The Road to Resilience was released by the Climate Action Team in February 2021. It established the pathway to a fossil fuel free, climate resilient future for Manitoba.
We are here presenting Road to Resilience: Energy Solutions. This study focuses on quantifying the energy essentials of that pathway:
- How to heat all our buildings without natural gas
- How to fuel all our vehicles without gasoline or diesel
Jump to The Findings.
Download the data tables in Excel format: Road 2 Resilience – Energy Solutions Tables 2022-03-17.xlsx
In this section, we review the five recommended action areas required to achieve those objectives:
- Stop exporting electricity – Return exported electricity to use in Manitoba as contracts expire
- Deep retrofits – Perform deep retrofits on existing buildings
- Improve the building envelop (insulation & air barrier)
- connect to district geothermal systems
- Solar power – Increase solar generation
- Wind power – Increase commercial wind power
- Energy Storage – Establish new Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) capacity
Click a topic above to jump to a page with details.
On this page, we provide an overview of the Road to Resilience: Energy Solutions:
Click a link in the list above to jump to that topic on this page.
The Challenge
In order to heat our buildings and move all vehicles electrically, Manitoba Hydro estimated (in 2018) that we need this:
| Element | Peak (MW) | Energy (GWh) |
|---|---|---|
| Current capability | ||
| Hydro's capability in 2018 | 4,750 | 25,750 |
| New requirements | ||
| Heat all buildings electrically | 7,000 | 16,000 |
| 100% electric vehicles | 1,516 | 12,124 |
| Additional requirement (TARGET) | 8,516 | 28,124 |
So, we need almost 200% more power and about twice the energy supply.
The R2Rv2 analysis shows that it can be done. (See “The Findings” below) And it can be done without experimental technologies, new dams, or nuclear. In fact, our proposal exceeds the target by 30% or more.
The Findings
The Climate Action Team study confirms that the objective can be met using economically viable, low carbon technology that already exists, without building additional hydro dams or nuclear power plants. The study also demonstrates how this transition can
- improve Manitoba Hydro’s finances
- grow Manitoba’s economy
- create thousands of additional jobs without requiring large government investments
OUR ANALYSIS DOES SHOW THAT IT IS POSSIBLE to heat all our buildings without natural gas AND to fuel all our vehicles without gasoline or diesel.
REMEMBER – This is one scenario that produces the result that we need. The fact that our result is 30% to 50% above target gives us some flexibility. If we exceed the power and energy targets in one area it will help to make up for shortcomings in other areas.
Also, we can reduce the transportation energy requirement by moving away from dependence on vehicle transportation. Moving more people by public transit or by active transportation reduces the need for transportation electricity. Also, city planning and densification can shorten travel distances and reduce the need for vehicle transportation.
A summary of the estimated power and energy gains for each action area can be found in the table below.
| Energy Solution | Power (Firm MW) | Energy (GWh/yr) | % of Target (Power) | % of Target (Energy) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Return Energy Exports | ||||
| Firm Exports | 1,605 | 2,763 | 18.8% | 9.8% |
| Spot Market Exports | 0 | 6,192 | 0.0% | 22.0% |
| Sub-Total | 1,605 | 8,955 | 18.8% | 31.8% |
| 2. Deep Retrofit buildings | 4,257 | 12,651 | 50.0% | 45.0% |
| 3. Solar Power | ||||
| Solar - Rooftop | 0 | 1,910 | 0.0% | 6.8% |
| Solar - Ground Mounted | 0 | 6,551 | 0.0% | 23.3% |
| Sub-Total | 0 | 8,461 | 0.0% | 30.1% |
| 4. Wind Power | 1,600 | 17,733 | 18.8% | 63.1% |
| 5. Energy storage | ||||
| Home Battery Storage | 461 | 0 | 5.4% | 0.0% |
| Commercial Energy Storage | 1,600 | 0 | 18.8% | 0.0% |
| Electric Vehicles | 2,941 | 0 | 34.5% | 0.0% |
| Sub-Total | 5,002 | 0 | 58.7% | 0.0% |
| Total Identified | 12,464 | 47,800 | 146% | 170% |
| TARGET | 8,516 | 28,124 |
NOTE: Additional analysis is needed to model daily, weekly, and seasonal swings in energy supply and demand during the winter months. This analysis should take into account all likely scenarios with respect to climate variations, population growth, and other major influences on supply and demand.
Your Feedback
The Climate Action Team (CAT) wants to hear your feedback and ideas! Please follow one of the links below to engage in dialogue:
Stay tuned for more engagement opportunities in the near future!
