{"id":80819,"date":"2020-02-06T05:49:21","date_gmt":"2020-02-06T10:49:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huntsville.dopperonline.ca\/?p=80819"},"modified":"2020-02-04T12:51:53","modified_gmt":"2020-02-04T17:51:53","slug":"transitioning-from-carbon-based-energy-the-real-costs-commentary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/transitioning-from-carbon-based-energy-the-real-costs-commentary\/","title":{"rendered":"Transitioning from carbon-based energy: The real costs | Commentary"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Dave Wilkin and Tim Lutton<\/em><\/p>\n

The recent Liberal government call for net-zero carbon dioxide (CO\u2082) emissions by 2050 sets a new high-water mark for unrealistic Canadian emissions targets. Most people have no idea what it would entail, as the government doesn\u2019t say how they will reach it or at what cost. This is what prompted us to translate this latest goal into tangible costs that people can understand.<\/p>\n

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We often hear claims that shifting to a \u2018new green economy\u2019, including wind and solar power, will create millions of new jobs, growing Canada\u2019s economy<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s be clear: the energy transition implied here is not an investment in the traditional sense. Instead, it is a cost to replace the existing mature energy system that built the modern economies but releases CO\u2082 and is finite, with a new, low-carbon, more costly unproven system.<\/p>\n

It is unlikely to create significant net-new<\/em> jobs or significant new economic value, as it simply replaces what already exists. The transition jobs created will be mostly construction related, as most of the equipment and systems required are manufactured outside of Canada, especially if the focus remains wind or solar, not nuclear (or hydro) power. Most of the new permanent jobs (operational) will be public-sector utility jobs, replacing the private sector ones today, and won\u2019t offset today\u2019s 533,000 oil & gas supported jobs<\/a><\/span> that would largely disappear.<\/p>\n

Our table below shows the system capital costs, by power source, to replace about 90 per cent of Canadian carbon-based energy by 2050. Our analysis was inspired by a recent article in Forbes<\/a><\/span>, where the author calculated reaching net\u2013zero<\/em> CO\u2082 emissions globally by 2050 would require building one 1000 MW nuclear power station<\/a><\/span> every single day until 2050.<\/p>\n

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These are the new system costs only<\/em>; excluded are these (collectively enormous) costs:<\/p>\n