Ontario's Green Energy Act Enters Final Stretch

May 6, 2009

Ontario's powerful Minister of Energy and Infrastructure George Smitherman began the third and final reading of the Green Energy and Green Economy Act May 5.

The move by Minister Smitherman concludes a period of public consultations across the province of Ontario and begins final debate on Bill 150 in the provincial parliament.

The Green Energy A is far reaching and touches on several ministries as well as the way the province acquires new renewable generation. Significantly, the bill gives Minister Smitherman the authority to implement a system of feed-in tariffs.

Ontario has a unicameral legislature. The Minister's party has a commanding majority in the Westminster-style parliament and the bill is expected to pass.

The Green Energy Act and the accompanying feed-in tariffs are the most aggressive renewable energy policy proposed in North America in more than two decades. Not since 1978's National Energy Act in the US has a single piece of legislation attempted to fundamentally shift the means of developing renewable energy and energy conservation in North America.

Following Minister Smitherman's call for third reading of the bill, the opposition parties are given opportunity to respond. The Progressive Conservative party's energy critic, John Yakabuski, lost no time in attacking the Minister, his party, and the proposal. Despite emphasizing several times that he supports green energy, Yakabuski, called for investigations into the health effects from wind turbines and cited a list of reasons why wind energy would be bad for the province. The list of objections were similar, if not identical, to a list of talking points circulated by critics of wind energy that have appeared in several op-eds in Canada's leading newspapers. Though most of Yakabuski's ire was directed at wind energy, he also took aim at solar PV for being too costly. Yakabuski did single out farmers and farm biogas for praise.

The Progressive Conservatives are the government's official opposition. The party commissioned a study that claims Bill 150 will cost consumers up to $1,200 more per year for their electricity. Environmental Defence Canada and others have questioned the study's conclusions. Currently German homeowners pay lower electricity bills than Ontario consumers despite Germany having the world's largest concentration of wind turbines and solar panels.

The debate will continue when New Democratic Party's Rosario Marchese again takes the floor. The New Democrats charge that the Green Energy Act is mere Greenwashing for the ruling party's planned construction of two new nuclear plants.

Meanwhile, the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) is charging ahead with private meetings and public consultations on the feed-in tariffs that are an essential part of the Green Energy Act. OPA is expected to reveal their proposed final program details on May 12 after two months of intensive consultations with interested parties.

Bill 150 is expected to be signed into law and the OPA's final rules to be introduced by early June.

The bill was amended prior to third reading to require a domestic content provision to the OPA's feed-in tariff policy. Terms of the domestic content requirement are being discussed by the Ministry of Energy staff. Regulations on domestic content will not be formally adopted until mid July after a period of public comment.

Bill 150 Status

Bill 150 as amended

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