In our latest episode of Power Struggle hosted by Stewart Muir, energy veteran Terry Etam, thought-leader, author, commentator, writer and analyst, unpacks the disconnect between energy policy and real-world energy systems. It’s physics, economics, and common sense.
The reality of energy systems
“Energy is the basis of everything,” Etam said. “Our buildings don’t heat themselves automatically, and we don’t get gasoline automatically. It comes from somewhere, and so people have to start telling the story about how it gets there”.
He noted that for years, the public was sold “easy answers” about switching to wind or solar, with the reality being light years away from those promises.
“There was the feeling that we had to get away from hydrocarbons. . . And I think that’s sort of taken a back seat now to the fact that we need energy security more than anything”.
Global demand is ‘going through the roof’
Etam emphasized that the energy pie keeps getting bigger.
“If India and China and Pakistan and Indonesia… start consuming energy in the same per-capita amounts that Westerners do, oil demand or energy demand would go through the roof”.
While Etam believes the world will eventually shift to a mix of nuclear, renewables and new technologies, he stressed that hydrocarbons will remain essential for a very long time.
“I butt heads with people in the oil patch sometimes when I say that, in my view, at some point we will be moving away from hydrocarbons… but we’re a long way from that”.
The Canadian disadvantage
A major theme of the discussion was the regulatory gridlock facing Canadian infrastructure compared to the United States.
“We need to build major infrastructure, but the impediments in Canada are everywhere, and they seem to be just a lot more severe and long-lasting than in the U.S.,” Etam said.
“There’s so much uncertainty… We’re talking five, six, seven years [in Canada], whereas they can go to the United States and find a jurisdiction and be up and running in three years”.
Good policy starts with good facts
The excellent interview led Muir to say: “If there’s one takeaway from today’s conversation, it’s that Canada’s energy future depends less on political promises and more on understanding the practical realities of engineering, economics, and global markets. And Terry’s decades of hands-on experience really remind me that good policy starts with good facts.
Watch the full episode on Power Struggle
- Power Struggle audio and transcript
- Power Struggle website
- Terry Etam’s website
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- Terry Etam on X
- Stewart Muir on LinkedIn
- Stewart Muir on X
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