COLUMN: ‘Sustainability Corner’: Clean energy?
By Independent columnist Simon Chorley
Welcome to the Sustainability Corner where each week we’ll look at a global issue making a local impact.
These issues are based on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which were set by governments, including Canada, in 2015, with the aim of achieving them by 2030. The aim is not to provide all the answers, but to spark constructive conversations about our role in addressing these challenges.
Week 7: Clean Energy?
Growing up in East Africa, long periods without electricity were a weekly occurrence. That has helped me to be patient when we get the occasional power outage here in Northumberland County.
Yet, the United Nations reports that 655 million people around the world still remain without regular access to power. The pace of electrification has slowed significantly as the population without access dropped by only 11.5 million. Those remaining without access are increasingly concentrated in remote rural areas, low-income households, and conflict-affected regions.
At our current pace, an estimated 645 million people will still lack electricity by 2030, and 1.8 billion will continue to rely on polluting fuels and technologies for cooking.
But a major shift is underway. Low-income countries are now growing their renewable capacity faster than wealthier nations, recording a 13 per cent annual growth rate over the last five years, compared to eight per cent in high-income countries. Renewables now provide more than 30 per cent of global power generation, led by solar and wind.
Global primary energy intensity improved by 1.5 per cent in 2023, but this was down from 2.4 per cent in 2022. Several major economies have outperformed this global average though. One of these was Canada.
According to the Government, total energy consumption per capita was unchanged from 2023 and at its lowest level since 2015. Although total energy consumption has risen, population growth has outpaced that increase, reducing energy consumption per person.
But Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator has forecast that electricity demand in the province could increase by 65 per cent by 2050. Nuclear energy has provided half of the province’s power for many decades, and in 2026, Ontario Power Generation (OPG) signed a partnership agreement with Port Hope for new nuclear energy generation at Wesleyville.
OPG cites a Conference Board of Canada study estimating that the project could contribute $65.7 billion to Port Hope’s economy over the estimated 95-year lifespan, as well as generate $10.5 million in annual municipal tax revenues, boost overall employment levels by 15 to 20 per cent, and provide up to $30 million for associated infrastructure investments.
However, others are not so sure. Blue Dot Northumberland, a group of local citizens advocating for sustainable economic development in the county, have been making multiple presentations to municipal councils and others on the potential impacts. These include the potential for a sudden influx of thousands of construction workers to overwhelm the local labour market, pull workers away from local businesses, and create wage pressures that many existing employers cannot sustain. Local infrastructure and social services may have to absorb the sudden increase of thousands of workers. And it could also absorb scarce rental housing, push up rents and home prices, and make life harder for residents who are not sharing in project wages.
When construction ends, Blue Dot also believes that many of those jobs and workers could disappear. The community could be left with overbuilt infrastructure, inflated housing costs, weakened local businesses, and stretched municipal systems. Some residents will have benefited; others will have suffered.
What do you think? The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada is currently conducting an impact assessment on the project. You can view and submit comments at https://iaac-aeic.gc.ca/050/evaluations/proj/89802.
Simon Chorley is a Cobourg resident and a human rights and sustainability consultant. He has previously worked at a human rights charity tackling human trafficking, and for the United Nations. Connect with him on LinkedIn.
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