This event will examine the impacts of climate change on Canada’s freshwater resources. The panelists will explore the importance of scientific research and monitoring in understanding the state of freshwater resources and in managing them sustainably, as well as the linkages between water use and the natural resource sectors in Canada.

Click here to register (Registration is required )

Other speakers:
Scott Vaughan, Federal Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development,
David McLaughlin, President and CEO of the National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy.

The event will be moderated by:
Jeffrey Simpson, National Affairs Columnist at the Globe and Mail, and co-author of Hot Air: Meeting Canada’s Climate Change Challenge

Date and Time: Tuesday, March 13, 2012.
Reception from 8:30am-9:30am.
Panel Discussion from 9:30am-11:30am.

Location: Vivian and David Campbell Conference Facility
Map: http://www.munkschool.utoronto.ca/location/

To register, visit: http://www.munk.utoronto.ca/EventDetails.aspx?eventid=11797 (Registration Required)

Webcast of the panel discussion will begin at 9:30 am (EST) at http://www.powi.ca

Sir Adam Beck Hydroelectric Power Stations

Previously, I discussed subsidies and argued that almost all electricity generators are subsidized because they are paid more than the price that they competitively bid into Ontario’s wholesale electricity market.  What are the details of the prices that generators receive? Some – Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) nuclear plants and large hydro stations like those at Niagara Falls – are assets deemed to be “heritage power”, and receive a price that is regulated by the OEB using a method quite similar to how it regulates delivery rates.  The price reflects OPG’s operating (e.g., maintenance of stations) and capital costs (e.g., digging the tunnel for the Beck station or refurbishing nuclear plants), the expected amount of generation, plus a rate of return on equity that the Board allows OPG to earn.  This information is available from OEB hearings.

Others, natural gas-fired plants for example, are paid prices contained in contracts negotiated with the OPA through a competitive bidding process, and the specific details are confidential. Since the gas plants operate infrequently at times of peak demand, the contracts recognize that a payment is needed in excess of the wholesale electricity market price that the gas-fired generators receive. An additional payment, in the form of a guaranteed monthly minimum revenue requirement, is made through the global adjustment – the smoothing mechanism that I mentioned in my previous blog. Essentially, these generators are paid for the capacity to be there when called upon, even though most of the time the call isn’t made.  Without such guaranteed payment, these generators would not set up business in Ontario.  The subsidy they receive reflects the difference between the wholesale market price and the revenue requirement stipulated in the contracts.

Still other generators (some bioenergy, most solar and wind) are paid prices set out in the Feed-in Tariff or FIT. A key difference from the gas contracts discussed above is that FIT contracts are not awarded based on competitively determined prices. The prices paid are instead established by the OPA in a manner roughly analogous to the heritage power prices set by the OEB, i.e., capital and operating costs are used to determine the cost of generation of the various types of renewable technologies, an allowable rate of return is incorporated, prices are set and remain in effect for the term of the FIT contract (usually 20 years). The FIT is reviewed every two years.  Any contracts signed after the review will receive the new price, if it changes, that results from the review. The wind and solar generators are only paid when, respectively, the wind blows and the sun shines and they generate power that is sent into the grid.

As with almost all electricity generated in Ontario, the price paid to FIT generators is added into the blended price of power.  There are also several other contractual prices that make up the blend that come from an alphabet soup of payment arrangements with acronyms like CES, RES, RESOP, CHP, HCI and NUG.  I won’t go into the details for fear that we are approaching information overload.

At the risk of having most eyes gIaze over, I think the enhanced communications strategy promised in response to the Auditor General’s report has to start explaining this information – especially the key point of subsidization of all types of generation. Otherwise, Ontarians will continue to be at the mercy of misinformation and spin-doctors.  Also germane in my view are the indirect subsidies paid to generators: just consider the break they get from low water rental rates, limits to insurance liability, or not factoring the costs of respiratory illnesses and environmental damage into the price of electricity.

Unless we intend to eliminate subsidies to all generators, we should frankly admit they are a widespread reality in electricity pricing and tell this unambiguously to consumers.  Otherwise, we will continue the sort of unproductive bike shed argument that we have engaged in for the past two years over FIT prices.  And where does this type of argument, turning on subsidies, lead us? Could OPG object to the higher price that Bruce Power receives for its nuclear power?  Could consumers demand the elimination of support payments to peaking plants that maintain generating capacity used only infrequently?  Could the debt retirement charge be applied only to electricity supplied by nuclear reactors since most of the residual stranded debt results from construction of the Darlington nuclear station? The answer in all these cases is no.  There are reliability, equity and legacy issues at play.

Without subsidizing and spreading these costs across all consumption of power, we wouldn’t have an electricity system. The centrality of these subsidies to our electrical grid was made evident during Ontario’s ill-fated attempt to create a competitive electricity market.  Despite the belief that new generators could be attracted to enter the market and compete with established companies, investors were unwilling to assume the full risk of their investment. Consumers were promised a competitive electricity system would attract new entrants, provide market efficiencies and lower prices but new generation mainly came later with the provision of contracts containing subsidies to minimize investor risk.  The invisible hand of the market offered up a sobering slap in the face that subsidies were necessary.

Of the ten finalists at ClimateSpark, three were renewable energy co-operatives that are in various stages of development: Solarshare, Options for Green Energy, and Zooshare.  These co-operatives are developing a community bond model of investment that allows all Ontarians to participate in the low carbon energy revolution and generate financial returns in so doing.  Solarshare, an initiative of the Toronto Renewable Energy Co-operative (TREC) is the most advanced of the three initiatives with a portfolio of solar projects in operation that are generating revenues through feed-in tariff contracts from the Ontario Power Authority. However, the big winner of the night was Zooshare which is developing a 500kW biogas plant on the grounds of the Toronto Zoo to turn manure and food waste from local grocery stores into electricity and heat.  It received a $250,000 loan from the Toronto Atmospheric Fund and a $40,000 grant from the Toronto Community Foundation to help begin construction of its “Zoopoo” facility.

Other winning initiatives of the evening included Shuttle – a public engagement program developed by Summerhill impact that encourages people to drive less – and Young Urban Farmers, a company that helps urban dwellers turn their backyards into mini-farms and increase the amount of locally produced food available in the City.

These initiatives are just the sort of bottom-up entrepreneurial activity that we need in order to meet the climate challenge.  But perhaps just as importantly we need action from government to create the conditions for such initiatives to thrive.  Currently the Ontario government seems to be distancing itself from a commitment to tackle climate change made in 2007 as I have noted over the years in my Greenhouse Gas Progress reports.  Financial constraints notwithstanding, climate action will require innovative policy across provincial government ministries.  Yesterday’s ClimateSpark event provided a great example to learn from.

Gord Miller, Environmental Commissioner of Ontario, Francesca Quinn, Winner of a 2011 Brewer's Plate auction and Peter Bulut Jr., President and Chief Brewing Officer at Great Lakes Brewery in Toronto. Photo credit: Agatha Podgorski, Ontario Culinary Tourism Alliance

Mike and Francisca Quinn of Loop Initiatives are the winners of an exclusive auction prize at the 2011 Brewer’s Plate, an event which celebrates local, sustainable food and farming while craft brewers and local chefs offer up a sustainable spring feast.

With the help of Gord Miller, Environmental Commissioner of Ontario (ECO) and under the guidance of Peter Bulut Jr., President and Chief Brewing Officer at Great Lakes Brewery in Toronto, the Quinns will use Ontario-grown hops to brew an ENVIRO PALE ALE.

The brewing session will be held on Friday, September 30, 2011 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Media are invited to the Great Lakes’ brewhouse for the entire event or just to drop by for a photo opportunity and a sample of Great Lakes’ beer.

The beer brewed by the Quinns and the ECO will ferment and age for a few weeks before being ready for them to take home and sample with family, friends and food.

Founded in 1987, Great Lakes Brewery is Toronto’s oldest craft brewery. Great Lakes produces a diverse selection of award-winning beers brewed in small batches using only the finest quality ingredients. Along with flagship brands Golden Horseshoe, Red Leaf and Devil’s Pale Ale, Great Lakes has built a reputation as a creative and innovative brewery through its seasonal specialties such as Orange Peel, Pumpkin and Green Tea Ale.

Look for a photo of the brewing session next week!

Environmental Commissioner of Ontario to release Volume One of 2011 energy conservation report

The Environmental Commissioner of Ontario will release his 2010 energy conservation report, Annual Energy Conservation Progress Report – 2010 (Volume One), Managing a Complex Energy System. The report reviews policy developments, highlights concerns with the current policy agenda and provides recommendations for energy conservation in Ontario.

WHAT: Release of the Environmental Commissioner’s Annual Energy Conservation Progress Report – 2010 (Volume One), Managing a Complex Energy System.

WHO: Gord Miller, Environmental Commissioner of Ontario

WHEN: Tuesday, June 14, 2011 at 10:00 a.m.

WHERE: Room 149, Queen’s Park Media Studio, Legislative Assembly of Ontario
Legislative Building, Queen’s Park, Toronto, Ontario

For more information or to schedule interviews, contact:
Maria Leung, Communications & Outreach Coordinator,
416-325-3371 or email maria.leung@eco.on.ca.

For French language release and bilingual support, please contact:
Jean-Marc Filion, 705-476-9665.

• To watch the live broadcast of the media conference, please visit http://www.eco.on.ca/index.php/en_US/eco-webcast.

• Media not currently accredited by the Legislative Assembly (Queen’s Park) Media Gallery must register with the Press Gallery if they wish to participate in the conference. To register, contact Gerald Christopher, Press Gallery Coordinator – Room 387A or 416-325-7922 or gerald_christopher@ontla.ola.org.

• The full Report will be available in print, PDF and e-book (.epub) formats at 10:00 a.m. on June 14, 2011. To download the report, visit http://www.eco.on.ca.

• Pre-recorded remarks from the Environmental Commissioner will be available at 10:00 a.m. on June 14, 2011. To watch Environmental Commissioner’s pre-recorded comments, visit http://www.youtube.com/user/EcoComms.

Aussi disponible en français.

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The Environmental Commissioner of Ontario is the province’s independent environmental watchdog. Appointed by the Legislative Assembly, the ECO monitors and reports on compliance with the Environmental Bill of Rights, the government’s progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and its actions towards achieving greater energy conservation in Ontario.

Renewable Energy Program Honoured by Environmental Commissioner

Staff of the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) are being celebrated today in a ceremony held at Queen’s Park by Gord Miller, the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario. This is to recognize their Alternative Power project at Summer Beaver Airport, Canada’s first remote airport powered entirely by renewable energy. Commissioner Miller is presenting his 2009/10 ECO Recognition Award to MTO staff for their exemplary work in developing and implementing the program.

“This shows there are real opportunities for generating electricity from renewable energy sources in remote communities in Ontario’s far north,” Miller said. “There are multiple benefits – improving local air quality, avoiding soil contamination, eliminating emissions from transporting diesel fuel. Let’s see this expanded to all of Ontario’s remote airports.”

Wind and solar energy has replaced diesel at Summer Beaver Airport in Nibinamik First Nation, making it the first airport in Canada to be entirely powered by renewable energy. This is one of 29 remote airports operated by MTO in Ontario’s far north in First Nations communities that do not have all-weather road connections to the rest of Ontario. Nibinamik, a community of approximately 380 persons, is located 494 kilometres north of Thunder Bay. The airport is not connected to the small diesel-powered community grid and, until recently, relied on two 24 kilowatt diesel generators to produce power to operate the airport.

“The MTO team, who are not energy specialists and whose job is to keep transportation links open, couldn’t have done a better job,” enthused Miller. “They took a proven technology and applied it in an ecologically sound manner. They installed a reclaimed solar array.  During winter months when light levels and solar generation are low, the solar energy will be backed up with wind power, not diesel. Kudos to MTO and the Nibinamik First Nation for really thinking this one through and making it happen.”

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For further information, contact:

Hayley Easto, Communications and Outreach Coordinator
Office of the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario
Tel:  416-325-3371  / 416-819-1673
Toll-free public inquiry line: 1-800-701-6454
E-mail: media@eco.on.ca

Aussi disponible en français