Canada Renewables SWOT

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Canada Renewables SWOT

• 27 May 2022
• Canada
• Renewables

SWOT Analysis

Strengths	National and provincial targets to reduce carbon emissions mean that coal plants are closing, thus opening room for renewables projects. Canadian geography offers huge possibilities for renewable energy development. A number of provinces have adopted renewable energy and emission targets, and are actively seeking investment through auction programmes. The continued access to domestically produced solar components supports growth in the solar sub-sector.
Weaknesses	Canada's federal government sets targets but energy policy is decided at provincial level, leading to a patchwork of plans. Canada’s offshore wind sub-sector is underdeveloped, and we expect this to remain the case as projects fail to gain traction. Hydropower plants supply the majority of Canada's electricity, reducing the urgency to develop alternative renewable energy technology to reduce carbon emissions.
Opportunities	Ambitious renewables targets in Alberta and Saskatchewan are creating new growth opportunities for wind and solar. The development of a smart grid across parts of the country will enable increases in energy efficiency and further integration of renewables. Nova Scotia has some of the world's highest and fastest tides, with as much as 30GW of potential generating capacity for tidal power technologies.
Threats	Public opposition remains a pertinent obstacle for the renewable energy industry, particularly the wind sector. Feed-in tariffs are falling out of favour in some jurisdictions, most recently in Ontario. Policy uncertainty has the potential to dent investor confidence in the market. Low power consumption growth means that most renewables projects are dictated by environmental requirements rather than higher energy needs.

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