Liberals blackout on energy

July 21, 2006

McGuinty dirty energy plan based on five dangerous myths

Liberals blackout on energy

July 21, 2006  -  The McGuinty energy plan to rely on coal and nuclear to meet the province’s future power needs simply will not stand up to independent scrutiny, concludes a new report released today by the Ontario Clean Air Alliance (OCAA). 

Ontario’s Energy Vision Blackout examines the key assertions made by the government in defending its decision to indefinitely postpone the coal phase-out and increase use of nuclear power by almost 25%.  It finds that the government’s plan is built around five dangerous myths, including that nuclear power is a cost-effective way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and that dirty coal can be cleaned up with end-of-pipe scrubbers.

“What’s really disheartening about the government’s approach is the distinct lack of vision around the actions Ontario could be taking to increase our energy productivity and to create a better world for our children and grandchildren,” says Jack Gibbons, Chair of the OCAA. 

“Instead of desperately clinging to the status quo, we could be aggressively moving toward  achieving the conservation culture and cleaner air the Premier likes to talk about, but can’t seem to deliver,” Mr. Gibbons says.

The OCAA report lays out a simple but comprehensive plan for addressing the province’s short-term and long-term electricity supply gaps, phasing-out coal and avoiding the need for new nuclear power plants.

“Ontario actually has an embarrassment of options available to meet our electricity needs because we have failed to aggressively pursue both energy efficiency and conservation and natural gas-fired combined heat and power,” says Mr. Gibbons. 

The report points out that when a nuclear-dependent plan developed by Ontario Hydro was independently examined by the Ontario Energy Board and the Ontario Environmental Assessment Board in the early 1990s, it was found to be based on fundamentally flawed demand projections and an underestimation of the cost effectiveness of other options.  Ontario Hydro withdrew the plan after it was largely discredited in cross examination.

“This is why the McGuinty government is so anxious to avoid full independent scrutiny of its current plan.  The government and its friends in heavy industry, who want to continue to receive heavily subsidized power from expensive nuclear and dirty coal plants, know that the McGuinty plan cannot pass a full environmental assessment review,” Mr. Gibbons noted.

“The government needs to come clean and subject its plan to a full environmental assessment so that an independent panel of experts can determine if this is the best way to spend $70 billion,” said Mr. Gibbons.

Click here to read the full report

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For more information:

Jack Gibbons, OCAA Chair     416-926-1907 ext. 240