Report reveals impressive change in massive energy markets: 'We expect to see significantly more growth'

The Canadian Renewable Energy Association announced Jan. 30 that the country's wind, solar, and energy storage markets had grown 46% over five years.

The industry's installed capacity reached 24 gigawatts at the end of December, Electrical Business reported, for an increase of almost 7.6 GW since 2020. This shift is largely thanks to 4.7 GW of utility-scale wind.

Utility-scale solar has jumped by 2 GW, with 600 megawatts of onsite solar and 200 MW of energy storage making up the rest.

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The Great White North is expected to add 10,000 MW of wind, solar, and energy storage by 2030 and 5,000 MW after that. This amounts to a $30 billion investment in clean energy, according to the CanREA news release. 

The outlay will support the country's economy and protect the environment by "establishing resilient, sustainable infrastructure," CanREA President and CEO Vittoria Bellissimo said, noting that the agency has asked provinces and territories to speed up the build-out of decarbonization projects to electrify the grid and help realize a clean energy future.

This is necessary because of the fast-rising temperatures around the globe. The burning of dirty fuels for energy also releases toxic, polluting, and heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere, which envelop Earth like a blanket. The 10 hottest years on record have all occurred in the last decade, and it's throwing the climate out of whack, causing increasingly frequent and severe extreme weather as well as rising seas.

No matter where you live, you can follow Canada's lead by installing solar panels or investing in community solar; taking public transportation, cycling, and walking instead of driving a car; and using less plastic. All these steps help chart a path to a cleaner future.

"Canada's wind, solar, and energy storage industry grew impressively over the past five years — and we expect to see significantly more growth in the next five years," Bellissimo said. "But this is not nearly enough. Canada has massive, untapped wind and solar resources that can and should be harnessed to provide the affordable, clean, scalable electricity needed in all jurisdictions."

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