Ontario has suspended the second round of its Large Renewable Procurement (LRP2) process, which will affect two proposed wind farms in Wellington County.
The government announced on Sept. 27 it is immediately halting the procurement of solar, wind, hydroelectric, bioenergy and energy from waste projects over 1,000 megawatts (MW) in size.
Ontario energy Minister Glenn Thibeault said the move will save up to $3.8 billion in electricity system costs and $2.45 per month on the average consumer’s electricity bill.
The suspension means a potential WPD project in Wallace and Mapleton, as well as the RES project in Southgate and Wellington North, would be put on hold.
“We are just trying to gather information at this point,” said Rebecca Crump of RES.
“We are still just internally talking between ourselves and waiting for more information to our industry as a whole. I think there will be further opportunities in the future.”
Crump said RES would be awaiting Ontario’s Long-Term Energy Plan, expected to be released this fall, for more insight into future energy generation in Ontario.
For now, Crump said RES has the support of participating landowners, representing over 12,000 acres, for the Grand Highlands Wind Project.
“From my understanding … the LRP2 was suspended and we have every intention to keep our projects in place and hold onto them until an opportunity arises,” said Crump.
WPD spokesman Kevin Surette did not return a call by press time.
An unwilling host
On Sept. 26 Wellington North council passed a resolution to reaffirm its position as an unwilling host to industrial wind turbines.
The original resolution was passed on Sept. 9, 2013.
“I haven’t changed my opinion since 2013, and given some of the activity out in Conn, these days I think it’s really important that the residents understand that we continue not to be willing hosts,” said councillor Sherry Burke.
Councillor Lisa Hern was also in support of reaffirming the resolution, but asked if there were any other strategies the township could use.
She asked if introducing building fees would be appropriate. CAO Mike Givens said the township does impose fees.
“A single turbine, depending on the construction value, would be in the range of $60,000,” he said.
Council passed the resolution unanimously.
IESO updates council
Council also heard from Terry Young, vice president of conservation and corporate relations at the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO).
Young explained Ontario has an installed capacity of about 35,000MW and the demand for electricity is declining.
“You’d think we’d have no trouble meeting … demand – in actual fact there were a couple days in the summer … where we were using all available generation to meet those demands,” he said.
He showed council the shift in electricity production. In 2005, nuclear energy accounted for 51 per cent of production, followed by water (22%), coal (19%), natural gas (8%) and solar, wind and bioenergy (less than 1%).
Just 10 years later, those numbers shifted. Coal was eliminated from the production, while nuclear makes up 58%, water 23%, natural gas 10% and solar/wind/bioenergy 9%. Young said wind makes up five per cent.
He added the shift over the years has “come at a cost.”
“You can see what’s happened with the price of electricity in terms of the commodity, it is largely reflective of the contracts that we’ve signed,” he said.
According to his presentation, the average hourly Ontario energy price was about five cents, with less than a cent for global adjustment in 2008.
In 2015, the average hourly Ontario energy price was just over two cents with about eight cents for global adjustment.
“We certainly have an adequate supply of electricity from a diverse supply mix; we are looking at demand being flat in the long term,” said Young
Councillor Steve McCabe asked why there is “a huge push to create even more electricity that we’ll end up selling to our neighbours to the south.”
Young explained the challenge “is looking at the situation we have today and assuming we’re going to be there for the next 20 years and we’re not.”
McCabe continued to press the question.
“You’re asking rural Ontario, probably in a not-so-roundabout way, to provide the power that we’re not even going to use to urban centres, [which] farmers in these communities already feed?” he asked.
Young disagreed with that statement.
“So are the turbines going to be put in cities?” retorted McCabe.
“We haven’t started a process for this procurement, so we haven’t had the RFP process,”said Young. “I have no sense of where any of those turbines, if there are in fact any, where they would go. We’re at the very beginning of that process.”
The next day, the government announced the suspension of the LRP2 program.
