#energy-economics

#energy-economics

Fusion power's biggest question remains unanswered: how do you ensure the cost to start the fusion reaction isn't higher than the price at which you can sell the power? Plenty of people have ideas, but no one has cracked it yet. Commonwealth Fusion Systems, for example, is confident enough that it's building a massive reactor that costs several hundred million dollars. But the device won't be turned on until next year, leaving the question unanswered for now.

A decade ago, the cheapest way to meet growing demand for electricity was to build more coal or natural gas power plants. Not anymore. Solar and wind power aren't just better for the climate; they're also less expensive today than fossil fuels at utility scale, and they're less harmful to people's health. Yet renewable energy projects face headwinds, including in the world's fast-growing developing countries.

The nationwide average retail residential price for 1 kilowatt-hour of electricity rose from 16.41 cents to 17.47 cents between May 2024 and May 2025, a gain of about 6.5%.

The increased trajectory for Canadian oilsands production growth amidst a period of oil price volatility reflects producers' continued emphasis on optimization and the favourable economics that underpin such operations.