Ontario to seek new wind, solar power to help ease coming electricity supply crunch

Ontario is working towards filling all the province’s shortly rising electrical energy wants with emissions-free sources, together with a plan to safe new renewable technology, however is not fairly able to decide to a moratorium on pure gasoline.

Energy Minister Todd Smith introduced Monday a method to organize the grid for 2030 to 2050 — the Independent Electricity System Operator initiatives Ontario’s electrical energy demand may double by mid-century — and subsequent steps contain searching for new wind, photo voltaic and hydroelectric energy.

“While we may not need to start building today, government and those in the energy sector need to start planning immediately, so we have new clean, zero-emissions projects ready to go when we need them,” Smith mentioned in Windsor, Ont.

The technique additionally contains two nuclear initiatives introduced final week — a brand new, large-scale nuclear plant at Bruce Power on the shore of Lake Huron and three new small modular reactors on the website of the Darlington nuclear plant east of Toronto.

Those initiatives, sufficient to energy six million houses, will assist Ontario finish its reliance on pure gasoline to generate electrical energy, mentioned Smith, however committing to a moratorium in 2027 and eliminating pure gasoline by 2050 is contingent on the federal authorities serving to to hurry up the brand new nuclear amenities.

“Today’s report, the Powering Ontario’s Growth plan, commits us to working towards a 100 per cent clean grid,” Smith mentioned in an interview.

“Hopefully the federal government can get on board with our intentions to build this clean generation as quickly as possible … That will put us in a much better position to use our natural gas facilities less in the future, if we can get those new projects online.”

The IESO has mentioned that pure gasoline is required to make sure provide and stability within the quick to medium time period, however that it’s going to additionally enhance greenhouse gasoline emissions from the electrical energy sector.

The final spherical of procurements Smith introduced for electrical energy technology concerned each pure gasoline and battery storage initiatives. The new deliberate procurement of inexperienced energy, together with wind, photo voltaic, hydroelectric and biogas, will pair nicely with current vitality storage procurements, Smith mentioned, in order that energy generated by photo voltaic panels, for instance, might be saved and injected into the system when wanted.

Ontario can be taking a look at two new pump storage initiatives, through which water is pumped right into a reservoir when electrical energy demand is low, then launched via a turbine to generate electrical energy when demand is larger. Pump storage can dispatch vitality for eight hours, versus 4 for present battery storage, Smith mentioned.

Critics say Ontario would not be in as a lot of an electrical energy provide crunch if the Progressive Conservative authorities hadn’t cancelled 750 inexperienced vitality contracts throughout its first time period.

Smith mentioned it was a mandatory transfer on the time.

“We had to cancel those projects when we did,” he mentioned. “We had an oversupply of electricity. Demand in the province was flat for 18 years. We were bleeding manufacturing jobs to other jurisdictions and we were paying way over the market price for those projects.”

Anger over rising hydro payments was excessive when the previous Liberal authorities misplaced the election in 2018, going from a majority to not sufficient seats wanted for official occasion standing within the legislature.

The Liberals had given energy producers long-term contracts at above-market charges so as to guarantee a gentle provide, however it meant that charges for shopper rose dramatically whereas the common electrical energy market worth dropped.

This report by The Canadian Press was first printed July 10, 2023.