It is really was past time…

It is really was past time that the Government of the Province of Ontario and Ontario Power Generation got behind renewable energy, solar, wind, geo-thermal, small scale hydro-electric and other forms of renewable energy too numerous to mention here, and reduce and then eliminate electricity generated from dangerous and polluting sources, like nuclear energy, and climate change causing and polluting fossil fuel generation. The former is also an outdated, expensive (contrary to what they would have us believe) type of generation that belongs left in the 20th century and the latter is one that should have been left behind in the 19th century. In case I need to remind you, it is now the 21st century. And much more attention should be paid to energy efficiency and conservation, way more than has ever been paid attention to it in Ontario.

Any subsidies, tax breaks or financial incentives that the nuclear and fossil fuel industries get should be cancelled immediately, for if that happened, you would see how fast those industries collapsed. Even if you only gave half of those financial incentives to the renewable energy industry, all of our long term electricity needs would be met quickly, cost effectively and in a clean, non-polluting manner. A win-win scenario if ever there was one. And no one would miss the old, polluting industries they would replace. And you know this!

Ontario needs an energy plan for the 21st century. Other jurisdictions are in the process of making this a reality, so using the excuse that it is not practical or feasible is now just a lie. All one has to do is look at what is happening in Germany and other European countries to see what has already been accomplished. For goodness sake, even somewhere like American Samoa has switched completely to 100% renewable energy recently!

So it is time that the Province of Ontario developed and implemented an Energy Plan that completely embraces energy conservation, energy efficiency, the use of renewable energy electricity generation and the creation of more local power generation. Abandon the dependency of mega-projects and stop rewarding polluting forms of electricity generation and those that profit from it, they are a limited few, and give the citizens and taxpayers of this province a fair deal with their electricity rates, which will be easily achievable by abandoning things like nuclear power and all of the costs, hidden and otherwise, that it generates (that are never included in the ever-ballooning price tags of nuclear power plants construction when they are proposed to be built).

If the Government of Ontario and Ontario Power Generation had been honest and not kept hidden the fact that keeping the Pickering Nuclear station operating would cause a surplus of electricity generation (something OPG and the province knew as long ago as 2011) and that keeping it open would make the renewable energy projects on the boards that were recently cancelled unnecessary, Pickering could have been closed years ago and quickly and easily replaced by those renewable energy projects. In fact, replacing Pickering, Darlington and the Bruce nuclear power plants could be quickly and easily accomplished with a couple of years, if there was just the political will to get enthusiastically behind energy conservation, energy efficiency and renewable energy generation. It is happening elsewhere, it needs to start happening here now!

Stop rewarding a limited few, and provide a fair, and clean, deal for most of the citizens of this province!

Kevin Gamble

East York, Ontario

(P.S. I do not like having a nuclear disaster waiting to happen in my back yard, and that is exactly what could happen at any moment.)

[Original Comment ID: 207029]