May 7, 2024 Energy Breakfast Meeting

Topic: “Interprovincial Transmission in Canada:
a Multi-Benefit Analysis”


Presenter:
Dr. Madeline McPherson, Associate Director, Integrated Energy Systems at the University of Victoria

Many studies have demonstrated the benefits of greater interprovincial transmission in Canada. And yet, transmission expansion that crosses provincial boundaries is limited. In this presentation, Madeline will quantify the benefits that would be derived from greater transmission capacity between British Columbia and Alberta and between Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The benefits span six categories: reduced generation capital costs, reduced production costs, reduced emissions, risk mitigation, improved resource adequacy, and improved resilience. Madeline will then discuss some of the barriers to building interprovincial transmission, and how those barriers might be overcome.

Dr. Madeleine McPherson is an Assistant Professor in the department of Civil Engineering and the Associate Director of the Institute for Integrated Energy Systems at the University of Victoria (IESVic). Dr. McPherson is the Principal Investigator of the Sustainable Energy Systems Integration & Transitions (SESIT) Group where she and her team develop models to explore electrification and energy systems integration to co-create decarbonization pathways. Dr. McPherson serves as an Executive Member on the Energy Modelling Hub, which is convening a national dialog between modelers and stakeholders around decarbonizing Canada’s energy system.