Province reverses course on renewable energy

Ford government puts out call for clean power projects

After a five-and-a-half-year hiatus, Ontario is getting back into the renewable energy game.

Once the Canadian leader in solar and wind, the province halted construction — and cancelled partially built projects — when Doug Ford was elected premier in 2018, railing against renewables for being expensive and driving up hydro bills.

Since then, Ontario’s clean energy has become increasingly carbonintensive, dropping from 94 per cent non-emitting to 89 per cent, and eroding the province’s competitive advantage in attracting businesses looking for low carbon electricity.

Renewable energy has also gotten cheaper, with solar now the cheapest form of energy in history. On Monday, Energy Minister Todd Smith announced Ontario would end the backslide, putting out a call for 2,000 megawatts of non-emitting generation, including wind, solar, hydro and bioenergy.

That’s approximately five per cent of all electricity generation in the province.

“Many communities have already reached out to me to share their interest in hosting new energy projects,” said Smith at a speech at the Empire Club in Toronto.

“(They) can start working with proponents today to ensure that projects can be built that are going to bring new opportunities, they’re going to bring new jobs to their communities, and they’re going to contribute to the province’s electricity grid at the same time.”

Smith isn’t stopping there, saying this is just the first round of procurement and an additional 3,000 megawatts would follow in what he called “a regular cadence” of new generation.

The Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) says these non-emitting generation sources will allow the province to reduce output from natural gas plants with an eye to eliminating emissions from the electricity grid — an essential precursor to eliminating carbon emissions and mitigating climate change.

“The procurement of additional renewables is definitely overdue,” said Evan Pivnick, clean energy program manager at Clean Energy Canada. “With the cost reductions we’ve seen in renewables, there’s never been a time when the business case for these stands up more so than today.”

The first projects will be announced next year and will come online before the end of the decade. They will include re-contracting of existing renewable generation as well as the construction of new projects.

The shift to renewable generation represents a big pivot for the province, which has focused on new nuclear reactors and gas plants since Ford came to office. With growing demand for electricity, the gas plants are meant to ensure no blackouts during peak demand periods over the coming years.

After two decades of flat electricity demand, the IESO says Ontario needs more electricity to meet a growing population and the new industries, including EV production and green steel, being set up in the province.

While the province has had trouble convincing towns to host the plants, the IESO is confident enough it will secure enough new gas that it can now turn its attention to longer term renewables to build a net zero grid for the future.

“With new supply on track to meet demand mid-decade, we are now addressing energy needs going into the 2030s and beyond,” said IESO CEO Lesley Gallinger. “The next round of procurements will be a perfect complement to our storage fleet — generating energy to charge recently procured batteries that can be deployed when needed to meet system needs.”

Grid scale batteries are being deployed across the province and the world because they unlock much of the potential of renewables that had previously been wasted. Since the wind doesn’t always blow and the sun doesn’t always shine, renewable energy was unable to guarantee generation at any given time.

Batteries ensure that renewable electricity can be captured and stored until it’s needed.

At Monday’s speech, Smith was quick to contrast this new round of renewable energy from the previous build out that took place under Liberal governments.

“When we talk about this much renewables, many minds are immediately going to turn to the absolute fiasco that was the Liberal’s Green Energy Act … when wind and solar projects were forced on unwilling host communities,” he said.

Smith highlighted how the Progressive Conservative approach of competitive procurement has already resulted in recontracting existing generation at 30 per cent below what was being paid before. The IESO estimates the next round of wind contracts will go for less than half of what the province paid in the mid 2000s.

While Smith is embracing renewable energy, he emphasized that gas is still needed for the foreseeable future.

“We need to face reality. Sometimes the sun doesn’t shine and sometimes the wind doesn’t blow, which is why natural gas is still needed,” he said.

Several studies have contested this, showing that a combination of renewables, batteries and conservation measures can alleviate the need for any new gas plants.

‘‘ Many communities have already reached out to me to share their interest in hosting new energy projects.

ENERGY MINISTER TODD SMITH