Clean energy will deliver a reliable grid

Clean, non-emitting electricity resources will not just improve the existing power system, they may also prove to be essential in delivering the kind of energy reliability that Canadians depend on.

Identifying viable sources for future reliability matters because across Canada major plans are underway for significant expansions of power grids to meet rising demand for electricity and replace carbon-intensive power plants with cleaner alternatives. 

Ontario, in particular, is on the brink of one of the largest electricity procurements in its history. Attracting support from surprisingly diverse political tendencies, electrification has become both a central policy platform and a high-level economic strategy for the province. 

For example, see “Doug Ford goes electric,” and vocal support from green energy groups. From heat pumps to electric vehicles, electrically-powered technology is expected to displace aging equipment that previously relied on fossil fuels. 

At the same time, the outdated perception that renewable energy is incapable of delivering reliable power is being challenged in more than one direction. In fact, for years, many regions of the world have relied on waterpower to deliver critical reliability services. Today, the maturation of competitive new clean energy technologies is causing utilities and grid operators to optimize their systems to take advantage of a wider range of resource types. 

Costs for new technology are decreasing. Case in point: In response to a recent invitation for new facilities to help meet peak demand in Ontario, energy storage came in at a lower cost than power from natural gas plants. The capabilities of innovative digitally optimized resources seem to grow by the day.

New research by Pollution Probe and others, released today, lays out a series of practical methods for enhancing delivery of reliable services from clean energy resources, options that have both economic and environmental appeal. To cost-effectively build Ontario’s electricity system, to say nothing of decarbonizing it, the authors argue that the province needs to take advantage of all the capabilities the new technologies and new integration methods can provide.

While many of the new technologies entering the electricity market can contribute significantly to grid reliability, they do so differently than traditional power plants. Reliability services include ensuring stable voltage and frequency levels, balancing electricity supply and demand, and responding quickly to unexpected grid events. As demand rises and older plants need replacing, grid operators will need to be more proactive and more creative about finding ways to secure these reliability services on an economic basis.

The new report by Pollution Probe and the Net-Zero Reliability Initiative identifies a series of steps, as part of an action plan, that Ontario can take to benefit from the reliability that non-emitting resources can offer in the near future. 

Success will require both regulatory reforms and changes in how the electricity system is managed. First, Ontario needs to start competitively procuring reliability services from the full range of viable resources, opening opportunities for new technologies to compete. While the report’s recommendations are specific to Ontario, many can be adapted for use in other provinces and other jurisdictions.

As new technologies, such as solar, wind, and electric vehicles, proliferate, they will be accompanied by batteries and intelligent control capabilities that can be leveraged to support the grid. Creating local markets for new technologies, as many European countries are already doing, can be very effective at lining up the flexibility needed for local electricity systems. Additionally, this flexibility can reduce the need for certain grid investments, reducing costs for all consumers, if they are planning correctly.

Achieving all this will mean facing new challenges and articulating slightly redefined responsibilities for the current electricity system operator and local utilities. It will also require improved coordination with market participants, which new forms of grid communication can unlock. 

Ontario's transition to a net-zero electricity system must embrace a co-ordinated vision and commitments to near-term actions to gain the benefits of a modernized electricity grid. Integrated resource planning, as foreseen in the Ontario government’s latest energy statement of energy policy, can go a long way to ensuring Ontario has access to all the value in non-emitting resources, and avoids sinking capital into outdated and higher-cost power systems. 

The future of a net-zero grid will be judged as much on its ability to ensure reliability as on the amount of new clean energy resources that are added. 

An important strategic opportunity now exists to transition to a cleaner, more reliable, and cost-effective net-zero electricity system — if we get organized to take advantage of the full potential of these new resources.

Richard Carlson is the director of energy policy at Pollution Probe. Jake Brooks is an energy consultant who was executive director of the Association of Power Producers for more than 30 years. They served as co-leads on the Net Zero Reliability Initiative.