Canada is a nation abundant in fresh water. When the conversation of renewable energy comes up, hydropower sounds like it should be a given for Canadians. Like most renewable energy resources, it’s of a modest size, and gets lumped together with the likes of solar power or wind energy. However, hydro power is one of the most commonly used energy sources, accounting for about 60 per cent of electricity throughout Canada, comparative only to nuclear, which accounts for about 15 per cent of Canada’s electricity, according to world-nuclear.org
In Ottawa and Ontario, hydropower is important because it is renewable, according to Claudia Lemieux, the manager of public affairs at Hydro Ottawa.
“For us hydropower for Ottawa is important because we’re very much interested in renewable energy. So that is our focus,” she said.
Currently hydropower runs on a small scale. Ontario Power Generation has 67 hydro electric stations in Ontario, two of which are in Ottawa. Hydro Ottawa is also purchasing three hydroelectric plants in the Ring Dam at Chaudière Falls in Hull from Domtar Corporation, according to Lemieux. This would double the amount of energy hydropower provides in Ottawa from two percent to about four.
Reservoirs have stayed on a relatively small scale due to a few environmental problems that arise when the water capacity is increased. According to the David Suzuki Foundation website, hydropower projects can produce some green house gas emissions, destroy fish and wildlife habitats, and are even prone to flooding.
“Run-of-river hydro projects can result in unacceptable impacts if they are improperly located, poorly designed or built and operated in a manner that does not consider regional ecosystem costs and benefits and minimize impacts to the local environment,” the website said. Furthermore, significant amounts of methane can be produced from the decomposition of plants in the flood areas, according to Environment Canada.
The station at Chaudière Falls is an exception, because it is one of the oldest in the world, Lemieux said.
“I think there are environmental issues when you’re creating anew hydroelectric plant and you’re building and you’re changing or altering the environment. We’re not doing that,” she said.
Comparatively, low-impact hydroelectricity has many benefits. It’s a closed-loop system where energy is created when the stored potential energy of water in a reservoir is converted into kinetic (moving) energy as it falls through a pen-stock, into a turbine. After the water has helped create electricity it flows back into the river.
So will hydroelecticity ever power Ottawa? According to Lemieux, it’s extremely unlikely.
“Absolutely never. Right now we’ve got 22 per cent hydro in Ottawa we’ve got two, we’re doubling that and we could possibly even triple it, even quadruple it over time, but you can only use what you’ve got.,” she said.
“If there are no more Niagara Falls you can’t have any more hydro.”
