The United States Commercial Service (USCS) is organizing a “Green Energy Canada 2009” event to be held on November 17-18, 2009, at the Metro Convention Centre in Toronto, Ontario. This event will provide U.S. manufacturers with excellent opportunities to meet potential business partners and present their technologies and equipment to experts in the field.

The event is being held in conjunction with the 2009 Annual Conference of the Association of Power Producers of Ontario (APPrO) (http://conference.appro.org). This annual conference is attended by representatives of the power producing, transmission, and distribution companies and of other energy companies in Ontario, as well as officials from the government and regulatory bodies.

The USCS “Green Energy” event offers U.S. manufacturers a unique opportunity to showcase their Renewable Energy and Electrical Power equipment and technologies to a wide range of Ontario energy companies and affiliated organizations.

Important Sectors for the Canadian Economy

Electrical Power Systems and Renewable Energy play a key role in the Ontario economy. One of the emerging areas of current market demand is in the renewable energy sector of Ontario, in which the government will invest approximately $15 billion over the next seven years. The power industry also plans to invest an additional $2 billion per year during that time.

A strong driver of demand is the need to replace an aging energy infrastructure. According to the Ontario Power Authority (OPA), 80 percent of Ontario’s power generation facilities will have to be replaced within the next 10 to 15 years. The OPA estimates that over US $ 60 billion worth of investment is necessary over that period and is working on programs to secure the required power capacities.

Electricity demand in Canada has already been growing at an average rate of 1.2% a year since 1990. The growing population and economy will continue to drive an increase in demand for electricity. The current depressed demand is the result of the slowdown in the economy, particularly the manufacturing sector, which in the past 6 months was severely affected by the global recession. If as forecasted, the economy rebounds towards the end of 2009 and into 2010, it is estimated that the demand in electricity will continue to grow at an average rate of 1.3 % annually.

The Ontario provincial government has planned the elimination of coal based energy production and a shift towards cleaner technologies in order to increase renewable energy production. The Ontario government just announced that two units of the remaining four coal-fired power plants will be closed. Several wind farm projects are in various stages of development to help offset these closures in the short-term.

New generating capacities require transmission lines and integration into the national electricity grid. The industry is also interested in smart grid development and the “North American grids integration” initiative. The province is also in the process of selecting a vendor for new nuclear reactors to be built.

Moreover, the Canadian federal government a number of programs to support and stimulate “Renewable Energy and Clean Technologies” with a $1.05 billion funding proposal managed by Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC).

APPrO has a strong voice in influencing the government of Ontario regarding its energy policies. The organization holds considerable leverage since their members and affiliates are responsible for approximately 95% of all electricity produced in Ontario.

Opportunities for US Companies  

Ontario represents a key market for U.S. manufacturers of equipment and technologies for the above mentioned industries. Two thirds of total Canadian imports for the Electrical Power and Renewable Energy sectors go to destination in Ontario. The USCS “Green Energy Canada 2009” trade promotion event is a great opportunity for U.S. exporters. They will be able to meet with many Ontario power generators and distributors, who will take part in the APPrO and USCS event.

Some of the main opportunities are as follows:

• Power generation, co-generation, transmission, and distribution
• Smart grid development and grids’ integration
• Renewable energy - wind, solar, biofuels
• Carbon capture, clean energy and energy conservation technologies
• Nuclear energy

By participating in this year’s “Green Energy Canada 2009,” U.S. companies will have the following benefits:

• USCS Canada and APPrO pre-event marketing campaign
• One-on-one business meetings with prescreened potential business partners
• Opportunity to display and distribute promotional materials, as well as conduct a 20 minute presentation of new products/technologies
• Networking with key Canadian/Ontario business, industry and government representatives
• Exposure on USCS Canada’s Featured U.S. Exporters (FUSE) webpage
• Assistance with logistics and customs prior to arrival in Toronto
• Market briefing and counseling on Canada’s power sector