Coal phase-out within our grasp
Submitted by OCAA on Fri, 11/10/2006 - 00:00.
November 10, 2006 Ontario Power Authority coal phase-out plan to be released soon Coal phase-out within our grasp Premier Dalton McGuinty can keep his promise to phase-out all of Ontario’s dirty coal-fired power plants by 2009 without affecting the reliability of the province’s electricity system, according to a report released by the Ontario Clean Air Alliance (OCAA) today. “Our analysis of the Independent Electricity System Operator’s data shows that we can phase-out coal by 2009 and keep the lights on in Ontario by converting Nanticoke’s and Thunder Bay’s boilers from dirty coal to cleaner burning natural gas,” said OCAA Chair Jack Gibbons. “Converting the boilers to natural gas is the least-cost, clean supply-side option to meet Ontario’s summer peak-day demands”, Mr. Gibbons added. On June 13, 2006, Energy Minister Duncan directed the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) to develop a plan to phase-out our dirty coal-fired power plants “in the earliest practical time frame that ensures adequate generating capacity and electricity system reliability in Ontario.” This direction represented a major step backward from the government’s previous commitment to fully phase out the use of coal by 2009 and came in response to an Independent Electricity System Operator report stating that the province was facing a summer peak-day supply gap. The OPA is expected to release its draft coal phase-out plan by November 15th. A coal phase-out would provide Ontario with 50% to 80% of the total greenhouse gas emission reductions the entire province needs to meet its Kyoto Protocol climate change target in 2010. An Ontario coal phase-out would also save at least 657 lives per year in the province, according to an April 2005 report prepared for the Ontario Ministry of Energy. In 2005, Ontario’s coal plants produced as much pollution as 5.6 million cars. Click here to view a copy of the OCAA’s Phasing Out Coal: 2006 Progress Report -30- For More Information: Jack Gibbons, Chair, Ontario Clean Air Alliance 416-926-1907 ext. 240 |