Photo: CanREA. 
Over 250 industry professionals attended The Canadian Renewable Energy Association (CanREA) inaugural two day Operations Summit, virtually.
“Operations professionals are the people who project developers come to when they want to know if a dream concept is both possible and practical,” said Phil McKay, Senior Director, Operations, CanREA. “This is the conference that answers the question: what is possible? And not just right now, but five to ten years from now: what is coming down the pipeline for the engineering marvel that is our industry?”
Speakers looked at 2020 and focused on the path ahead, by sharing how they navigated this year. They also spoke about significant operations and maintenance trends developing in Canada.
“Over the next five years, we will see massive innovation in the O&M space in Canada. It will be unlike anything we’ve seen before,” said Robert Hornung, President and CEO, CanREA. “Our members are already pushing the boundaries of what technology can do, but as wind, solar and storage come together to accelerate a decarbonized grid, we will seize the opportunity to bring it to the next level.”
A session on “Critical Infrastructure Protection,” by Mollie Johnson, Deputy Minister for the Low Carbon Energy Sector, Natural Resources Canada’s Assistant, discussed threats and opportunities affecting the security of Canada’s electricity-system infrastructure, and Canada’s response. Also, Tyler Hamilton, MaRS Discovery District) and Tom Rand, ArcTern Ventures presented “A Conversation About Emerging Clean Tech Innovation,”
“Continuous improvement in the operations and maintenance of renewable energy assets is vital to the long-term success of this industry,” said Paul van der Weg, Managing Director, Canada, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy. “As a proud supporter of the CanREA Operations Summit, we appreciate the opportunity to showcase our commitment to driving innovation with solutions that extend the lifetime of our customers’ renewable-energy projects. The Summit is a great way to engage with industry partners and share best practices to the benefit of all Canadians.”
