Honda factories in Ontario: would the project have been greener in Quebec?

Honda’s mega battery and electric car assembly complex is scheduled to begin production in Ontario as early as 2028. Experts say these new factories — and the vehicles they will manufacture — will weigh heavily on the province’s electricity grid , which may have to turn more to polluting sources to power them.

Although the Ontario government Doug Ford says it is striving to increase renewable energy sources, it refuses for the moment to abandon natural gas, which was responsible for approximately 13% of electricity production in Ontario last year.

Hydroelectricity represented a quarter (25%) of this production, while nuclear energy accounted for more than half (53%).

For comparison, more than 94% of the electricity produced in Quebec comes from its hydroelectric dams. The rest comes from other renewable sources, like wind and solar power.

We are in a situation where the Ontario network is becoming significantly less clean. We are seeing dramatic growth in the role of natural gas as a Source of electricity in Ontarioobserve Mark Winfieldprofessor of environmental and urban change at York University.

Quantities of emissions [dérivées de la production d’électricité] have tripled since 2017.

The expert is concerned that the addition of electric vehicles on our roads and mega assembly complexes in the southwest of the province will only exacerbate this dependence on natural gas.

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Ontario praised for its clean energy

Thursday, at AllistonHonda President and CEO Toshihiro Mibe touted the benefits of expanding its presence on Canadian soil, noting Ontario’s clean energy network. The world is changing rapidly and we must work together to achieve carbon neutralityhe declared at a press conference.

The Japanese manufacturer has also committed to selling only electric models by 2040. Here, the target is even more ambitious: from 2035, all new vehicles sold in Canada must be electric.

Justin Trudeau also highlighted the environmental responsibility as a Canadian value, put forward throughout the supply chain. We have a much more responsible approach and this is what consumers want around the world.underlined the Prime Minister.

Daniel Breton, CEO of Electric Mobility Canada — an association whose objective is to promote electric transportation — agrees. He claims that the greenhouse gas balance of electric vehicles keeps improving as provinces move away from polluting sources to supply themselves with electricity.

Electricity production is moving in the right direction, electricity is decarbonizing.

He mentions that Alberta must soon close its last two coal-fired power stations and that Nova Scotia has committed to reducing its emissions per kilowatt hour of electricity by 85% to 90% by 2030.

Mr. Breton admits that the most populous province has taken a few steps backwards in recent years. But it was, according to him, a transitional measure to allow Ontario to refurbish its nuclear power plants.

In Ontario, we saw a small increase in natural gas consumption because a nuclear power plant was being renovated, he explains. But there is an increase in wind power production, so it all balances out.

The teacher Mark Winfield responds, however, that this transition could last more than a decade. And that’s the best-case scenario, which is never the case in Ontario when we talk about nuclear projects.he said.

Experts – including from the Ontario Independent Electricity System Operator and the David Suzuki Foundation – say the province can avoid relying on natural gas through innovations that make the technologies less energy-intensive, investments in other renewable energies and an increased partnership with Hydro-Québec.

But there is no indication that the Ford government will follow these possible avenues, says Mr. Winfield. It is clear that we depend on natural gas to meet our additional electricity needs.