P – Green Energy Act Proposal is Flawed
Abstract
Although admirable in intent, and presumably well-meaning, the Green Energy Act (GEA) proposed by a coalition of environmental and other organizations is flawed in many important respects:
- It is a focus on the electricity sector alone, which is not the major pollution problem facing Ontario.
- Looking to Germany as a model to be emulated is not warranted. Ontario already has one of the best profiles in renewable energy use for electricity production in the world, with 22 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources compared to Germany at 14 per cent. Canada obtains almost 60 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources.
- Ontario already has a version of the German Renewable Energy Sources Act. One component is the Renewable Energy Standard Offer Program (RESOP), which the coalition acknowledges as “the most progressive energy initiative in North America”.
- The emphasis is on grid connection and feed-in tariffs (FIT) to encourage “distributed” renewable energy sources, whereas distributed electricity generation should focus on local consumption.
- FIT legislation is a questionable mechanism for development of a sustainable energy industry.
- In spite of giving consideration to a range of green energy approaches, it is possibly more an initiative to fast track the implementation of industrial scale wind in Ontario.
According to a recent study performed by Management Information Services, Inc. in the U.S., by 2030 energy efficiency there will create over six times the revenues and over four times the number of jobs as renewable energy. The hottest sectors in terms of revenue growth include solar thermal, solar photo voltaics, biofuels, and fuel cells. Within renewable energy, solar and biomass will exceed the jobs provided by wind by 25-50 per cent each, or a total of almost three times.
In summary, Canadian federal and provincial government policies and programs should be focused on:
- Making conservation/efficiency programs the primary emphasis.
- Ensuring effective subsidization for small-scale renewable energy installations whose main purpose is to meet local demand as opposed to feeding the electricity grid.
- Providing incentives to establish and promote industrial development in the energy efficiency/conservation and small-scale renewable energy areas.
- Addressing any need to marginally improve Ontarrio’s RESOP, RES III and other renewable energy programs rather than entertaining new initiatives.
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