Quote:
Originally Posted by Azure
Not misplaced at all, as we need to be exporting it as LNG to the rest of the world.
Also, just because the majority of our power is coming from hydro, it doesn't mean that the majority of our heating & cooling is being done with electric.
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Obviously the cooling is primarily done with electricity, what else would it be? And what heating isn't being done with electricity is mostly being done with natural gas for economic reasons. Heat pumps work great in more temperate areas and operating costs can rival gas. But their Coefficient of Performance drops pretty rapidly in the types of temperatures a lot of places in Canada see in the winter, making them less viable. And building up expensive nuclear power plants to power heat pumps in very cold climates (while likely better for the environment) will get very expensive, very fast (like probably triple the operating cost with current heat pump technology, never mind the capital costs).
If the electricity is extremely cheap and clean (like in Quebec) it can be a viable option in cold climates. But even SMRs are going to be pretty expensive relative to what they can produce, meaning the electricity will be more expensive and running a heat pump at a COP of 2 or something like that won't really be cost effective.