To electrify B.C.’s transportation industry, which makes up a third of the province’s greenhouse gas emissions, the province will need to generate up to 60 per cent more electricity, according to a report released Wednesday by the University of Victoria.
The province will need to increase its electrical production capacity from a 2015 baseline of 15.6 gigawatts to 23 GW to meet forecast economic and population growth, the reports says. “These results demonstrate that electrification of the transport system can be carried out at low additional cost to the electricity system,” the report states.
Co-author Curran Crawford, a member of the PICS Transportation Futures for B.C. project and a professor with UVic’s Institute for Integrated Energy Systems, says low-carbon generation options such as wind and solar power would keep a lid on energy prices.