To the editor;
I recently came across an excellent online map that I think your readers will find quite interesting. The map is interactive and shows the locations and fuel sources being used to generate electricity at power plants across Canada.
It was put together by the Canadian Electricity Association and can be found at http://knowyourpower.ca/electricity-map/.
If you zoom out on this online map, and view the whole country at once, it’s easy to see graphically how renewable hydroelectric power predominates in BC, Manitoba, Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador while fossil fuel power predominates in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario and the Maritimes.
If you zoom in on the map, and place your cursor over individual power plants, you get information about the generating capacity and specific power source of individual generating facilities; from the largest coal and nuclear power plants right down to the smallest wind energy and run-of-river projects.
Given that the interactions between energy, environment and economy are, to say the least, complex, I feel it’s important for every person to know a little bit about the energy that powers our homes and businesses; where it comes from, and how it’s generated.
Knowing information like this makes us better citizens and better able to make informed choices and decisions.
Yolanda Lora Vilchis
Received by email