Market Snapshot: Canadian coal-fired electricity generation is rapidly being replaced by low and non-emitting energy sources
Connect/Contact Us
Please send comments, questions, or suggestions for Market Snapshot topics to snapshots@cer-rec.gc.ca
Release date: 2024-05-15
In 2016, Canada announced the goal to phase out unabatedDefinition* coal-fired power plants by 2030.Footnote 1 This followed decades of progress in the transition away from coal-fired power.Footnote 2 Between 2005 and 2021 coal-fired power generation decreased by 66% nationally.
In 2021 coal made up 5% of Canada’s electricity generation and was concentrated in Alberta 50%, Saskatchewan 32%, Nova Scotia 14%, and New Brunswick 5%.Footnote 3 These provinces are phasing out coal-fired generation, replacing it with lower-emission natural gas or non-emitting power generation alternatives.Footnote 4
Figure 1: Coal-fired electricity generation 2005-2021
Source and Description
Source: The source for this chart is the data from the Canada’s Energy Future 2023 (EF2023) report, which can be found on the Open Government Portal here: Canada’s Energy Future 2023: Energy Supply and Demand Projections to 2050. In this EF2023 data, historical information is primarily obtained from Statistics Canada and supplemented by additional data from provincial governments, utilities, system operators, and industry associations.
Description: This graph displays coal-fired electricity generation from 2005 to 2021. The data is visualized in a line graph showing a steady downward trend of coal-fired electricity generation from a high of 97 terawatt hours in 2005 to 32 terawatt hours in 2021.
What has replaced unabated coal-fired power generation?
Between 2003 and 2014, Ontario completed a staged phase-out of approximately 8,000 megawatts (MW) of coal-fired generation capacity. This retired capacity was replaced with increases in non-hydro renewables and natural gas (each accounting for 44% of the capacity added during that timeframe), in addition to nuclear refurbishments and conservation and demand management initiativesDefinition*.Footnote 5 By 2014, generation from non-emitting energy sources—including nuclear, hydro, and non-hydro renewables—accounted for 91% of Ontario’s electricity generation, compared to 65% back in 2003 (before the coal phase-out).
Other provinces are still phasing out unabated coal-fired power plants. Alberta, historically a major producer of coal-fired power, announced in 2015 its plan to eliminate coal electricity emissions by 2030. Most coal plants in the province are transitioning to natural gas by the end of 2024, and all but two units were already transitioned by 2023, much earlier than previously expectedFootnote 6.
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick aim to cease coal-fired power generation by 2030, replacing it with imports from other provinces as well as wind, solar, nuclear, and biomass sources within the two provinces.Footnote 7 Saskatchewan's SaskPower plans to phase out conventional coal-fired power plants by 2030 and is updating their plan for future supply this year.Footnote 8
Figure 2: Change in fuel/technology use for electricity generation 2005-2021
Source and Description
Source: The source for this chart is the data from the Canada’s Energy Future 2023 (EF2023) report, which can be found on the Open Government Portal here: Canada’s Energy Future 2023: Energy Supply and Demand Projections to 2050. In this EF2023 data, historical information is primarily obtained from Statistics Canada and supplemented by additional data from provincial governments, utilities, system operators, and industry associations.
Description: This graph displays changes in the fuel/technology used to generate electricity from 2005 to 2021, measured in terawatt hours. The data is visualized in a bar chart showing a 66% decrease in coal and 77% decrease in oil. Increases are shown in wind (2377%), natural gas (86%), hydro (6%), biomass (35%), uranium (<1%), and solar (no solar in 2005).
The electricity grid of the future
Canada’s electricity system is undergoing significant changes, especially for coal, that is regulated to phase out by 2030. The transition away from coal towards lower and non-emitting energy sources means that the electricity grid of the future will generate less pollution than the electricity grid of the past.Footnote 9
- Date modified: