Challenges and opportunities

The critical issue in all electricity markets is ensuring that there is enough generation capacity to meet demand. When there is a shortfall, brownouts occur. These are short periods in which electricity is unavailable. Because electricity is so critical to many facets of life, both business and government want to ensure adequate generation.

Other issues include reducing air emissions. There are ongoing concerns to control mercury, nitrous oxide, sulfur dioxide and the greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide.

Over the years electricity generation has become more efficient. That is, more electricity can be generated from the same amount of fuel. It has also become cleaner. It now has fewer emissions than previously in each unit of power generated.

However, standards and expectations are always rising. Today, controlling or offsetting greenhouse gas emissions is a high concern.

All forms of power generation affect the environment. For example:

• Hydropower has no emissions and few greenhouse gases. However, it may flood land and change the ecology of the downstream river and wetlands.
• Nuclear power has no air emissions, but there are concerns about the long-lived radioactivity of used nuclear fuel.
• Coal is a cheaper fuel, but has higher emissions of particulates, carbon dioxide and other substances per unit of power than other fuels.
• Natural gas has lower emissions than coal. It is also a costly fuel source because of its wide range of uses outside of power generation.
• Wind power has no emissions, but requires a backup generation source for times when the wind does not blow. It also uses land in a way that some people find unsightly, and can be noisy.
• Biomass may be required in the future to reduce fossil fuel emissions of greenhouse gases, but is limited in plant size and can have higher fuel costs.
• All boiler and steam turbine plants lose waste heat from their condensers. This creates vapour plumes in the air, or affects water quality when discharged into lakes and rivers.