Clean energy innovation is an issue that is of critical importance for the future well-being and prosperity of Canadians. In March 2002, responding to the challenges being faced by the global energy industry, including regional instability, depleting conventional resources, climate change and price volatility, the Canadian Academy of Engineering (CAE) released a study titled, Energy and Climate Change – A Canadian Engineering Perspective. It concluded that, “A long-term, sustainable energy strategy needs to be developed, which will necessarily require a larger choice of energy sources and technologies than [are] presently available”. The Report noted that the CAE could play an important role in the assessment of technologies that are already available or entirely new energy technologies.
With support from a group of eight Sponsors: Alberta Research Council; Natural Resources Canada; Suncor Energy; Petro-Canada; EnCana; AECL; Hatch; and the Alberta Energy Research Institute; a Task Force was formed under the leadership of Dr. Clem Bowman, FCAE, to continue the work of the Academy on this subject. Dr. Bowman, a chemical engineer, spent more than 40 years in the petrochemical industry, including working as head of research for one of the first Canadian oil sands operations, and decades ago was asked to coordinate the Alberta government’s $100 million infusion of capital into energy projects that ultimately led to many of today’s energy mega projects.
Dr. Bowman who lives in Sarnia, Ontario, is a member of the Order of Canada. He is also a developer of the ProGrid methodology for incorporating so-called “intangible” factors into decision making. ProGrid is being used in both the public and private sectors and is hailed as being a breakthrough methodology for understanding and acting on complex decisions. ProGrid was used to conduct the evaluations of the Energy Pathways.
The specific goal of the Energy Pathways Task Force was to define the barriers that are preventing the development of economic and environmentally acceptable energy sources and carriers in Canada and to identify the technologies that can overcome these barriers. The focus of this project has been on technology options that would permit Canada to achieve its greenhouse gas (GHG) emission targets, while continuing to provide an adequate supply of energy, at competitive rates, to meet the growing demand for energy.
The resulting evaluations lead to the following recommendations: Canada should undertake the following three National Technology Projects:
The Report recommends not only these three national projects but also identifies more than ten new energy opportunities that Canada can develop over the next century that will contribute to our “energy superpower” status.
The full recommendations provide an implementation plan for many of the priorities outlined in the Report of the National Advisory Panel on Sustainable Energy Science and Technology Powerful Connections: Priorities and Directions in Energy Science and Technology in Canada.
Fellows of the Academy have had an opportunity to play a critical role in this project, and thereby influence the course of energy development in Canada. The Pathway Evaluation Documents span a broad range of renewable and non-renewable energy pathways. These documents have been prepared by expert teams, Proponents, who have made the case that Canada should increase its efforts in the development and commercialization of specific pathways.
See publications page of this website for the report.
