When I first started contemplating this year’s theme, renewal came as a challenge to me. Was it a call to start thinking differently, to set aside preconceived notions of what innovation looks like for the energy sector – especially in a world marked by unanticipated and unprecedented interruptions? Or was it, as the prefix re in renewal suggests, an invitation to return to the comfort of tried-and-tested methods, despite their predictability and—at worst—unsustainability? My answer to this paradox is inspired by the environment’s systems of renewal that are bound to resume anew despite immeasurable violations, disruptions, and suspensions. The Government of Canada’s commitment to achieve net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by the year 2050 cannot materialize without the electricity sector’s dedication to generate, transmit, and distribute clean power. For this to come to pass, a renewal of our commitments, strategies, and infrastructure has to be kept in full view.
