Making the Green Energy Act the best it can be

 

Make it illegal for nuclear power companies to pass their capital cost overruns on to Ontario’s electricity consumers and taxpayers.

 

 

In the past, Ontario’s nuclear industry has low-balled cost estimates for nuclear power projects to persuade politicians and the public that nuclear power is our lowest cost option to keep the lights on. But the fact is, every nuclear project in Ontario’s history has gone substantially over budget and the cost overruns have been passed on to Ontario’s long-suffering electricity consumers and taxpayers. Today, we are still paying off the $17 billion stranded debt left by out-of-control nuclear spending.

The McGuinty Government has signed more than 450 contracts with individuals, co-ops, First Nations communities, municipal electric utilities and private sector corporations for solar, wind, water and biomass power. None of these contracts allow the power producers to pass their cost overruns on to consumers or taxpayers.

In order to create a level playing field for all electricity suppliers and to protect consumers and taxpayers from future nuclear cost overruns, the Green Energy Act should be amended to make it illegal for nuclear power companies to pass their cost overruns on to consumers or taxpayers.

Proposed Amendment #2

 

Establish a feed-in-tariff for natural gas-fired combined heat and power (CHP) projects.

 

 

A key feature of the Green Energy Act is the establishment of feed-in-tariffs (standard prices and contract terms) for renewable power projects. The renewable feed-in-tariffs are expected to stimulate a large increase in Made-in-Ontario green power.

Virtually every home and business in Ontario uses natural gas to produce just one service — heating. It is much more efficient to use these same molecules of natural gas to simultaneously produce two services, namely, heat and electricity.

CHP plants can meet our electricity needs at a much lower cost than new nuclear reactors. Furthermore, Ontario’s CHP potential exceeds our total nuclear generation capacity. More efficient use of our limited natural gas resources will help us transition towards a 100% renewable electricity grid.

 

The Ontario Legislature’s Committee on General Government will be considering proposed amendments to the Green Energy Act. Please ask the Committee to support our proposed amendments. You must send your submissions to Trevor Day, Clerk of the Committee on General Government by 5 p.m. on April 22, 2009.

Email: trevor_day@ontla.ola.org
Fax: 416-325-3505
Mail: Room 1405, Whitney Block, Queen’s Park, Toronto M7A 1A2

Please copy us on your submissions.