Energy efficiency and low-impact renewable energy sources have the realistic potential to provide more than double the amount of electricity needed in worst case projections of Ontario's future electricity demand. That is the conclusion of a new report released today by a coalition of leading environmental groups, including WWF-Canada, the David Suzuki Foundation, the Pembina Institute, Ontario Clean Air Alliance, the Sierra Club of Canada and Greenpeace.
"This is the Premier's opportunity to set Ontario on the path to a true culture of conservation," said Dr. Keith Stewart of WWF-Canada. "The green strategy we are putting forward today will keep the lights on without frying the planet or our pocketbooks."
Based on conservation-first approaches being used in Europe and U.S. states like California, and drawing primarily on research commissioned by the government and the Ontario Power Authority (OPA), the report concludes that Ontario has over 62,000 megawatts of green and clean energy potential that could be developed by 2020. Not all would be needed, as even the OPA estimates peak demand will be only 29,500 megawatts by then.
"Nuclear power's high-cost and unreliability is the cause and not the solution to Ontario's electricity woes," said Shawn-Patrick Stensil, energy campaigner with Greenpeace Canada. "And given it takes at least ten years to build a new reactor, nuclear power cannot ease our energy crunch over the next decade. Conservation and green energy can." Poor performance and cost overruns at Ontario's nuclear plants have put Ontario deeply in debt, and forced the province to rely heavily on aging coal plants. Ontario's nuclear reactors have also created 30,000 tons of high-level radioactive waste that must be isolated from the environment for a million years.
While Premier McGuinty professes that stopping energy waste and sourcing renewable power are the priority, policy and programming has not yet been aligned to capture this green, clean potential. The organizations are recommending that the government's directive to the OPA require:
- Aggressive pursuit of energy efficiency and modest expansions of hydropower, which can meet baseload power needs.
- Wind, solar and biomass to provide the bulk of remaining needs.
- Cogeneration of heat and power, and high-efficiency natural gas as a back-up to renewable sources.
- Phase out coal, as planned.
- No nuclear investment, as it is expensive, inflexible, and uniquely vulnerable to accidents and security threats.
"The Ontario Power Authority's own research found that aggressive conservation would save Ontario consumers $7 billion over the next twenty years," said Jose Etcheverry of the David Suzuki Foundation. "Yet they are pursuing only one fifth of the conservation potential in the province, while promoting expensive and unreliable nuclear reactors."
"The government has already taken a world-leading first step down the green path in committing to phasing out Ontario's dirty coal plants to protect public health," said Jack Gibbons of the Ontario Clean Air Alliance. "Now is the time for Premier McGuinty to lead the way to a smart, green energy future without coal or nuclear power that will protect Ontario's health, environment and economy."
"The OPA's proposals would reproduce a system whose overdependence on a single technology has lead us into the current crisis. There are prudent and responsible alternatives for keeping the lights on in Ontario. We need the government to show the leadership we know it is capable of by taking the more reliable and sustainable path that we have presented," concluded Dr. Mark Winfield, Director of the Pembina Institute's Environmental Governance Program.
Editor's Note:
Environmental organizations represented at today's news conference at Queen's Park included:
WWF-Canada, Greenpeace Canada, The Pembina Institute, Sierra Club of Canada, Ontario Clean Air Alliance and David Suzuki Foundation.
The 8-page report "Put Some Energy Into a Smart, Green Strategy", produced as a collaborative effort of WWF-Canada and the above organizations, is available here.
For further information:
Dr. Keith Stewart, Climate Change Campaign Manager, WWF-Canada, 416-489-8800 ext.7257. Cell: 416-985-5936 (English/French)
Julia Langer, Director, Director, Global Threats Programme, WWF-Canada, 416-484-7709
Dr. Mark Winfield, Director, Environmental Governance, The Pembina Institute, 416-978-3486, Cell: 416-434-8130
Jack Gibbons, Chair of the Ontario Clean Air Alliance, 416-926-1907, ext.240.
Shawn-Patrick Stensil, Energy Campaigner Greenpeace Canada, 416-884-7053 (English/French)
Jose Etcheverry, Research and Policy Analyst, Climate Change Program, David Suzuki Foundation Cell: 416-885-0129
John Bennett, Senior Policy Advisor, Energy, Sierra Club of Canada, 613-291-6888
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