LES ILLUSTRATEÜRS ILLUSTRATIONS and GRAPHS Hull, Qué
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f -ï- 'ÏI LES ILLUSTRATEÜRS ILLUSTRATIONS AND GRAPHS Hull, Qué. Rocklar,:1.On!. i i HOUSE OF COMMONS CANADA ENERGY ALTERNATIVES f i 1 --.-& y Report of the f I Special Committee on Alternative Energy and Oil Substitution | 1 to the Parliament of Canada I I I -r v H0IUMH3SK0Q HVIOS ssswoia QN1M OEEAN FUSION HV330 NOlSlU HEAT PUMPS FUEL cats NONCONVENTIOKXL PROPULSION HYDROGEN 1 SffllMlHH STT3313IU N0IS1IM0IM 1VN0UN3AN03N0N 90 DISTRICT HEATM6 COAL TECHNOLOGIES ELECTRICAL GENERATION t J' 9NUV3H mum S3I9010NH3311V03 NIHL«y3N39 1VMB133T3 <?] © Minister of Supply and Services Canada 1981 f J 'j% Available in Canada through hf j*i Authorized Bookstore Agents |i,j ?ï| and other bookstores igf Ö] or by mail from K?J Rl Ï -;-:\ Canadian Government Publishing Centre |iv y /i Supply and Services Canada ip % Ottawa, Canada, K1A0S9 |? Ö Catalogue No. XC 2-321/2-01E Canada: $4.95 &• || ISBN 0-660-10912-3 Other Countries: $5.95 gj II |? r.1 Price subject to change without notice t: Bi m * Members of the Special Committee on Alternative Energy and Oil Substitution Chairman: Thomas H. Lefebvre, M.P. — Pontiac-Gatineau-Labelle Robert A. Corbett, M.P. — Fundy-Royal Gary M.Gurbin, M.P. —Bruce-Grey A. AllteterMacBaln.M.P. —Niagara Falls 5 : : Gary F. McCauley, M.P. —Moncton Arthur Portelance, M.P. — Gamelin Mark W. Rose, M.P. — Mission-Port Moody Clerk of the Special Committee J. M. Robert Normand Research Staff Project Manager: Dean N. Clay Peter T.Aiward Judith E.Beange John R. DeGrace Brenda J. Dyack James F. Follwell John E.S. Graham Lynne C. Myers First Session of the Thirty-second Parliament, 1980-1981 The Special Committee on Alternative Energy and Oil Substitution has the honour to present its THIRD REPORT In relation to its Order of Reference of Friday, May 23, 1980, your Committee has examined the following: That a Special Committee of the House of Commons, to be composed of seven Members to be named at a later date, be appointed to act as a Parliamentary Task Force on Alternative Energy and Oil Substitution to explore and report upon utilization of alternative energy sources such as "gasohol", liquified coal, solar energy, methanol, wind and tidal power, biomass, and propane for heating oil and vehicles, with special attention paid to the feasibility, the impact on balance of payments and overall economic desirability; That the Committee have all of the powers given to Standing Committees by section (8) of Standing Order 65; That the Committee have the power to retain the services of expert, professional, technical and clerical staff as may be deemed necessary; That the Committee, its sub-committees and Members of the Committee have the power, when the Committee deems it necessary, to adjourn or travel from place to place inside and outside Canada and that, when deemed necessary, the required staff accompa- ny the Committee, sub-committees or Members of the Committee, as the case may be; That the provisions of sections (4) and (9) of Standing Order 65 be suspended, unless otherwise agreed to by the said Committee, in application to the said Committee; and That, notwithstanding the usual practices of this House, if the House is not sitting when an interim or final report of the Committee is completed, the Committee may make tne said report public before it is laid before the House, but that, in any case the Committee shall report to the House finally no later than December 19.1980. NOTE: This mandate was extended by the House of Commons first to 31 March 1981 and then to 15 May 1981, at the request of the Committee. vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Over the last year this Special Committee has!'called upon the assistance of a'large number of people. We extend our thanks in general here and note that various appendices to the Report name those who supported or : contributed to the Committee's work. We first thank the individuals and organizations across Canada who came forward as witnesses or who provided information and opinions to us. The Committee members and the staff have relied heavily upon these thoughtful contributions. .-, '•• The Governments of all ten Provinces and of the Yukon and North- west Territories responded to our invitation for meetings. Not only did we benefit ; from the regional views thereby expressed but we also appreciated the fact that "; Government representatives accommodated themselves to the Committee's tight schedule. Many agencies and facilities welcomed the Committee in its travels in Canada and abroad. We found such visits to be of great value to the study and the hospitality which we were accorded was a welcome tonic during a tiring schedule. We asked for the time of many busy people and it was freely given. The Department of External Affairs gave yeoman service in setting up complex international travel itineraries under pressing time constraints. Many people in the Department contributed to the success of this aspect of the Committee's operation, both in Ottawa and in the countries visited. We are also grateful to the Departments of National Defence and Transport for providing government aircraft for parts of the Committee's travel, some of which could not have been otherwise accomplished. We thank the Research Branch of the Library of Parliament for providing an unprecedented level of professional research assistance to a Parlia- mentary Committee, and the Information and Reference Branch for supplying reference material. Other services of the House of Commons, which are often taken for granted, should be formally acknowledged. These include the Committee Reporting Service, the Printing Operations Branch, and Simultaneous interpreta- tion. In holding public hearings in Ottawa and across Canada and in appending technical documents to our Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence, we have placed a heavy burden on these services and we hive been well pleased with the results. To those who performed the secretarial tasks for the Committee we extend our gratitude for persevering in sometimes trying and hectic circumstances. Lastly we thank our families who tolerated with patience and good humour the excessive demands that the Committee work made upon our time. We regret that this time cannot be recaptured now that the Report is finished. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface 1 Organization of the Study 3 Afterthoughts 5 1. Introduction 7 2. Energy and Power 13 3. Canada's Energy System Today 19 CANADA'S ENERGY USE IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT 23 CONVENTIONAL ENERGY RESOURCES AND RESERVES 27 1. The Resource/Reserve Spectrum 27 2. Hydrocarbon Resources 27 3. Hydraulic Resources 35 4. Uranium Resources 36 ENERGY FLOWS IN CANADA 37 1. Energy Supply, Demand and Trade 37 2. The Conventional Energy Mix 38 3. Energy Lifelines 39 4. Regional Considerations 44 5. Alternative Energy Use in Canada Today 46 AN EVOLUTION IN ENERGY OUTLOOK 47 THE PROBLEM WITH OIL 51 4. Canada's Energy System Tomorrow 55 GUIDING THE DEVELOPMENT 57 1. Conservation and Energy Efficiency 57 2. Renewable and Inexhaustible Sources of Energy 58 3. Environmental Concerns 59 4. Diversity in Energy Supply 62 5. Regional Considerations 63 6. Strategic Concerns 66 7. Social Concerns 68 ELECTRICITY AND HYDROGEN IN CANADA'S ENERGY FUTURE 73 FUTURE TRANSPORTATION FUELS 77 BUILDING A HYDROGEN AND ELECTRIC ECONOMY 79 xi 5. Energy and the Economy si INTRODUCTION 83 ENERGY PRICING 85 1. Energy Pricing in the Past 85 2. Future Energy Prices and Their Implications 88 THE ECONOMICS OF ENERGY SUPPLY, DEMAND AND CONSERVATION 91 1. Conservation Defined 91 2. What Factors Affect Conservation? 91 3. Conservation Objectives, Decisions and Policies 92 4. Pricing Criteria for Alternative Energy and Oil Substitutes 93 5. Demand, Conservation and Prices 94 6. Delays in Adopting Alternatives 95 ENERGY AND GROWTH 97 1. Energy Consumption and the Gross Domestic Product 97 2. Energy Consumption by Producers 100 3. The Role of New Energy Sources and Technological Change 100 BALANCE OF PAYMENTS, ENERGY TRADE AND INVESTMENT 103 ENERGY AND EMPLOYMENT 107 INCENTIVES 109 6. Alternative Energy Sources, Currencies and Technologies 113 INTRODUCTION 115 CONSERVATION AS AN ENERGY SOURCE 117 BtOMASSENERGV 123 1. Alcohol Fuels 125 2. Biogas 130 3. Wood 132 4. Peat 135 COAL TECHNOLOGIES 139 1. Combustion Technologies 139 2. Conversion Technologies 142 DISTRICT HEATING 147 ELECTRICAL GENERATION 151 1. Combined-cycle Generation 151 2. Low-head and Small-scale Hydro-electric Generation 155 FUEL CELLS 157 1. Fuel Cell Technology 157 2. Advantages and Difficulties in Using Fuel Cells 158 3. International and Canadian Development 159 FUSION ENERGY 161 1. The Nature of Fusion Energy 161 2. Advantages and Difficulties in Using Fusion Energy 166 3. International and Canadian Development 167 xii GEOTHERMAL ENERGY 171 1. The Nature of Geothermal Energy 171 2. Advantages and Difficulties in Using Geothermal Energy 172 3. International and Canadian Development 175 HEAT PUMPS 179 1. Heat Pump Technology 179 2. Advantages and Difficulties in Using Heat Pumps 180 3. International and Canadian Development 181 HYDROGEN 183 1. The Nature of Hydrogen 183 2. Producing Hydrogen 184 3. Storing Hydrogen 185 4. Transporting Hydrogen 187 5. A Hydrogen-based Energy System for Canada 187 NONCONVENTIONAL PROPULSION 191 1. Propane 192 2. Compressed Natural Gas 192 3. Synthetic Gasoline 193 4. Alcohols 194 5. Electric and Hybrid Vehicles 195 6. Hydrogen 198 OCEAN ENERGY 201 1. Tidal Energy 201 2. Wave Energy 207 3. Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) 207 SOLAR ENERGY 211 1. The Nature of Solar Energy 211 2. Solar Space and Water Heating Systems 212 3. Solar-thermal Power Systems 217 4. Photovoltaics 217 5. Solar Energy: An Appropriate Technology 219 WIND ENERGY 221 1. The Nature of Wind Energy 221 2.