Canada Helps to Clean the US Power Grid through Hydropower Exports

Canadian exports increase in demand as president Joe Biden decides to shut off the Keystone pipeline. Presently, Ottawa continues to prioritize the sales of renewable energy.

According to government data, in 2019, about 60% of Americans’ electricity consumption came from fuel plants. Joe Biden’s goal to convert all of that to renewable energy opens an opportunity for Canada to sell and share its resources through hydro exports.

Justin Trudeau, Canada’s Prime Minister, told Reuters that the US plans to boost its hydro imports.

In an interview with Jonathan Wilkinson, Canadian Environment Minister, he said that merging Canada’s renewable energy with geothermal, solar, and wind power in the US was one of the countries’ priorities.

As expressed by Wilkinson, “This is a huge economic opportunity for Canada.” In 2020, Canada produced approximately 440 billion KWh from hydropower, more than half of its installed capacity.

In 2019, Electricity exports from Canada to the US dropped to 47 billion KWh, worth $1.5 billion (US dollars) because of factors such as domestic demand and water levels. That is according to Matthew Hansen, a Canadian Energy Regulator expert.

Moreover, as expressed by Steve Clemmer from the Union of Concerned Scientists in the US, “While there are significant efforts in the US to develop clean energy infrastructure, a sharing of resources and interconnecting power grids with adjacent countries will make and keep energy affordable for its end-users.