Electric trucks key to British Columbia GHG goal: Study

British Columbia will need a revolution in commercial trucking if the province hopes to meet an ambitious 2050 greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction target, according to a new study.

The province will require a massive build-up of electric trucks — and the power infrastructure required to support them — to cut emissions from the transportation sector, researchers from the University of British Columbia say in a study released last week.

"Transportation is British Columbia's single largest source of emissions and freight trucks are a key contributor," University of British Columbia energy expert and project lead Walter Merida said.

The study says the province needs to slash GHG emissions from road freight transport by at least 64pc by 2040 to help meet its overall target and support economic growth.

The province is not on track to meet a more immediate goal of cutting GHGs by 33pc from 2007 levels by 2020, in part due to freight transport emissions that have remained stubbornly high. As of 2015, total emissions in the province had dropped by just 4.7pc from the baseline. But for freight trucks, emissions have increased by 13.5pc. The transportation sector accounted for 40pc of emissions in 2015.

British Columbia already has a number of policies in place to reduce GHGs, including a carbon tax and a low-carbon fuel standard. The government also offers incentives for the purchase of zero-emission vehicles.

If the government proves successful in shifting the transportation sector toward electricity, it must also plan for new generation sources, the report warns.

The province's main utility, BC Hydro, has said the proposed 1,100MW Site C dam will provide greater flexibility to meet a potential increase in energy use from electric vehicles. The government granted final approval to the project, a source of contention for many decades, in December.

But the researchers say that Site C may not be enough. Electrification of just the trucking sector would require up to 33 terawatt hours by 2040, according to the study, equivalent to 55pc of the province's electricity generation.

"Bottom line is that electrification of trucking would introduce a large new load, which needs to be seriously considered in British Columbia's future energy system," said Sybil Seitzinger, executive director for the Pacific Institute for Climate Solutions, which supported the study.