March 9, 2016
Ontario

West Grey asks province to suspend additional wind developments

By Janice MacKay on March 8, 2016 | blackburnnews.com

West Grey Council has voted to ask the province not add an additional 300 Megawatts of wind generation this year because Ontario is already generating surplus electricity.

Council points to the 2015 Auditor General’s report saying Ontario’s generating capacity increased by 19% in the past 8 years, while demand fell 7.5% during that time.

Council agrees that the intermittent nature of wind power means it cannot replace dependable sources such as nuclear or natural gas.

The Ontario Society of Professional Engineers estimates that wind with needed natural gas back up produced base load electricity with about 200 grams of C02 emissions per kilowatt hour, much higher than the system average level of 40 grams of C02 emissions per kilowatt hour.

Council wants the province to focus on sources of energy that will actually reduce carbon emissions.

The auditor also reported the existing feed in Tariff contracts have consumers paying $9.2 Billion dollars for renewable power which is double prices in other jurisdictions.

West Grey’s resolution will be forwarded to the Premier, the Minister of Energy, local MPP’s, The Minister of Environment and Climate Change, and the Minister of Finance.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2016/03/09/west-grey-asks-province-to-suspend-additional-wind-developments/