Four stories about Canada’s grid turned out to be one argument, and the thing we keep failing to build isn’t a wire or a battery. It’s the market that would pay for them. Over the past month I have written four articles about what I took to be four different problems. A transmission gap between […]

Four stories about Canada’s grid turned out to be one argument, and the thing we keep failing to build isn’t a wire or a battery. It’s the market that would pay for them. Over the past month I have written four articles about what I took to be four different problems. A transmission gap between […]

In 1957, on the terrace above the Niagara Gorge, Ontario Hydro switched on a machine unlike anything else in the country. At night, when the province slept and its generators ran into slack demand, the machine pumped water out of the hydro canal and up into a 750-acre reservoir whose walls had been piled up […]

In 1957, on the terrace above the Niagara Gorge, Ontario Hydro switched on a machine unlike anything else in the country. At night, when the province slept and its generators ran into slack demand, the machine pumped water out of the hydro canal and up into a 750-acre reservoir whose walls had been piled up […]

The technology has existed for sixty years. The thirteen governments that would have to share it are the holdup. Correction (July 2026): An earlier version of this article, following a March 2026 Energy Regulation Quarterly analysis, attributed Alberta’s September 19–28, 2025 zero import capability to deliberate AESO reliability deratings. Market Surveillance Administrator data show that […]

The technology has existed for sixty years. The thirteen governments that would have to share it are the holdup. Correction (July 2026): An earlier version of this article, following a March 2026 Energy Regulation Quarterly analysis, attributed Alberta’s September 19–28, 2025 zero import capability to deliberate AESO reliability deratings. Market Surveillance Administrator data show that […]

My first instinct was that Calgary doesn’t need more solar. If someone proposed building another utility-scale solar farm here, the conventional read would stop the conversation quickly. We don’t need the incremental power, and the price is too low to justify it. Alberta’s own market makes the case. The average pool price fell roughly 53 […]

My first instinct was that Calgary doesn’t need more solar. If someone proposed building another utility-scale solar farm here, the conventional read would stop the conversation quickly. We don’t need the incremental power, and the price is too low to justify it. Alberta’s own market makes the case. The average pool price fell roughly 53 […]

Last year, the federal government called its electricity plan the Clean Electricity Strategy. In May 2026, it returned as Powering Canada Strong: A National Strategy for an Electrified Canadian Economy. That name change tells the real story. For nearly two decades, Canada has focused on making our relatively flat electricity system cleaner. We succeeded. At […]

Last year, the federal government called its electricity plan the Clean Electricity Strategy. In May 2026, it returned as Powering Canada Strong: A National Strategy for an Electrified Canadian Economy. That name change tells the real story. For nearly two decades, Canada has focused on making our relatively flat electricity system cleaner. We succeeded. At […]