It's correct that we found in our research—and this is available on the public record in emissions inventories—that the electricity sector has led in terms of emissions reductions, reducing by almost two-thirds since 2005. That's a huge success story, and most of it, if not almost all of it, is due to the transition from coal to gas, so it's great that we've been able to make a lot of headway.
As we look further out, we should remind ourselves, as we imagine what it would mean to use less gas, that many voices were similarly concerned about what a transition from coal to gas would mean for reliability and costs. I don't want to equate the two transitions—they are different from one another—but there's always some hesitance and understandable and appropriate reluctance when we want to do a transition in a sector as vital as electricity.
As we think about what it means to use less gas and to attract investment, I think we should remind ourselves that it's about unlocking the low costs of renewable power. I agree with Mr. MacDougall: Most of the research I've seen says it is the lowest source of new power, but there's also the cost of integrating that into the grid.
For grids with low shares of renewable electricity, the integration challenges aren't that large. As those penetration rates rise, you get more and more renewables and you need to start thinking about things like, “Do you have non-emitting dispatchable generation?” Well, if you're lucky enough to have hydro, great, that's your source. If it's gas, well, some amount of continued use of that is allowed under the clean electricity regulations. However, there are other ways to match and offset the variability of renewables, whether that's batteries, greater interconnection with other jurisdictions or emerging solutions like demand-side solutions.
I agree with the witnesses beside me that it can be hard to parse what motivated an investment decision from a big global company, from an industrial player, but certainly there's enough anecdotal evidence that clean electricity is motivating it. We can even look to Alberta, which is seeing interest in its jurisdiction because of the ability that companies have there to procure renewable power directly from providers. That doesn't exist in every province, but you find it there. That's one reason they're seeing interest.