News Release

Hydropower: A Made-in-Canada Solution to
Cleaner Air and Climate Change

Canadian Hydropower Association Highlights Hydro’s Role before the Legislative Committee on Bill C-30

Ottawa, February 21, 2007 — Addressing the Legislative Committee on Bill C-30 yesterday, the Canadian Hydropower Association urged the federal government to support hydropower development as a means to reduce electricity sector greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants that cause smog and acid rain.

“The production of electricity is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants in Canada,” said Pierre Fortin, president of the Canadian Hydropower Association. “If we collectively choose to develop clean, renewable, low-emitting sources such as hydropower, we will make a huge contribution to addressing climate change and air pollution.”

Hydropower is the leading source of clean and renewable energy; about two-thirds of electricity in Canada is generated by the power of water. Furthermore, the country is blessed with an abundance of resources that can be developed to meet electricity needs across the country. Over 163,000 megawatts of technical potential has been identified. This potential represents more than twice the amount currently in operation, and it is available in all provinces and territories.

“With air pollution and climate change widely recognized as major environmental issues, producing our electricity from hydropower is the best available solution,” added Colin Clark, chair of the CHA Board of Directors and executive vice-president at Brookfield Renewable Energy. “However, to accomplish this, the federal government must improve the environmental assessment process of energy projects and implement an integrated emissions trading system with national greenhouse gases and air pollutant standards for the electricity sector.”

A domestic greenhouse gas emissions trading system that allocates permits or credits based on a single national emissions standard is one of the most effective ways to ensure the development of clean and renewable sources of electricity such as hydropower.

This system must be implemented as soon as possible; this would include short and long term targets that are clear, along with the phase-in-schedule of the targets as they become more rigorous over time, a key part of the schedule being a rapid transition from intensity-based targets to caps.

As investment in new generation involves long lead times, this clear signal to industry is necessary to achieve concrete reductions in greenhouse gases and air pollutants.

For a copy of CHA’s submission, visit www.canhydropower.org/hydro_e/p_what.htm.


About the Canadian Hydropower Association
Founded in 1998, the Canadian Hydropower Association (CHA) is the national association dedicated to representing the interests of the hydropower industry. Its principal mandate is to promote hydropower nationally and internationally as a source of renewable energy, to make the economic and environmental advantages of hydropower better known, and to publicize the benefits of hydropower in the search for sustainable energy solutions. CHA members represent more than 95% of the hydropower capacity in Canada. www.canhydropower.org.