The green light

Source: Brandy Giannetta| · CANADIAN RENEWABLE ENERGY ASSOCIATION · | February 15, 2023

Green hydrogen is a massive enabler of wind and solar in Canada

One of the most exciting things about working in the renewable energy sector is witnessing the dawn of innovative, non-emitting new technologies that promise to power Canada’s net-zero future. In 2023, I am particularly excited about green hydrogen and the prospects for onshore wind and solar.

Green hydrogen is a completely clean, non-emitting fuel source from start to finish. Unlike hydrogen made from emitting energy sources, like oil and gas, green hydrogen is produced using wind and solar energy.

When Canada’s budding green hydrogen industry starts to bloom, it will require huge amounts of wind and solar supply. In this way, it will be a massive enabler for Canada’s wind and solar energy suppliers.

Canada needs green hydrogen to power the path to net-zero

As a clean and scalable solution, green hydrogen is essential to Canada’s decarbonization goals.

To get to net-zero, we need to decarbonize sectors that produce the most significant amounts of GHG emissions, such as large industrial processes, freight transportation, and manufacturing.

According to Environment and Climate Change Canada, manufacturing accounts for a third of all facility-reported emissions in the country. It takes a lot of energy to power these processes and it is heavy on carbon emissions as a result.