How Underinvestment in Grids Is Holding Back Renewable Energy

by Dan Roscoe, CEO of Roswall

In too many jurisdictions, clean energy is being curtailed, delayed, or stranded—not because we can’t generate it, but because we can’t deliver it.

We talk a lot about building more clean energy. Wind, solar, storage—shovel-ready projects are lining up across Canada, waiting to deliver power that’s cleaner, cheaper, and more secure.

But there’s a growing problem no turbine or solar panel can solve on its own: the grid is full.

The Hidden Bottleneck

Clean energy generation is accelerating around the world. But the infrastructure to move and store that energy hasn’t kept pace.

The result? Projects delayed for years due to interconnection backlogs. Renewable electricity curtailed because there’s nowhere for it to go. Clean electrons replaced by fossil fuels because the grid wasn’t ready to receive them.

This is no longer a technical problem. It’s a planning and investment problem—and it’s fast becoming one of the most consequential barriers to decarbonization in Canada and beyond.

According to the International Energy Agency, for every dollar invested in clean generation worldwide, only 60 cents goes to grids and storage. That gap is unsustainable.

The 2024 World Energy Outlook highlights this imbalance clearly: regions are building generation capacity faster than they are building the systems to manage it. Without parallel investment in transmission, distribution, and storage, the energy transition becomes inefficient at best—and stuck at worst.

Real World Examples of Grid-Limited Development

California

One of the world’s largest solar markets has faced curtailment of clean energy during peak generation hours, simply because the transmission system can’t move power from where it’s made to where it’s needed. The result? Wasted clean electricity and financial pressure on developers.


Germany

A mismatch between northern wind generation and southern demand centers has exposed the consequences of delayed transmission expansion. Grid congestion has led to costly redispatch orders and, ironically, payments to fossil fuel plants to stay online.


Ontario

A lack of transparency in queue management and grid capacity issues have created uncertainty for renewable energy developers. Projects are delayed or stuck in limbo—not due to technology, but to policy and process.


Nova Scotia

Closer to home, interconnection delays and infrastructure constraints have slowed progress. These issues were highlighted in the 2023 Clean Electricity Solutions Task Force report, and led to the introduction of Bill 404, which will establish the Nova Scotia Independent Energy System Operator (NSIESO) in fall 2025.

This transition—along with ongoing UARB proceedings under Matter No. M10905—marks an important step toward modernizing system planning and interconnection policy. But it also reflects how critical the grid has become to unlocking clean energy’s full potential.

What Underinvestment Looks Like in Practice

When we underinvest in the grid, the effects aren’t always obvious—but they’re deeply felt:

  • Delays in permitting and regulatory approvals

  • Aging infrastructure not designed for distributed or variable generation

  • Lack of grid flexibility—no smart systems, no real-time responsiveness, no meaningful storage integration

  • Invisible costs: missed emissions targets, lost jobs, dampened investor confidence, and frustration in communities ready to lead


What Canada (and Nova Scotia) Can Learn

We need to plan for a grid that matches the ambition of our generation goals. That means:

  • Proactive federal and provincial coordination on infrastructure funding

  • Transparent interconnection procedures and queue management

  • Grid modernization that includes storage, smart controls, and bi-directional flows

  • Indigenous partnerships that ensure benefits are shared, and projects are built on a foundation of long-term trust

Canada’s clean energy resources are vast—but without the ability to deliver that power, we can’t realize their full value.

Clean generation is necessary. But on its own, it’s not enough. The energy transition depends on our ability to move and manage power—flexibly, reliably, and equitably. Grid investment isn’t just support for renewables. It is climate infrastructure.

If we want the energy transition to succeed, we can’t afford to delay the systems that make it work.


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Dan Roscoe is the CEO of Roswall Development, a renewable energy developer, and President of Renewall Energy, a renewable energy provider, both based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. His work is focused on building the infrastructure for a cleaner, smarter energy future across Canada and beyond.

Dan Roscoe