International Environmental
Coalition Endorses
Renewable Energy Tariffs
for Ontario
The following is a press release from the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association.
July 29, 2004
For immediate release
For more information contact: Melinda Zytaruk at 416 977 4441
(Erie, Penn.) Great Lakes United, a bi-national environmental coalition, has endorsed the use of Advanced Renewable Energy Tariffs in Ontario's bid to rapidly build new renewable sources of energy.
The move by the mainline environmental organisation at its annual meeting in June, 2004 marks a significant step toward developing a clean energy policy in the Canadian province hit hardest by last year's massive power blackout.
Public hearings on changes to Ontario's electricity act in response to last year's blackout will begin in August.
The endorsement, in the form of a resolution passed at the gathering of delegates from both the United States and Canada, was recently authorised by the secretary of the group.
Great Lakes United has offices in Buffalo, New York, Montréal, Quebec, and Hamilton, Ontario. The organisation was founded in 1982 on Lake Huron's Mackinac Island and seeks to protect the Great Lakes from both air and water pollution.
Until the action by Great Lakes United, no cross-border group has called for the use of Renewable Energy Tariffs to spur the development of wind, solar, hydro, and biomass energy in North America.
Advanced Renewable Energy Tariffs allow the connection of renewable power generators with the grid and provide a long-term contract with a fixed-price to the generators, whether farmers, co-operatives, or First Nations.
Few environmental groups in North America have openly endorsed the concept that has been so successful at developing wind and solar energy in Europe. Since launching Renewable Energy Tariffs in the early 1980s Germany and Spain have raced ahead of all other countries in developing wind and solar energy. There are now 14,000 megawatts of wind-generating capacity in Germany: forty times that installed in Canada. In a few short years Germany has also become the world's largest developer of solar energy-far outpacing the United States. Spain operates as much wind-generating capacity as the entire North American continent.
The call for support of Advanced Renewable Energy Tariffs was made by Ziggy Kleinau of Citizens For Renewable Energy in Lions Head, Ontario. Kleinau's group is a member of the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association (OSEA).
When OSEA launched its campaign for renewable tariffs earlier this year, it was a lone voice promoting the concept. Since then the Minister for Energy of Prince Edward Island has proposed that the province produce 100 percent of its electricity with renewable energy by 2015. Minister Jamie Ballem proposes using Renewable Tariffs to meet part of PEI's requirement.
OSEA advocates an ambitious proposal that could conceivably result in the installation of 8,000 megawatts of new wind-generating capacity in the power-short province within five years.
Great Lakes United is an international coalition dedicated to preserving and restoring the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River ecosystem. Great Lakes United is made up of member organisations representing environmentalists, conservationists, hunters and anglers, labour unions, community groups, and citizens of the United States, Canada, and First Nations and Tribes. More on Great Lakes United can be found by calling Reg Gilbert at 716 886 0142 or pointing your browser to http://www.glu.org/english/index.html.
The full resolution endorsing Advanced Renewable Tariffs in Ontario can be found at www.glu.org.
Background on the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association can be found at www.ontario-sea.org.
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