Canada added 1.8 GW of solar and wind power in 2022

CanREA’s new industry data shows that Canada is just starting to take advantage of its wind, solar and energy storage potential.

The Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA) has announced the industry’s year-end data, reporting that Canada’s wind and solar energy sectors grew significantly in 2022.

“I am happy to see that, across Canada, the sector grew by an impressive 10.5% this year,” says Phil McKay, CanREA’s senior director, technical and utility affairs. “Canada now has an installed capacity of more than 19 GW of utility-scale wind and solar energy, having added more than 1.8 GW of new generation capacity in 2022.”

Of note: Solar is growing particularly quickly—more than one quarter of all the installed capacity in Canada was added this year alone.

Western Canada accounted for 98% of Canada’s total growth in 2022, with Alberta adding 1,391 MW and Saskatchewan adding 387 MW of installed capacity this year.

Quebec contributed 24 MW to the total growth for 2022, Ontario 10 MW, and Nova Scotia 2 MW.

While this year’s growth of 1.8 GW was significantly larger than last year’s (less than 1 GW in 2021), it does not meet the growth rate called for in CanREA’s 2050 Vision, Powering Canada’s Journey to Net-Zero, which states that Canada needs to deploy more than 5 GW of new wind and solar energy every year to meet its commitment to net-zero GHG emissions by 2050.

CanREA’s data team is tracking more than 2 GW of projects that are currently under construction across Canada, plus another 6 GW of projects in advanced stages of development, for a total forecast of more than 5 GW of wind, 2 GW of major solar and 1 GW of energy storage expected in the next few years.

CanREA’s annual data for 2022 shows a total installed capacity of more than 19 GW of wind and solar energy, with a forecast of at least 8 GW more in the next few years. While encouraging, this growth rate is not on par with CanREA’s 2050 Vision, which calls for the addition of 1.6 GW of utility-scale solar and 3.8 GW of wind annually. CanREA is working with federal and provincial governments to unlock many more GWs of additional opportunities in the years to come.

renewablesassociation.ca.

By Logan Caswell