Innovation Spring 2025

Using wind and solar power are factored as Canada aims for net-zero emissions by 2035. P hoto : crystal 51/S hutterstock

Modelling estimates future electricity generation, capacity and costs

A s the principal investigator at the Sustainable Energy Systems Integration & Transitions (SESIT) Group at the University of Victoria, Dr. Madeleine McPherson, P.Eng. develops open source energy models that anticipate how much the infrastructure for clean energy will cost – both financially and in terms of carbon emissions intensity. The group’s capacity expansion models (CEM), in particular, can show the long-term effects of investing in different renewable energy resources, estimate how long it would take to phase out legacy systems, and estimate the costs of associated infrastructure. Two major models, Canadian Opportunities for Planning and Production of Electricity Resources (COPPER) and

Strategic Integration of Large-capacity Variable Energy Resources (SILVER), are some of Canada’s first open source models equipped to comprehensively estimate future electric generation, transmission capacity, and infrastructure costs. The value of COPPER and SILVER models Open-source energy models, like the ones published by McPherson’s lab, can be useful for allowing different partner groups to advocate for solutions and develop proposals. One of the advocating NGOs that contributed to the process was the Vancouver-based David Suzuki Foundation. The foundation used SESIT Group’s open source modelling work as part of its efforts to advocate for ways to reduce emissions.

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Spring 2025

Innovation