Ontario: Leading Canada's Green Economy - A Lesson For British Columbia

Posted on October 8, 2009 by Warren Brazier

In September, the Ontario government announced a series of initiatives in the renewable energy sector which are designed to open up investment opportunities in that province's green economy on its way to establishing Ontario as "North America's leader in renewable energy" (its words not mine).

Ontario calls its initiatives the "Ten Steps to Green Energy". Below is a list of those ten steps, along with some comparison to what has or has not been done in British Columbia.

1. Ontario announced it will close four coal-fuelled power units in 2010 - four years ahead of the 2014 target. In BC, we do not have coal-fired electricity generation facilities, but BC Hydro's aging Burrard Thermal, which burns natural gas to create electricity, still exists.  A decision on its closure is expected, but has not yet been made.

2. Ontario launched an Aboriginal Energy Partnerships Program. In BC, there is the Remote Community Clean Energy Program which last year provided $20 million to remote communities to encourage and support sustainable remote community clean energy systems.

3. Ontario announced the $250 million Aboriginal Loan Guarantee program (ALGP). In BC, there is no similar program, except as mentioned above. I wrote about the Ontario aboriginal program here.

4. Ontario gave the go-ahead to Hydro One to begin work on 20 new transmission projects. In BC, BCTC filed a $5.3 billion Ten Year Capital Plan in 2008, which includes $657 million over 10 years for interconnecting clean and renewable generation. Also recently announced is that the 330 km Northwest Transmission Line will proceed at an estimated cost of $404 million.

5. Ontario, through the Community Energy Partnerships Program, is trying to make it easier for communities in Ontario to bring green energy projects to life.  I am not aware of a similar program in BC, but the Community Energy Association is promoting energy efficiency and alternative energy through community energy planning and project implementation in British Columbia. Here is a good summary of its work. 

6. Ontario, through the Municipal Renewable Energy Program, is trying to make it easier for municipalities to bring green energy projects to their communities. I am not aware of a similar program in BC, but the Community Energy Association's vision is somewhat parallel.

7. Ontario established the Renewable Energy Facilitation Office (REFO), to assist developers, communities and municipalities obtain information on developing renewable energy projects in Ontario. In BC, we have Front Counter BC and the BC IPP Office. BC has also published the IPP Guidebook to assist IPP developers through the province's regulatory process.

8. The province's Renewable Energy Approval (REA) process became law by regulation through enactment of the Green Energy Act. There is no similar express renewable energy regulation in BC.

9. Ontario develops domestic content requirements which would ensure at least 25 per cent of wind projects and 50 per cent of large solar projects be produced in Ontario. There is no similar production requirement in BC.

10. Ontario's Green Energy Act became law and by regulation introduces North America's first comprehensive feed-in tariff program that guarantees specific rates for energy generated from renewable sources. There is no Green Energy Act in BC and BC does not have a specific feed-in tariff, but BC Hydro has the Standing Offer Program for projects less than 10MW. 

As the above analysis reveals, while it has taken some steps forward, BC has not yet acted in the same cohesive and coordinated manner that Ontario has in its support of the renewable energy sector in this province.  In particular, the fact that a pronounced and comprehensive multi-fuel source feed-in tariff for BC has not been proclaimed is one of the greatest differences between BC and Ontario.  In my view, this is the principal reason why Ontario today is attracting considerable investment in green energy, while BC waits on the sidelines.  The BC government would be wise to examine and learn from the Ontario green energy experience if it truly wants to become a renewable energy powerhouse.

Renewable energy is a very important topic in BC. I welcome  your comments and/or suggestions. Feel free to make a direct comment on the blog below and I will post them in due course. 

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BC Liberals Win, BC Carbon Tax Stays, Ontario is Legally Green and 7 Amazing Facts about Renewable Energy

Posted on May 15, 2009 by Warren Brazier
This week's musings in renewable energy in British Columbia and beyond...
 
1. BC Re-elects Liberal Government - the government that ignited the renewable energy revolution in the province was re-elected with a new four-year mandate on Tuesday. This is good news for BC's independent power producers and renewable energy industry generally in the province, who faced much uncertainty during the election campaign with an opposition party platform which included a moratorium on new independent power production. One local developer is particularly happy. Crisis averted, now it's game-on for renewables in BC. Next up - the BCUC's decision on BC Hydro's 2008 LTAP, which is expected in June.
 
2. BC's Carbon Tax Survives - in a related story, the re-election of the BC Liberal government allows the controversial (and politically risky) carbon tax to survive to tax another day, much to the relief of the Premier (it was his baby) and environmental groups which see the result as a positive step in the fight against climate change. Now there may be hope that similar GHG reducing initiatives by regional governments are politically possible, perhaps even beneficial to a political party. The local story even caught the attention of the NY Times Green Inc. blog. Now if we really want to get down to business, let's use some of that carbon tax money to help further development of renewable energy.
 
3. US Windpower Industry Seeks Government Push - coming out of the massive AWEA conference in Chicago last week, is the story that the US wind energy industry is pressing for federal legislation in the US that would mandate that creation of a national renewable energy standard of 25 percent of the country's electricity be generated from renewable sources by 2025, up from around 7 percent now (with wind making up 1.5 percent). Similarly, CanWEA believes wind energy can satisfy 20% of Canada's electricity demand by 2025. I follow the US renewable energy industry with great interest as the Americans are taking a clear leadership role in advocating the benefits of renewables in the new green economy. Bottom line - if it's a no go south of the border, you can almost be sure it's not happening here.
 
4. Ontario Passes its Green Energy Act and Torontonians to Pay Premium Rates for Peak Power Two stories from yesterday's Globe and Mail. Ontario easily passed the Green Energy Act into law eliciting a boon for renewables. But Canada's first true green energy legislation is not without its controversy as the province tries to find its way around the nuclear energy quandary.
 
In a related story....

....judging by the online comments to the Globe's news story, the good folks of the City of Toronto are now facing one of the greatest crises of their time - peak time electricity pricing! In an effort to shift energy use in Canada's largest city to off-peak hours and to prevent blackouts, Ontario Hydro will begin charging "smart meter" enabled customers in Toronto (currently only about 10,000), premium rates for peak period usage, and reduced rates for overnight use. Given that the current rates are still relatively inexpensive, the hootenanny should die down fairly quickly. People don't mind spending $4 on a cup of coffee, but charge them $0.02 more per kwh and all heck breaks loose. This is amusing to me.  

5. 7 Amazing Fact about (US) Renewable Energy  Finally, I came across this interesting blog post, courtesy of the Mother Nature Network.
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Recent Developments in Renewable Energy

Posted on March 13, 2009 by Warren Brazier

Today, I comment on some news about renewable energy issues in British Columbia and in other parts of Canada, and a note about the Stockholm experience:

1. Electric Cars: Earlier this week, BC Hydro announced that it has initiated a study on the for development of electric car infrastructure.  This study is significant in my view because BC Hydro has for years downplayed the impact of possible future use of electric cars in British Columbia (perhaps based somewhat the market realities (ie, how many electric cars are there right now?) and somewhat on fear of the prospect (what will this mean to its aggressive DSM program).  Who knows, maybe we will see Shai Agassi's Better Place set up shop in British Columbia, similar to its recent move to Ontario. Here is the Vancouver Sun's report on the subject.  Stay tuned, there is certainly more to come on the subject, but kudos to BC Hydro for commissioning the study, this is definitely a step in the right direction.

2. IPP's on the offensive:  Last week, I attended a lunch sponsored by the Vancouver Board of Trade, which put four prominent members of the local IPP industry on stage to discuss the development of green energy in the Province.  The meeting was well attended and as the Vancouver Sun reported, the IPP industry faced the critics with their message - IPP's present huge economic opportunities for the Province but also undertake significant risk in doing so. Ratepayers do not share the risk of development and IPP's are the best option for bringing new green electricity generation to the Province.  The world is embracing a new green energy regime and the Province of British Columbia is uniquely blessed with suitable and substantial natural resources, which, with the help of private sector, can become a global leader in the field. What that means is jobs, economic prosperity and lower greenhouse gas emission. What's not to love about green energy?

3.  Green Energy Act:  The Province of Ontario introduced legislation to enact the Green Energy Act.  Ontario, primarily a fossil fuel and nuclear electricity based Province, is taking a bold new step towards renewable energy. Well done, Ontario (well, except the part about your nukes).

4. The Stockholm Story: I read an article recently in Canadian Business magazine, about the City of Stockholm and its aggressive plan to reduce GHG emissions.  Amazingly, the City has reduced GHG emissions to 3.5 tonnes per person in 2008, from seven tonnes per person in the early 1990s (when the City first started measuring emissions). A very interesting story, and definitely worth a read.  I wonder if something like this could happen here.

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