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Ontario
Needs Conservation and Green Energy
What
with climate change, smog, and the high cost of energy,
you'd think there'd be a strong interest in energy
efficiency and the development of renewable and reliable sources of energy.
 Truth
is, we waste a lot of energy, and only a very small
percentage of the energy we produce comes from renewable
and non-polluting
sources. Things are changing, and if the
recommendations of a 2002 Ontario Legislative Committee are
implemented it will go a long way to establishing a meaningful
conservation and green energy strategy for Ontario.
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The
Select
Committee on Alternative Fuels
The Committee's
Final Report is an excellent step in the right direction for
both green energy and conservation. Many of the Conservation
Council's recommendations to the Committee were included in the
report, in particular
- developing a provincial green
energy strategy
- establishing a nominal surcharge
on electrical bills to offset the premium for green energy and
conservation (recommendation #17 of the committee's report)
- establishing a solar roofs
campaign, similar to the Million Solar Roofs campaign of the
US government (recommendation #107 calls for a 25% rebate for
solar panels on 100,000 homes)
The report contains a total of 141
recommendations covering both the policy framework and specific
alternative fuel sources.Here are some highlights from Section A
of the report (the policy framework), and a quick analysis based
on the Conservation Council's recommendations for a Green Energy
Strategy.
Some Key Recommendations for the
Policy Framework (Section A)
- Develop a coordinated
alternative fuel and energy strategy (#s1, 2)
- Establish an Ontario Energy
Research Institute with a $40 million budget per year for at
least ten years (#3). The Institute would promote research,
policy development, technology demonstration, and education.
- Incorporate priorities for
alternative fuels and conservation into government core
businesses and legislation. (#s 4, 5)
- Offer tax incentives for
investment in alternative fuel/energy technology, including
the Ontario Renewable and Sustainable Energy Development Tax
Incentive whereby companies can deduct 25% of the capital cost
in each of three years following the purchase of renewable and
alternative fuels equipment (#9)
- Establish a Renewable Portfolio
Standard by June 2003. (#16)
- Eliminate carbon-based
electricity generation by 2015, with strict controls on
coal-fired generation in the interim (#s16, 30-37)
- Establish a nominal charge of
0.1 cent per kWh to electricity bills to fund an Ontario
renewable energy trust that would subsidize renewable
electrical energy programs and projects. The funds would be
allocated as subsidies to manufacturers, utilities and
consumers (#17).
- Develop a carbon tax in
conjunction with the Renewable Portfolio Standard (#18)
- Require electrical utilities and
distribution companies to implement demand management
(conservation) programs (#s 38, 39), with 0.2% of gross
revenues for electrical utilities to be spent on energy
conservation.
- Improve provincial and municipal
government procurement policies and alternative fuel/ energy
conservation programs (#s 50 - 65).
- Incorporate alternative fuels
and energy conservation in land use planning and development,
including the provincial Smart Growth initiative (#66), the
Building Code (#67), the Planning Act and Provincial Policy
Statement (#s 69, 70), and municipal Official Plans (#71)
- Link provincial funding for
public transit to alternative fuel sources only (#s 72, 73)
See also The
Conservation Council's submission (pdf) in in January
2002, laying out a Green
Energy Strategy and stressing the need for economic
instruments to eliminate the gap between green energy and
conventional, polluting sources.
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The
Conservation Council of Ontario