(Jan. 24, 2010) Ontario signed a $7-billion renewable energy deal with Samsung to build wind and solar energy clusters throughout the province. By 2016, the project is expected to generate 2,500 megawatts of energy, or about 4 per cent of Ontario’s total energy consumption. The deal will create upwards of 16,000 new jobs, making Ontario the leader in Canada’s green energy equipment sector (Premier Dalton McGuinty wants to create 50,000 jobs in the renewable energy sector in the next 3 years).

However, Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak compared this deal to the eHealth scandal, claiming that the Samsung deal is a sole-sourced contract that likely violates Ontario’s procurement rules. Hudak called on Auditor General Jim McCarter to review the deal.

Meanwhile, the local renewable energy industry is complaining that Samsung will receive preferential rates for its energy and will get priority access to Ontario’s transmission system (which has limited capacity).

Some are challenging the economics of the Samsung deal. In the National Post, Lawrence Solomon notes that a proposed private wind farm project in Texas designed produce 4,000 megawatts of energy fell apart when financiers couldn’t be convinced the project made any business sense. Additionally, Solomon writes that in Spain every government-created green job cost two jobs elsewhere else in the economy.

Similarly, Randall Denley writes that the incentives given to Samsung in this deal shows that Ontario has become economically uncompetitive.  

The Samsung deal is even controversial in the Ontario Liberal caucus. Some unnamed Liberal MPPs are complaining that they were not consulted on a deal that could raise residential energy prices and undermine local renewable energy suppliers.

Earlier this month on The Agenda, a panel debated whether green jobs can save the economy.

http://www.tvo.org/video/tvoplayersm.swf