The Canadian government is seeking new clean energy generation to power federal operations of government buildings, vehicle fleets and other operations in Alberta through the federal government's Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) department. It has issued a request for proposals (RFP).
The Canadian government will also purchase renewable energy certificates (REC) from clean energy power generation sources to attribute its energy consumption as clean in regions where new clean renewable sources are not yet available.
The government says these procurements will support economic opportunities for indigenous businesses by encouraging participation in the move towards clean energy since each RFP incorporates mandatory requirements for indigenous participation.
The Canadian government's combined electricity consumption adds up to around 532,000 MWh annually from conventional sources with Alberta located federal buildings accounting for 31%. An additional 23% is consumed in other regions where local clean electricity initiatives will not be available in the near term.
"Together, these contracts will help to ensure Canada is reducing its greenhouse gas footprint by approximately 133 kilotons or 56% of total real property emissions in Alberta. Additionally, the contracts will displace approximately 41 kilotons of greenhouse gas emissions from electricity use in the rest of Canada," stated the government.
Canada aims to use 100% clean electricity by 2022, where available, under its Clean Electricity Initiative. The PSPC has set up goals as specified in the initiative to its specific requirement for net new clean electricity to power Alberta's federal operations.
Recently, the Canadian Renewable Energy Association reported the country installed a mere 70 MW of new solar power capacity in 2020 taking the cumulative close to 3 GW, a very disappointing level when compared to any other of the G8 nations (see Canada Installed 70 MW New Solar Capacity In 2020).