The Ontario government has just announced $8-billion in renewable energy projects, to be undertaken by dozens of companies with the aim of increasing renewable capacity by 2,500 megawatts.
Investing in the energy systems of the future just makes sense. Ontario could improve on this further by accelerating their planned coal phase-out from 2014 to this year.
Author: Milan
In the spring of 2005, I graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in International Relations and a general focus in the area of environmental politics. In the fall of 2005, I began reading for an M.Phil in IR at Wadham College, Oxford.
Outside school, I am very interested in photography, writing, and the outdoors. I am writing this blog to keep in touch with friends and family around the world, provide a more personal view of graduate student life in Oxford, and pass on some lessons I've learned here.
View all posts by Milan
Ontarians pay price for Liberals’ backfiring green energy plans
ADAM RADWANSKI
At a certain point, the excuses start to wear a little thin.
Yes, Ontario entered largely uncharted territory with the most ambitious alternative-energy strategy in North America. Sure, it was inevitable that a few mistakes would need to be corrected along the way. The price of moving urgently, and all that.
But the Green Energy Act is one of the centrepieces of Dalton McGuinty’s second term. It’s supposed to be pivotal to the province’s economic and environmental future. And it asks Ontarians to shoulder higher energy bills over the next few years to subsidize the costs.
That being the case, Mr. McGuinty’s Liberals needed to do their homework before moving forward. But as demonstrated this month by a pair of controversies, and as many Liberals privately concede, they were in too much of a hurry for that.
Of the two recent stories, a new moratorium on offshore wind turbines has received more coverage. The back-story is that the Liberals barely considered whether they even wanted offshore developments – as opposed to the ones on land – before allowing for them in their legislation. They were then caught off guard by the amount of interest from developers, and the vehemence of opposition in lakeside communities. Last year, they announced a five-kilometre setback requirement that they hoped would make the issue go away. Now, having decided that wasn’t sufficient, they’ve ruled out offshore entirely – leaving in the lurch at least a couple of developers who were moving forward in good faith.
McGuinty’s green energy ‘explosion’ more an implosion
Barrie McKenna | Columnist profile | E-mail
From Monday’s Globe and Mail
Published Sunday, Jun. 12, 2011 7:05PM EDT
Last updated Monday, Jun. 13, 2011 7:36AM EDT
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But the biggest hurdle for the green plan is economics. Even the generous rates on offer haven’t led to a gusher of green investment. The plan has so far created just 1,200 factory jobs, and overall just 13,000.
And roughly 15 projects have added 10.6 megawatts of power to the grid, roughly enough to power 1,600 homes. That’s well shy of the hundreds of megawatts that would be needed to displace any significant amount of coal or nuclear generation. And it’s still too small to create any economies of scale that would bring down the cost of production over time.
Samsung isn’t explicitly saying so but the threat that heavily subsidized green-power rates may vanish – either due to politics or a WTO ruling – must be making the company rethink the other three plants it has promised.
That’s unfortunate. Mr. McGuinty was on to something in 2009. Using government purchasing power to jump-start an innovative homegrown industry and jobs is sound policy.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/commentary/barrie-mckenna/mcguintys-green-energy-explosion-more-an-implosion/article2057633/
Ontario Liberals scrap plans for $3.8 billion in renewable energy projects
The move will keep $2.45 from going on the average homeowner’s monthly hydro bill
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In another measure to keep hydro bills in check, Ontario is scrapping plans to sign $3.8 billion in contracts for renewable energy like wind and solar, Energy Minister Glenn Thibeault said Tuesday.
The move — which the Progressive Conservatives have been calling for regularly — will keep $2.45 from going on the average homeowner’s monthly hydro bill and halt the building of new wind farms opposed by many rural residents.