Canada: A global hydroelectric powerhouse

Canadian Hydropower Association’s interactive map details a vast clean energy network

Water, water, everywhere.

It’s estimated that Canada holds 20 percent of the world’s total freshwater resources.

So it’s no wonder that the Great White North is also one of the world’s largest producers of clean and green hydroelectricity.

According to Canada’s Energy Fact Book 2016-17, using the latest facts and figures:

• Canada produces 10% of the world’s hydroelectric power, second only to China’s 27%, with a total output of 78,317 megawatts (MW);
• Hydroelectricity accounts for 63% of Canada’s net electricity generation (fourth behind Norway’s 96%, Brazil’s 69% and Venezuela’s 68%); and
• Canada has two hydro facilities producing more than 5,000 MW each—the Robert-Bourassa power plant in Quebec (5,616 MW) and the Churchill Falls project in Labrador (5,428 MW).

But where are all these projects, exactly? The Canadian Hydropower Association’s interactive map plots out Canada’s hydro landscape—a vast network of hydroelectric facilities and transmission lines stretching from the Yukon to Ungava to Georgian Bay to the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

Visit and explore!

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