Page - August 30, 2007
Coal can’t be phased out in the near term unless a modern energy plan is adopted and nuclear and coal are eliminated for good.
A recent study proves that coal could be phased
out as early as 2011 if there is a move now to pursue more
aggressive conservation initiatives, expand renewable energies and
implement combined heat and power plants. The three pillars of a
modern energy plan are:
• Conservation
- Ontario has an enormous potential for energy efficiency. Even
the government's own figures indicate that most of the province's
capacity for energy efficiency and conservation remains untapped.
Conservation is the underpinning to a successful clean energy
strategy.
• Renewable Energies
- Countries such as Germany and Spain, however, are installing
over 1,000 MW of renewable power a year. There's no reason Ontario
could not do the same and boost its renewable energy and
conservation targets. Today Germany has 18,000 MW of wind power
while Ontario has only about 300 MW, for example.
• Decentralized power generation
- Aside from their environmental benefits, these clean sources
of energy are safer, cheaper, cleaner, and quicker to deploy than
nuclear or coal, and can:
• Meet Ontario's electricity demand;
• Reduce costs to consumers by 11per cent against the
government's plan;
• Result in 50 per cent less greenhouse gases than the
government's plan over the next 20 years;
• Enable coal to be phased by 2012 at the latest, whereas a
nuclear-based plan means Ontario will burn coal until at least
2017.