{"id":26170,"date":"2026-04-09T19:52:01","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T19:52:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/?post_type=rbc_tl&p=26170\/what-to-expect-at-cop30"},"modified":"2026-04-09T20:29:01","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T20:29:01","slug":"climate-crunch-can-wind-power-up-in-newfoundland-and-labrador","status":"publish","type":"rbc_tl","link":"https:\/\/www.rbc.com\/en\/thought-leadership\/climate-action-institute\/climate-crunch\/climate-crunch-can-wind-power-up-in-newfoundland-and-labrador\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate Crunch: Can wind power up in Newfoundland and Labrador?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\n

\u2794 Can the Canada-Alberta methane deal deliver both rising oil and gas production and falling emissions?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 Why Canada’s clean trade is in the red<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794  A British Columbia city leads on heat bylaws<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794  Canada’s clean-tech trade deficit is growing. <\/strong>The country’s environmental and clean tech (ECT) trade deficit has steadily risen to $15.6-billion in 2024 compared to $2.4 billion a decade ago, Statistics Canada’s latest data<\/a> <\/strong>shows. Imports of clean electricity\u2014Canada’s prized climate ace\u2014have surged in recent years, just as exports fell due to drought conditions and growing domestic electricity demand. Clean tech hardware, spanning wind turbines, electric vehicles, water treatment equipment, accounted for around 80% of the growth in imports, aligned with strong adoption and deployment trends in Canada over the same period, says Economist Farhad Panahov<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Canada's<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2794  The EU created the bloc’s first voluntary scheme for carbon removal credits. <\/strong>The credits produced under the Carbon Removals and Carbon Farming (CRCF) Regulation<\/a> <\/strong>are being designed for the voluntary carbon market, to boost scalability and help the EU meet its net-zero 2050 targets. It could be a model for Canada: the agriculture sector has a patchwork of pathways to enter compliance and voluntary market opportunities, but with limited availability of compliance protocols that recognize the role of farmers in building the country\u2019s carbon sinks through sustainable practices, says Lisa Ashton <\/strong>, Interim Head of RBC’s Climate Action Institute. However, the Canada-Alberta energy MoU and carbon pricing benchmark review potentially open the door for Canada to streamline farmers’ ability to access carbon markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2794 \u00a0Hydro Quebec wants households to generate their own energy. <\/strong>A new $1,000 per kW grant for solar kits aims to cover up to 40% of eligible project costs. Quebec<\/a> <\/strong>is a laggard compared to other North American jurisdictions on solar as cheap hydroelectricity meant 25-30-year payback periods made solar uneconomical. That’s changing. As Hydro-Qu\u00e9bec develops alternative power sources and redirects surplus hydro for exports and industry, distributed generation eases the strain on the grid. Indeed, households can even sell excess power back to the grid. The new incentives aim to drop investment costs from $36,000 to $24,000\u2014a payback period of 10-12 years<\/a>. While that’s a long time to recoup costs, it’s hard to compete with the lowest electricity prices on the continent. In contrast, in Pakistan, which is in the midst of a solar revolution, a similar set up would cost $6,500, estimates Energy Policy Lead Shaz Merwat<\/strong>. Also read our report on how smart homes can unlock grid efficiencies<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

Gathering wind in the Atlantic<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Newfoundland and Labrador could be among the major drivers of wind power in Canada. The Canada Energy Regulator’s latest projections (Canada’s Energy Future 2026<\/a> <\/strong>) expects the Atlantic province to emerge as an offshore wind powerhouse, accounting for a sizeable chunk of new wind power capacity by 2050, along with Alberta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shaz Merwat<\/strong> examines the Atlantic province’s wind prospects:<\/p>\n\n\n\n