, in addition to significant investments in other forms of electricity generation and electricity infrastructure,” said Giannetta.
Specifically, the 2022 Federal Budget committed $250 million over four years to support pre-development activities of clean electricity projects of national significance, including inter-provincial electricity transmission projects. This is in line with CanREA’s 2050 Vision, which highlights the need to increase regional collaboration and co-operation, with respect to electricity grid infrastructure and operations, to reduce the costs of meeting Canada’s GHG emission-reduction targets.
The Federal Budget also committed an additional $600 million over seven years for the SREPs program, to support additional renewable electricity and grid modernization projects. There is a strong need to encourage innovation and experimentation in this field, as noted in CanREA’s Vision, because these technologies provide essential grid services that support a decarbonized electricity system.
CanREA’s Vision also notes the importance of interprovincial coordination on electricity sector decarbonization, stating that all markets need to explore innovative procurement approaches that meet growing customer-driven demand and respect unique provincial electricity market structures. The Federal Budget has allocated $25 million to establish Regional Strategic Initiatives to work with provinces, territories, and relevant stakeholders to develop net-zero energy plans.
“It is clear that wind energy, solar energy and energy storage will have an important role to play in these key initiatives,” said Giannetta.
CanREA also welcomed the following positive investments announced in the 2022 Federal Budget:
- $2.4 million in 2022-23 to Natural Resources Canada to establish a Pan-Canadian Grid Council, which would provide external advice in support of national and regional electricity planning.
- A commitment to establishing an investment tax credit of up to 30% for battery storage solutions, clean hydrogen and other net-zero technologies.
- $1 billion over six years, starting in 2024-25, to support the manufacturing, processing, and recycling of critical minerals for the production goods like electric vehicles and batteries.
- Over $900 million to support EV charging infrastructure.
- $458.5 million addition to the $4.4 billion Greener Homes Program, starting in 2022-23, to provide low-interest loans and grants to low-income housing providers undertaking retrofit measures, including installing rooftop solar PV.
