Ford government to repeal Green Energy Act amid warnings it’s abandoning renewable power

Thestar.com
Rob Ferguson
Sept. 20, 2018

It’s fade to black for Ontario’s Green Energy Act, passed by the previous Liberal government in 2009 to promote wind and solar power but blamed by critics for pushing electricity bills higher with juicy incentives for producers.

Premier Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives introduced legislation Thursday to make good on an election promise to repeal the landmark bill that made Ontario a leader in green energy and guarantee that the province will no longer force wind turbines or solar farms on unwilling communities.

“This is giving respect to rural municipalities,” said Infrastructure Minister Monte McNaughton.

But neither he nor Energy Minister Greg Rickford would pledge to protect communities from other energy plants such as nuclear or natural gas, while opposition parties warned the new bill sounds a death knell for clean energy projects in Ontario as the industry surges elsewhere.

“They’re abandoning renewable energy,” said New Democrat MPP Peter Tabuns, his party’s energy critic.

“They seem to be very happy with nuclear and gas, ignoring the huge cost pressures in those two areas and ignoring the fact that renewable energy costs are dropping dramatically around the world.”

Rickford called the Green Energy Act “a symbol of the failed energy policy of the past…with no regard to impacts on peoples’ bills” because of “sweetheart” deals given to producers to kick-start the industry.

He said wind and solar power added $3.75 billion in costs to the electricity system last year with one-quarter of it “wasted” because the province produces more more power than it needs.

The repeal bill would also amend other legislation to allow the government to halt approvals for energy projects “where the demand for electricity has not been demonstrated,” Rickford said, evading questions on which projects this could impact.

Green Leader Mike Schreiner said the bill is largely symbolic given that Rickford in July axed 758 renewable energy projects that had received initial approvals, making Thursday’s move the “final nail in the coffin” for the Green Energy Act.

“I don’t know of any investment strategy that says buy high and sell low. That’s exactly what this government is doing.”

Rickford said Ontario’s energy sources are now “sufficient” to meet demand but that planning will continue to make sure there is enough supply in the future.

Predicting demand is notoriously difficult. Before the deep global recession hit in 2008 and 2009, the need for electricity was expected to soar. Electricity projects have long lead times, making it difficult for planners to turn on a dime.

At the same time, with the North American auto industry in jeopardy as the economy crashed, then-premier Dalton McGuinty led the push for renewable power with the Green Energy Act, hoping to foster a new clean energy industry in the province to cut pollution and mitigate climate change.

Interim Liberal Leader John Fraser said the Ford government’s repeal of the act is short-sighted.

“The Green Energy Act created tens of thousands of jobs in that industry, to where the world’s going…this will cost Ontarians jobs.”

The Ontario Real Estate Association applauded the repeal, saying it means homeowners won’t have to get mandatory home energy audits before selling their houses.

That created a risk a low score would cost homeowners, particularly seniors, “thousands of dollars…with little or no discernable benefit to the environment,” said association president Tim Hudak, a former Ontario Progressive Conservative leader.