NEWS RELEASE: Canada Added 1.8 GW of Wind and Solar in 2022

The Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA) announced the industry's year-end data, reporting that Canada's wind and solar energy sectors grew significantly in 2022.  

"I am happy to see that, across Canada, the sector grew by an impressive 10.5% this year," said Phil McKay, CanREA's Senior Director, Technical and Utility Affairs. "Canada now has an installed capacity of more than 19 GW of utility-scale wind and solar energy, having added more than 1.8 GW of new generation capacity in 2022."  

Of note: Solar is growing particularly quickly—more than one quarter of all the installed capacity in Canada was added this year alone. 

Western Canada accounted for 98% of Canada's total growth in 2022, with Alberta adding 1,391 MW and Saskatchewan adding 387 MW of installed capacity this year. Quebec contributed 24 MW to the total growth for 2022, Ontario 10 MW, and Nova Scotia 2 MW.   

As it grows, the renewables sector is emerging as an important force for job creation, primarily in the construction of new facilities, but also in the ongoing operations and maintenance of these sites. Canada's wind and solar industry accounted for approximately 4,462 person-years of employment in 2022, having grown by an impressive 86% this year (it was 2,400 in 2021).  

"Growth in the renewables sector means job growth for Canadians," said McKay, "and we are anticipating these employment opportunities to keep expanding exponentially as the renewables industry continues to grow."  

While this year's growth of 1.8 GW was significantly larger than last year's (less than 1 GW in 2021), it does not meet the growth rate called for in CanREA's 2050 Vision, Powering Canada's Journey to Net-Zero, which states that Canada needs to deploy more than 5 GW of new wind and solar energy every year to meet its commitment to net-zero GHG emissions by 2050. 

"Canada is just starting to take advantage of its wind and solar energy potential," said Vittoria Bellissimo, CanREA's President and CEO. "The country needs to do more to unlock the benefits of the enormous opportunities offered by renewable energy. We have massive, untapped wind and solar resources, the lowest-cost sources of new decarbonized electricity generation available today." 

Significantly more growth in the deployment of wind and solar energy can be expected in the near future. CanREA's data team is tracking more than 2 GW of projects that are currently under construction across Canada, plus another 6 GW of projects in advanced stages of development, for a total forecast of more than 5 GW of wind, 2 GW of major solar and 1 GW of energy storage expected in the next few years. 

At the same time, CanREA is working with federal and provincial governments to unlock many more GWs of additional opportunities in their jurisdictions.  

"CanREA is working hard to dramatically accelerate and expand the deployment of wind, solar and energy-storage technologies—there are several policy, regulatory and infrastructure barriers that we think need to be addressed," said Bellissimo.  

To download a summary of the latest industry data for Canada, visit CanREA's "By the Numbers" webpage. CanREA members have access to a more detailed report on the members-only side of the website.

CanREA | renewablesassociation.ca