Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
In Powering Canada Strong, we talk with retired professional engineer, Randy Stubbings, a man with 45 years of experience in the Alberta electricity industry. These short clips are meant to discuss some of the challenges of the proposed East-West power grid, presented in the federal government's "Powering Canada Strong" plan to implement a clean energy power grid. Canada is planning to spend $1 trillion to double the power grid by 2050. Central to the plan is building out transmission lines to better connect the provincial 'islands' of power generation. In this episode, Stubbings explains the "Powering Canada Strong" plan entails many subsidies, suggesting the plan is not economic. He explains that traditionally, the power grid has had a north-south orientation, largely due to the economics of population densities. While the concept of building out transmission lines to 'share' power between regions is often compared to the situation in the European Union, where power grids are tightly networked, Stubbings points out that population density is a significant economic factor. Europe is dotted with dozens of high density cities, probably 10 or 15 times that of the prairies; not so for Canada! Between Toronto and Calgary, there is not one city of one million people, making for unrealistic economics, plus the terrain is very difficult for transmission line construction. Stubbings notes that Quebec Hydro found a good market to sell power to New York City (the metro region's population is ~19 million vs Quebec's population of 9 million). Read our reports about the challenges of clean electricity and power grid pitfalls. Watch Stubbings' presentation: "Net Zero and the Future Power Grid" friendsofscience.org/library/events/net-zero-and-the-future-power-grid.html Join Friends of Science or donate to help our cause of educating the public with insights on climate and energy policies. friendsofscience.org
In Powering Canada Strong, we talk with retired professional engineer, Randy Stubbings, a man with 45 years of experience in the Alberta electricity industry. These short clips are meant to discuss some of the challenges of the proposed East-West power grid, presented in the federal government's "Powering Canada Strong" plan to implement a clean energy power grid. Canada is planning to spend $1 trillion to double the power grid by 2050. Central to the plan is building out transmission lines to better connect the provincial 'islands' of power generation. In this episode, Stubbings explains the "Powering Canada Strong" plan entails many subsidies, suggesting the plan is not economic. He explains that traditionally, the power grid has had a north-south orientation, largely due to the economics of population densities. While the concept of building out transmission lines to 'share' power between regions is often compared to the situation in the European Union, where power grids are tightly networked, Stubbings points out that population density is a significant economic factor. Europe is dotted with dozens of high density cities, probably 10 or 15 times that of the prairies; not so for Canada! Between Toronto and Calgary, there is not one city of one million people, making for unrealistic economics, plus the terrain is very difficult for transmission line construction. Stubbings notes that Quebec Hydro found a good market to sell power to New York City (the metro region's population is ~19 million vs Quebec's population of 9 million). Read our reports about the challenges of clean electricity and power grid pitfalls. Watch Stubbings' presentation: "Net Zero and the Future Power Grid" friendsofscience.org/library/events/net-zero-and-the-future-power-grid.html Join Friends of Science or donate to help our cause of educating the public with insights on climate and energy policies. friendsofscience.org
