The federal government projects internally that demand for electricity could double by 2050
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“We ran a few different forecasts of how much electricity these centres will use,” said the official, speaking on background because they were not authorized to speak publicly. “Any way you slice it, it’s a substantial amount.”
The official said the federal government projects internally that demand for electricity could double by 2050, driven by the proliferation of electricity-gobbling data centres, the shift to electric vehicles, hotter summers and population growth.
Former Bank of Canada governor and rumoured Liberal Party leadership contender Mark Carney said last month that Canada’s booming data centres could be a key source of leverage in bilateral relations with an increasingly hostile United States.
“They’re running out of the space and certainly the clean energy for that,” said Carney.
The final regulations push back the grace period on gas-fired power plants by three years, allowing plants built as late as 2028 to be exempt from the rules for 25 years, up from 20 years in an earlier draft.
National Post
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