Before I begin, I would like to thank you for inviting me to this committee to testify before you and for undertaking this important work.
Allow me to introduce Nergica, an applied research centre in Quebec that stimulates innovation in renewable energy through research, technical assistance, technology transfer and support for companies and communities.
Nergica is a member of the College Centre for Technology Transfer network affiliated with the CÉGEP de la Gaspésie et des Îles. We work specifically in the areas of solar and wind energy and in the integration of renewable energies through storage on microgrids, among other things. We are the only centre in America to own full-scale research infrastructure in a cold climate conditions and complex terrain. We have unique expertise developed over more than 20 years, making us a choice actor for energy transition from coast to coast and internationally, both for industry and communities.
As I've said, we've developed unique cold climate expertise because of the nature of our research site, which faces harsh conditions. We also represent Canada in research groups at the International Energy Agency. That work develops and transmits scientific and technical knowledge on renewable energies internationally.
In our work, we support companies and communities in their energy transition projects through renewable energies. For example, we support Tarquti Energy in the energy transition in Nunavik.
Our findings and recommendations are as follows. According to the scenario from the Canada Energy Regulator, Canada will need to produce 50% more electricity by 2050 to meet its targets. Wind and solar energy and storage represent between 82% and 85% of that new capacity.
We believe that electricity is the energy of the future, and that the future of electricity is wind energy, solar energy and storage. For a successful transition, both businesses and the federal government must invest more in research and development in these areas. Although they're generally more mature technologies, there's still work to be done to adapt to climate, environment and large-scale integration of these technologies from variable sources to the electrical grids.
These technologies will also support exports, since we're seeing the same type of transition and changes outside Canada. In addition, the volume of projects will also force us to rethink how we plan and deploy renewable energies. Instead of a project-based approach, we'll need to develop a proactive territorial approach based on energy potential. That should be done in co‑operation with the provinces, municipalities and Indigenous communities.
Finally, we believe that it would be good for Canada to adopt a national industrial policy to govern the extraction of raw materials to deployment, in order to have greater influence and reach in international markets. Quebec's development of the wind sector in the Gaspé region is one example that could serve as a model.
Thank you for your attention.