To whom it may concern,   …

To whom it may concern,

I want Ontario’s next Long-Term Energy Plan (LTEP) to acknowledge that going 100% renewable is a viable option for Ontario’s energy future. Enabling communities to power their own facilities will allow the province to grow sustainable and quickly, setting us up for success. Let's empower communities and citizens to go 100% renewable

More and more communities, countries and companies are opting to go 100% renewable.   Ontario’s next energy plan should put policies in place to enable citizens, communities and First Nations to go 100% renewable.

To fight climate change and reduce our environmental footprint, I think Ontario’s next energy plan should make conservation and efficiency the first priority for all energy decisions. Let's help the greater country reach our Paris Agreement targets and exceed them. A recent government study showed we have the potential to cost-effectively reduce electricity demand by 30% by 2035.

The biggest barrier to shifting Ontario to 100% renewable energy is the government’s current commitment to nuclear power.

While the cost of renewables keeps declining, the cost of nuclear power has only ever gone up. Despite this, the government’s past energy plans have made no requirement for nuclear projects to undergo public review against alternatives. This needs to change.

Ontario’s next energy plan needs to ensure there are a full and fair comparisons of the total costs of nuclear with alternatives and an opportunity for the public to have a say about which approach they prefer.

This means we need to close Pickering. Ontario’s 2013 energy plan committed to close the Pickering nuclear station between 2017 and 2020, but earlier this year the government announced they would renege on this promise and keep operating Pickering until 2024. Almost all of Pickering’s output is surplus and exported to Michigan at a loss.  This is needlessly driving up energy costs.

Pickering’s continued operation also puts the public at risk. Ontario has not updated its nuclear emergency plans since the Fukushima disaster. And many highly populated cities are in close proximity to this nuclear station.

I want the government to keep its promise to close Pickering before 2020. Shutting Pickering down should be a first step in Ontario’s long-term transition to renewable energy.

Thank you for taking the time to consider my comments.

[Original Comment ID: 206801]