Canada has spent a lot of time and money building itself up to be one of the biggest global producers of hydropower electricity. The country is second only to China in hydroelectricity production, and has planned to vastly expand its infrastructure to become a hydro superpower capable of supplying a good portion of its own energy needs through hydroelectricity as well as export clean energy and offer considerable energy storage capacity to the Northeastern United States.
Drought is not unprecedented in Canada, and is generally part of climate cycles in the region. But while drought cycles used to be pretty predictable, that’s no longer the case as climate change intensifies. And unpredictable drought does not bode well for energy security or return on investment in a hydro-heavy energy sector.