The review of the Long-Term…

The review of the Long-Term Energy Plan will profoundly impact Ontario’s efforts to fight climate change. Now is the time for the province to commit to the long-term goal of completely decarbonising the electricity grid and moving to 100 per cent renewable energy by mid-century. Clean, renewable energy is the surest – and cheapest – pathway to a low-carbon economy. Natural gas is cleaner than coal, but natural gas is a fossil fuel. Fighting climate change means phasing out fossil fuels, and that means getting rid of natural gas.

Renewable energy prices are dropping while the cost of nuclear power is rising. Prices for wind power in Ontario have already dropped by 66 per cent and are projected to drop by another 50 per cent over the next ten years. Meanwhile, Ontario Power Generation wants to increase the price it receives for nuclear power by 180 per cent. Solar power prices have come down even more dramatically than wind. In several jurisdictions, solar power is now the cheapest form of energy available, period. We see this trend continuing.

As part of this review, the real prices paid for different sources of power must be made public, so Ontarians can have an informed conversation about what’s behind rising electricity bills. External benefits, such as job creation and investment are important to the overall economy, but should not interfere with cost clarity. We need to factor in externalities, as they are currently understood, with the costs of climate change, environmental impacts, costs of emissions pollutants and actual nuclear liability costs. The Federal government has recently adjusted the liability caps, and continues to recognize that the nuclear industry’s liability is artificially, and quietly, subsidized by the average homeowner, provincial and municipal governments, without which, financing of these projects, at reasonable electrical rates, would not be possible.

Renewable energy is only responsible for a small fraction of provincial electricity costs. This needs greater clarity and should be divulged to, and understood by, rate payers and taxpayers. Source and delivery cost clarity should not be a difficult, or convoluted, process to undertake by the Province.

Ontario’s leadership in supporting renewable energy has paid off. Ontario leads Canada in solar and wind development, and is home to half of clean tech spending in this country, which returns billions of dollars to our economy and sustains tens of thousands of jobs.  Ontarians overwhelmingly support renewable energy. In a recent poll by EKOS, 80 per cent of Ontarians said they want to see more renewable energy in the future. A true understanding of current procurement and future planned procurement costs will allow for informed decision making by the public. The Long-Term Energy Plan must reflect that.

[Original Comment ID: 203858]