The Auditor General of Ontario’s report of December 5 dealing with “Renewable Energy Initiatives” highlighted wasted spending commitments of billions of dollars that will fall on the backs of the ratepayers. The report offers up several recommendations which are immediately followed by responses by the Ministry of Energy on how it will deal with those recommendations. Continue reading
Category Archives: Renewables
Ontario Energy Prices: Frankly Bogus
Omitted Costs, Inflated Benefits, a study I co-authored with Glenn Fox for the Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society a week ago, has been discovered by the media and the Ministry of Energy. While we will have to wait until October 20th to hear the cabinet appointments by Premier McGuinty, that didn’t stop the Legislature’s most recent Minister of Energy, Brad Duguid from commenting on the study. Continue reading
Ontario’s Power Trip: The $4000 electricity bill
For the average ratepayer, an annual electricity bill will escalate from $1,700 per year to $2,800 by 2015 and by the time the renewables envisaged in the LTEP are largely in place (expected in 2018) an average ratepayer will be paying in excess of $4,000 annually — well over a doubling. Put another way Ontario’s ratepayers will be paying in excess of 40¢ per kWh, placing them on a par with Denmark, which suffers the highest cost of electricity in the developed world. Continue reading
Parker Gallant: The forgotten directive
(September 12, 2011) Parker Gallant’s article discusses the impact of Ontario’s Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) programs on Ontario energy taxpayers. While the FIT programs have been a great investment opportunity for investors, the majority of Ontarians suffered since OPG could not participate in the gold rush. Continue reading
Parker Gallant: The wind industry’s spin
(August 2, 2011) In Greek Mythology Aeolus was the “King of Wind” but in Canadian Mythology the King of Wind is CanWEA; a not-for-profit association of 420 members including public and private companies, legal firms, manufacturers, ect. and others who feed off of the largess of taxpayers and ratepayers to ensure they retain their mandated (Ontario’s Green Energy Act) place on the energy podium. Continue reading
Posted in Alternative Energy, Electricity, Power Generation in Ontario, Reforming Ontario's Electrical Generation Sector, Reforming Ontario's Local Electrical Distribution Sector, Renewables
Tagged CanWEA, demand periods, energy diet, forms of electricity, Parker Gallant, wind power, wind power production
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A Summary of Michael Trebilcock’s “Speaking Truth to Wind Power”
(July 6, 2011) Michael Trebilcock’s study, “Speaking Truth to Wind Power”, suggests Ontario’s policies regarding renewable energy must be revised to avoid incurring further consequences, such as higher energy costs for energy consumers and taxpayers. Continue reading
The Politics of Alternative Energy (3): The Need for Public Ownership of the Carbon “Idea”
(July 4, 2011) “If in the long run we are the makers of our own fate, in the short run we are the captives of the ideas we have created”. These words of economist and political philosopher Friedrich Hayek’s today resonate loudly in the carbon “idea” – that the West should fast-track a low-carbon economy no matter what the socio-economic cost. Continue reading
Posted in Alternative Energy, Climate Change, Fossil Fuels, Renewables
Tagged carbon, carbon emission targets, carbon emissions, carbon reduction goals, climate, CO2 issues, cost issues, decarbonisation, domestic fuel bills, fossil fuel energy, fuel poverty, green taxes, Lawrence Solomon, lower-carbon economy, Michael J. Economides, Peter C. Glover, Renewable Energy, Sam Laidlaw, utility cost, wind farms
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Aldyen Donnelly: BCAA’s conclusions about hybrid vehicles
(June 14, 2011) After one spends a little time calculating paybacks for different vehicle purchase options under different energy and vehicle price, tax, emission rating and purchase incentive scenarios, it becomes obvious that any tax measures intended to change consumer energy use should focus on car purchase and annual re-registration, not fuel purchases. Continue reading
Posted in Aldyen Donnelly, Climate Change, Renewables
Tagged Aldyen Donnelly, CO2 emissions, green house gas emissions, hybrids
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Economic model underlying green energy not sustainable, says Guelph economist
(June 9, 2011) GUELPH – An economist at the University of Guelph says if Ontario’s experiment with green energy is similar to what’s happened in the European Union (EU), the province can look forward to higher taxes, a net loss of jobs, and little difference in terms of green house gas emissions. Continue reading
