Program Outline

CanREA’s 2050 Vision: Signs of progress

Launched at ETC 2021, “Powering Canada’s Journey to Net-Zero: CanREA’s 2050 Vision” calls for a ten-fold expansion in Canada’s wind and solar energy capacity by 2050. It is a wake-up call, an urgent call to action to get Canada started on the path to meeting its commitment to achieve net-zero greenhouse-gas emissions by 2050. In this session, CanREA’s CEO will report on progress made over the past year, and speakers representing some of Canada’s most prominent utilities, governments and corporations will highlight positive initiatives they are taking to support the transformation of Canada’s electricity systems.

Jason Chee-Aloy, Managing Director, Power Advisory LLC, CanREA Board Chair
Robert Hornung, President and CEO, Canadian Renewable Energy Association
Mathieu Johnson, Vice President, Strategy, Corporate Evolution, and Development, Hydro Quebec

Binnu Jeyakumar, Director, Clean Energy, Pembina Institute

Soren Halverson, Special Advisor to the Deputy Minister, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Government of Canada

Andre Bernier, Director General, Electricity Resources Branch, Natural Resources Canada

Track 1, Decarbonizing the Grid:

Net-Zero on the Prairies

Big changes are coming to the grid in the Prairie provinces. Alberta and Saskatchewan need to decarbonize their electricity supply to achieve Canada’s commitment to a 2035 net-zero electricity grid. This work will require significant foresight, modelling and system planning. During this session, we will hear from the people working to ensure that electricity grids in western Canada can deliver the emissions reductions needed to meet the critical net-zero goal, and do so affordably and reliably.

Roslyn McMann, Director, Market Development, BluEarth Renewables

Richard Truscott, Vice President, Prairie Sky Strategy 

Kevin Dawson, 

Director, Forecasting and Analytics, Alberta Electric

System Operator

The Honourable Don Morgan, Minister Responsible for SaskPower, Government of Saskatchewan

Tim Eckel, Vice President, Asset Management, Planning and Sustainability, SaskPower

Track 2, Increasing Electricity Demand:

The Path to 2050 – Electrifying Transportation

Transportation is the second-largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Canada, accounting for a quarter of Canada's total emissions. One way to reduce this is to put more zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) on the road. This is happening at an accelerating pace—requiring an acceleration in the production of decarbonized electricity. This session will explore the role that decarbonized electricity and hydrogen will play in reducing GHG emissions in Canada’s transportation sectors, and what it will take to make it happen.

Jackie Forrest, Executive Director, ARC Energy Research Institute

Daniel Breton, President and CEO Electric Mobility Canada

Lindsay Wiginton, Senior Consultant, Dunsky Energy + Climate Advisors

An energy transition for all

CanREA’s 2050 Vision calls for the massive expansion of the renewable energy sector—and specifies that Canada’s energy transition must benefit all Canadians. Decarbonizing Canada’s economy will create ripple effects across the country, changing the way we power our homes, vehicles and industries, and these changes will create significant opportunities. How can we ensure these opportunities are spread equitably across the country? This plenary session will explore how to support a just, equitable and affordable energy transition that will lift everyone up and leave no one behind.

Presentation of the 2022 Woman of Renewable Energy Award.

Terri-Lee Oleniuk, Partner, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Luisa Da Silva, Executive Director, Iron and Earth

Chris Henderson, Executive Director, Indigenous Clean Energy 

Caroline Lee, Senior Research Associate, Canadian Climate Institute

Track 1, Decarbonizing the Grid:

9:00 am-9:45 am

Track 1: 714AB

Track 2: 715AB

Strengthening Ontario’s Clean Electricity Advantage

With rapidly growing demand and diminishing supply, Ontario will soon need many gigawatts of new capacity to maintain a safe and reliable electricity system. After more than a decade of stable demand and surplus generation, this challenge is an opportunity for Ontario to leverage new technologies and innovative approaches to keep the grid clean and reliable for decades to come. This session, which will feature a presentation from the IESO on the outlook for the Ontario electricity system, will highlight some innovative solutions for strengthening the province’s clean electricity advantage.

Brandy Giannetta, 
VP Policy, Regulatory and Government Affairs, Canadian Renewable Energy Association

Katherine Sparkes,

Director of Innovation, Research & Development, IESO

John Avdoulos, CEO & President, Essex Power Corporation
Allison Miller, Manager, Energy Markets, Enel North America 

Growth Prospects for Green Hydrogen 

This session will delve into the uncertainty surrounding the production and use of hydrogen in Canada. Will green hydrogen produced from renewables be able to compete with blue hydrogen produced from methane and carbon capture? Will demand for hydrogen grow—and if so, how quickly? What regions are most likely to participate in the hydrogen economy? Our panel of experts will discuss all this and more, as they examine the role of green hydrogen in moving Canada to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions.

Paula McGarrigle, Managing Director, Solas Energy Consulting

Aaron Atcheson, 

Partner,

Miller Thomson LLP
Melissa Morrison, 

Senior Planner Renewables and Hydrogen, DNV
Ivette Vera-Perez, 

CEO, Canadian Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Association

Tyson Wagner, Partner, Miller Thomson LLP (co-presenting with Aaron Atcheson)

10:00 am-10:45 am

Track 1: 714AB

Track 2: 715AB

Maximizing Opportunities for Clean Power in Atlantic Canada 

Atlantic Canada has already made some important progress to a cleaner power future, with governments and utilities actively working to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from the electricity sector. That said, significant challenges remain for developing a decarbonized electricity grid by 2035, given the continued presence of coal-fired generation. Increased regional collaboration and cooperation will be critical to meet this goal. This session will explore how to maximize opportunities for non-emitting generation in Atlantic Canada.

Jean Habel,

Director, Atlantic Canada and Quebec, Canadian Renewable Energy Association

Ahmed Hanafy, Director, Dunsky Energy + Climate Advisors 
Pierre-Olivier Pineau, Research Chair in Energy Sector Management, HEC Montreal

Jennifer Tuck,

CEO, Maritimes Energy Association

Brad Coady, Executive Director, NB Power

Sponsored by:

NORDEX ACCIONA

The Path to 2050 – Is Heavy Industry on Track for Net-zero?

Canada’s 2050 net-zero goals will require all industries to drastically reduce their carbon intensity and GHG emissions. While many sectors have taken bold and aggressive actions, the highest-emitting industries are among the most difficult to decarbonize. This is due to technical factors (e.g., the need for very high heat and process CO2 emissions) or economic factors (e.g., capital intensity, long asset life, trade exposure). This session will explore the challenges facing the heavy industry sector, and the extent to which electricity can be part of the solution.

Merran Smith,

Executive Director, Clean Energy Canada

Shahrzad Rahbar, President, Industrial Gas Users Association

John Smiciklas, Acting Director, Environment, Canadian Steel Producers Association

Adam Auer, President and CEO, Cement Association of Canada

Lunch Plenary

From entry-level roles to senior leadership, Canada’s energy workforce is retooling for a net-zero future. The skills and experience needed to achieve Canada’s targets will play as big a role as steel and silicon in future supply and demand economics, so we need to develop supply chains for these essential competencies in the renewable energy workforce. This plenary explores challenges in recruiting and retaining human resources in a competitive and disrupted labour market, and presents ideas for growing, training and upskilling the workforce to meet future needs.

Ian MacRobbie, Vice President, Operations, Liberty Power

Emma Garrod, Talent Development Manager, People & Culture, Spark Power Corp.

Michelle Branigan, Chief Executive Officer, Electricity Human Resources Canada

Tom Roemer, Vice President, Academic at BCIT and the Chair of C2R2 National CurriculumDr.

Tricia Williams, Director of Research, Evidence and Knowledge Mobilization, Future Skills Centre

Erin Melvin, Senior Consultant, Purpose Co.

Greetings from The Honourable Todd Smith, Minister of Energy, Government of Ontario

CanREA’s Markets and Policy Update

Ever wonder how the Canadian Renewable Energy Association works to accelerate the deployment of wind, solar and storage technologies in Canada? In this session, CanREA’s policy team will provide an overview of their advocacy priorities supporting CanREA’s 2050 Vision and discuss current and emerging policy, market, and regulatory initiatives relevant to our industries across the country. They will share valuable market intelligence on the current status of the wind, solar, and energy storage markets in different regions of Canada—and assess their potential for future growth.

Brandy Giannetta, VP Policy, Regulatory and Government Affairs, Canadian Renewable Energy Association

Evan Wilson, Senior Director, Western Canada, Canadian Renewable Energy Association

Nicholas Gall, Director, Ontario and Distributed Energy Resources, Canadian Renewable Energy Association

Jean Habel, Director for Quebec and Atlantic Canada, Canadian Renewable Energy Association

Mathieu Côté, Director, Operations Program, Canadian Renewable Energy Association 

Track 1, Decarbonizing the Grid:

The Role of Energy Storage in Decarbonizing the Grid

Accelerating wind and solar deployment will increase the need for grid flexibility, which will be provided by energy storage. This panel will discuss some of the exciting developments in storage technologies and business models, including lessons from other jurisdictions: We are already seeing the extensive deployment of Li-ion batteries worldwide, but what is the future for the full range of storage technologies, and what revenue models are required to enable deployment? Join us to hear more about the role of energy storage in decarbonizing the grid.

Emma Coyle, Director, Regulatory & Environmental Policy, 

Capital Power
Dietrich Bödecker, Commercial Manager, RheEnergise Canada Ltd

Matt Harper,

Chief Commercial Officer, Invinity Energy Systems

Brianne Riehl, Senior Project Manager, Navius Research 

Track 2, Increasing Electricity Demand:

Corporate PPA Opportunities Beyond Alberta

Corporations with a significant demand for renewable energy have the potential to drive transformative change in electricity grid supply. Until recently, Alberta was the only market in Canada where these types of transactions were possible, but new market opportunities are quickly emerging in other provinces. This session will focus on market opportunities in Ontario and Nova Scotia, where governments and regulators are realizing the potential for this type of investment to meet the needs of local energy systems, as well as to enable companies to achieve their ESG objectives.

Nicholas Gall,

Director, Ontario and Distributed Energy Resources, Canadian Renewable Energy Association

David Miller,

Director, Electricity Policy and Programs, Nova Scotia Department of Energy

Sarah Powell,

Partner, Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP

Jason Chee-Aloy, Managing Director, Power Advisory LLC 

Challenges and Next Steps for CanREA’s 2050 Vision

One year ago, CanREA’s 2050 Vision called on Canada to rapidly build out wind, solar and energy storage in response to climate change, while prioritizing the reliability and affordability of the electricity system. Canada’s energy transition currently faces certain challenges, including supply chain constraints, inflationary pressures, the emergence of disruptive technologies, slow-changing regulatory frameworks, and limited co-operation between electricity markets. This session will explore the next steps for policy, regulatory and market frameworks: what actions are needed to address these barriers and make CanREA’s 2050 Vision a reality?

At 12:00pm sharp, there will be a special funding announcement by Natural Resources Canada’s Parliamentary Secretary Julie Dabrusin, concerning the new CanREA Electricity Transformation Hub. Media are welcome. This special announcement will kick off the luncheon session in Hall F, followed by the plenary session at 1:00.

Robert Hornung, President and CEO, Canadian Renewable Energy Association

Debbie Scharf, Assistant Deputy Minister for Natural Resources Canada's Energy Systems Sector

Phil McKay, Senior Director, CanREA Electricity Transition Hub, Canadian Renewable Energy Association

Renée Marx, Member, Alberta Utilities Commission

Jeff MacAulay, CEO, Charge Solar

Paisley Sim, Canada Grid Lead, Transition Accelerator