Canada is closer to a 100% renewable electrical infrastructure than almost another other country in the world with 60% of its power supplied by hydroelectric. However to completely eliminate Canada's dependence on coal, diesel & nuclear power by replacing them with wind turbines would be an impossibly expensive proposition. It would require the construction of 740,000 large 600-kilowatt offshore wind turbines at a cost of $1740 Canadian funds per person per year. That is the cost to every man, woman and child in Canada.

A better solution would be energy efficiency. Simply reducing electrical consumption generally by 40 percent would achieve the same thing. One way to help achieve this is to buy LED lights which are by far the most luminous form of lighting for the amount of power they consume, on the order of 30-times more efficient than the typical incandescent light. Also many light fixtures are purchased based on their attractiveness during the day irrespective of how efficient or functional they are at night. Therefore another way to increase lighting efficiency is to buy reflectors for lights so that all of the light produced is reflected downwards. Otherwise 50 percent or more of the light - and energy - escapes into space!

Incidentally the following composite photograph of Earth's cities at night is an excellent example of wasted energy. Imagine how far away this "light pollution" can be seen!

Earth's Cities At Night