Going 100% Renewable
More than 90% of new electricity capacity added worldwide last year was renewable. Ontario, meanwhile, took an eight-year pause in deploying solar and wind, only finally signing new contracts in 2026.
Wind and solar are now the lowest cost options for meeting our electricity needs. That’s why the International Energy Agency says annual additions of solar and wind energy will more than double worldwide by 2028 compared with 2022.
It is time for Ontario to double its renewable energy capacity by 2035 and triple it by 2050. Offshore wind power in the Great Lakes alone could meet all of this province’s electricity needs.
We need to catch up with the rest of the world and start reaping the benefits of low cost, climate friendly solar and wind power.
Embrace the power of solar and wind
Solar and wind power now cost a fraction of what power from gas-fired power plants or nuclear reactors costs. It is simply the lowest cost way to meet our growing electricity needs, and Ontario has tremendous solar and wind potential. From offshore wind to rooftop solar, there are many ways we can tap into the most economical source of energy available today.
Ontario is missing out by not fully exploiting this province’s massive solar wind potential. Tripling our renewable energy would allow us to phase-out polluting gas power and finally get serious about addressing our climate impact. Businesses and consumers will benefit with lower costs and cleaner power. And with our ability to store power growing fast in many different forms, the argument that solar and wind power is “unreliable” is now a myth. It is time for Ontario to go green!
Build a modern, efficient electricity system
The best way to make the most of the renewable power we produce is to use it efficiently. Ontario can once again be a leader in helping consumers and businesses use energy efficiently by supporting the use of technology like heat pumps and encouraging building retrofits. Instead, the government is fighting efforts to stop subsidizing the expansion of fossil gas service to new homes.
The other great thing about efficiency is that it is a huge job creator that can boost employment everywhere in Ontario. Services to retrofit homes and businesses and make them more efficient are going to be in high demand as we seek to lower our emissions. Developing skills and technology around these services is a global economic opportunity. It will also help to make our businesses more competitive while lowering bills.
Phase out polluting gas
Just as Ontario understood the need to phase-out coal because of its massive climate and air pollution impact, we must now phase-out the use of fossil gas. If the Ontario government sticks with its current plan to massively ramp up the use of gas to generate electricity, there will be no chance of reaching even the province’s current weak climate targets.
We have lots of options for replacing gas, which we have outlined in a short report, from increasing our own renewable power output to importing clean waterpower from Quebec. Our peers, including the United States and Britain, have already committed to getting rid of fossil fuels in their electricity generation systems and there is no question that this is where much of the world is headed.
Dozens of Ontario municipalities have joined us in calling on the province to phase-out gas-fired power plants. Recognizing that their cities will be ground zero for the impacts of climate change, these cities want to see the province to take action to eliminate the use of gas and lower climate-damaging emissions – not increase gas use.
Nuclear is a recipe for failure
If Ontario continues to insist on wasting billions of dollars on slow and costly nuclear projects, we stand little chance of reducing climate impacts in a timely and cost-effective way. Nuclear projects in Ontario have a long history of going massively over budget and being finished years late.
This would only make sense if we had no other options, but we have many faster, lower cost ways to meet our electricity needs, none of which leave us with the enormous waste and safety concerns that also come with betting on nuclear.
Nuclear is yesterday’s technology – a technology that never fulfilled its promises of low cost or reliability and that has now been surpassed worldwide by renewable sources. Ontario is one of the few places in the world still banking on costly and slow nuclear projects to meet its electricity needs. We need to stop clinging to this outdated technology and join the rest of the world in going renewable.