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Because the United States is the world’s largest importer of crude oil, it is easy to forget that:
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- Canada is one of the world's largest producers and exporters of Oil and Natural Gas
- Canada had 179 billion barrels of proven oil reserves as of January 2008, second only to Saudi Arabia
- Canada is the 2nd largest producer of Natural Gas in the Western Hemisphere, after the United States
- Canada is the 3rd largest producer of natural gas
- Canada is the 5th largest energy producer in the world
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Approximately 23% of U.S. energy consumption is natural gas. In fact, over one-half of the homes in the U.S. use natural gas as their main heating fuel.
Natural gas is also an essential raw material commonly used in many products such as paint, fertilizer, plastics, anti-freeze, dyes, photographic film, medicines and explosives. We also get propane – a fuel many of us use for camping or to fuel our backyard barbecue grills – when we process natural gas.
Natural gas has thousands of uses. Industry depends on it. It's used to produce steel, glass, paper, clothing, brick, electricity and much more.
More than 62.5 million homes use natural gas to fuel stoves, furnaces, water heaters, clothes dryers and other household appliances. It is also used to roast coffee, smoke meats, bake bread and much more!
Even with Canada exploiting cheap and abundant natural resources to keep electricity prices low :
Between 1990 & 2005, residential electricity prices increased by 48%
From 2005 to 2008 the demand for electricity in Canada grew by 36% while over the same period, 15% of the current generation fleet is slated for retirement
Less than 1% of Canada's electricity comes from wind power.
Denmark, for example, more than 20% of electricity is wind generated. In Spain the figure is 13% and in Germany it is 7%
The United States in 2008 has become the largest producer of wind energy in the world
At the end of 2007, world-wide wind generating capacity stood at 94,000 MW. By 2020, close to $1 trillion in global investment is projected to bring global installed capacity to more than 500,000 MW.
Canada has trailed most of the developed world when it comes to wind power. A study by the Internation Energy Agency projected that Canada would need about $185 billion (US) of new investment in electricity generation by 2030. |
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Crude Oil 