Guidelines for integrating climate data into the planning and design of electrical systems

Canada’s electricity sector must adapt to the growing impacts of climate change, which threaten the reliability and safety of its energy infrastructure. In addition, engineers, planners, and managers still often use methods based on past climate conditions, which limits the grid’s resilience. However, the climate projections and data now available make it possible to integrate future risks directly into the planning, design and management of electrical assets. This project addresses this issue by offering a framework for understanding, evaluating and using climate data in the electricity sector.

The purpose of the project is to help the electricity sector integrate climate data into infrastructure planning and design to improve climate resilience. It aims to support the sector’s decision-makers in making informed and resilient decisions in light of the risks associated with the anticipated changes.

More concretely, the project will make it possible to:

• Better understand the needs related to the use of climate data in the energy sector

• Allow the reliability of this data to be assessed in terms of specific applications

• Identify the main knowledge gaps that need to be filled

• Propose practical ways to take climate uncertainty into account in decision-making

The project is based on a collaboration between climate researchers and experts in the electricity sector. The researchers will aim to identify the needs of energy sector and to assess current practices through workshops, interviews and a review of the scientific and grey literature. The workshops and interviews will be facilitated by representatives of the various organizations involved in the project. At the same time, the researchers will produce a summary of the existing climate data for analyses in the Canadian context. These descriptions will include information on their quality, limitations, and relevance for various uses.

The project will result in the production of a guide to facilitate the integration of climate data into the planning and design of electrical infrastructure. Produced through the Quarto scientific publishing system, this guide will be available directly online and will offer a clear vision of the needs of the sector, an inventory of available data, and an assessment of its reliability. Practical recommendations will help energy stakeholders use this information in different contexts and for a variety of activities.

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