Category Archives: Ottawa

New procurement plan for large power projects

14 Saturday Dec 2013

Posted by in Ottawa, Renewable energy, Wind power

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As we’ve been saying, the new “procurement” process for large-scale power projects (over 500 kW) has not yet been announced, but there are enough clues in the recently released Long-Term Energy Plan that we have an idea of what’s coming.

First of all, the Feed In Tariff program is gone for large projects; in its place is a Request for Proposal or RFP system, in which applicants will have to meet a number of requirements and rack up points. Those of us who respond to government RFPs will be familiar with the process.

The LTEP outlines several principles that will be applied when launching future energy procurement programs:

  • follow provincial and/or regional electricity system need;
  • consider municipal electricity generation preferences;
  • engage early and regularly with local and Aboriginal communities;
  • provide opportunity for a diverse set of participants;
  • identify clear procurement needs, goals and expectations; and
  • encourage innovative technologies and approaches, including consideration of  proposals that integrate energy storage with renewable energy generation.

As stated in the 2013 LTEP, the government plans to make available up to 300 MW of wind, 140 MW of solar, 50 MW of bioenergy and 50 MW of hydroelectric capacity in 2014.

Note that the wording is that the government will “consider” municipal generation preferences, but that doesn’t mean that if you don’t ant a wind power project, for example, you get to say “no.” Note the importance of the regional energy plans, and also the need to “engage” with local communities.

Again, Prowind has indicated to us that they will be reviewing the new requirements and then reapplying.

The people of Ottawa, and specifically North Gower and Richmond, are ready to act to protect our community, our health, our local economy, and our property values, from a subsidy-seeking power project that is NOT NEEDED.

Email us at ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com

P O Box 3 North Gower ON  K0A 2T0

Prowind aims to get investor cash from community

12 Thursday Dec 2013

Posted by in Ottawa, Renewable energy, Wind power

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(Let us just say first, Not our community. Though we’d like to see them try.)

In this news item, Prowind Canada is reported to be trying to get cash from community members for its Gunn’s Hill project in south-western Ontario (not far from Woodstock).

from reNews, December 10, 2013

Developer ProWind Canada has helped establish the Oxford Community Energy Co-operative to partner in the 25MW Gunn’s Hill project in Ontario.

The proponent will give the coop up to a 49% equity share in the feed-in tariff proposal to help spread the local benefits, Prowind VP Juan Anderson told reNews. Community ownership adds up to 1 cent/kWh to the base FiT rate of 13.5 cents/kWh.

The group hopes to raise up to C$10m, said co-op secretary Christine Koenig. About 30 members have paid C$100 each to join so far. The co-op aims to offer a share purchase program in February 2014.

Ontario regulators meanwhile are assessing a renewable energy approval application for the 10-turbine, distribution-connected scheme.

“We expect it to be deemed complete this month,” said Anderson. A public comment period and six-month review will follow.

The proponent, a subsidiary of Germany-based Prowind GmbH, is finalizing a turbine supply agreement. The developer is also in discussions with contractors and expects to select a builder in early 2014, said Anderson.

The Oxford County project must meet a 50% Ontario content rule. Towers, blades and pad-mount transformers will be sourced in the province*, said Anderson.

Construction is expected to get underway in mid to late 2014 followed by commercial operation in 2015.

It is worth recalling that a few weeks ago, another local community group, the East Oxford Community Alliance, announced that it has hired lawyer Eric Gillespie and intends to sue Prowind and the landowners leasing land for turbines for $28 million, if the Gunn’s Hill project gets approval.

The community investment fund strategy is one being employed by some wind power developers to help them get approval from the government, as community “engagement” and “support” are now important in the approval process.

As regards now VP Anderson’s statement that all materiels for Gunn’s Hill will be from Ontario, their supplier of choice is a company called Broadwind Energy, headquartered in Illinois. Prowind’s HQ is in Germany. Once again, profits (i.e., subsidies from taxpayers and ratepayers) are NOT staying in Ontario but going out of this country. A search of Broadwind’s website reveals no information on any Ontario facilities.

 

 

Tom van Dusen on Ontario’s power situation: “powerless”

10 Tuesday Dec 2013

Posted by in Ottawa, Renewable energy, Wind power

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From the December 3rd edition of Ontario Farmer, an excerpt from the Stories from Eastern Ontario feature by Ottawa area writer Tom Van Dusen. Powerless

I recently listened to one of the most horrifying hours of radio programming I have ever heard.

I was driving the truck at the time and almost leapt out of the seat I became so incensed. I was receiving information I already knew in general terms but that didn’t make it any less tormenting.

The show wasn’t about disaster or disease. It wasn’t about the Senate. It wasn’t even about Rob Ford.

It was a discussion about that outrageous cash guzzler Hydro One, its stunning rates and the crippling effect they are having on all aspects of Ontario commercial and residential life.

It was a tale of gross mismanagement, incompetence, political interference and total indifference for consumers–you and me–in Hydro One’s grossly inflated charges…charges poised to make Ontario the most expensive place to buy electricity in North America.’

Listeners were calling in to tell horror stories about dealing with Hydro One, of having their service cut off because they could no longer pay, of planning to move because their electricity bills had become too exorbitant to manage.

There was an overall feeling of helplessness, of being able to do nothing but stand by as the bandits running Hydro One and related government agencies continue to jack prices without explanation. …

The radio show* featured guest energy analyst Tom Adams, who was a pleasure to listen to, a man who seemed to know his stuff and who pulled no punches in describing how Ontario’s electricity future is being burdened with “stupidly expensive junk generation.”

Adams and callers raised several of the issues particularly frustrating to the people who have to pay for all the blunders–that would be you and me–including compensating electricity producers to remain idle and selling off surplus power at cut rate prices to other jurisdictions.

Let’s take wind power. I’m a great fan but enough is enough…taxpayers can’t justify any more subsidized turbine erection under the Green Energy Act when a surplus is being produced for the grid.

Ottawa city council has passed a motion asking the province to give communities more say in where wind power projects are installed.

A little way south in Brinston, 10 turbines are in the works with little backing from neighbours or local government, South Dundas Township. Council passed a motion that additional turbines won’t be supported until a need is proven. With no legal clout behind the move, more than 70 Ontario municipalities have officially become “unwilling hosts” for turbines. Yet this provincial government continues to push its alternative energy agenda while failing to curb Hydro One’s scandalous misuse of our money.

The waste can only be shut off with an election and a complete makeover of the shirt circuiting Ontario Hydro bureaucracy.

tomvandusen@sympatico.ca

*Editor’s note: this sounds like Ontario Today hosted by Rita Celli with guest Tom Adams. A podcast of the show is available at cbc.ca

Bob Chiarelli’s $2 cup of coffee

06 Friday Dec 2013

Posted by in Ottawa, Renewable energy, Wind power

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chiarelli1.jpg.size.xxlarge.promoEnergy Minister Chiarelli’s $210 million “cup of coffee”

Just yesterday in the Legislature, Ontario’s “energy literate” Minister of Energy Bob Chiarelli responded to a question from Lisa MacLeod, the PC Energy Critic. From the record:

Hon. Bob Chiarelli: Mr. Speaker, the member for Nepean-Carleton is on another wish hunt—W-I-S-H. She’s wishing that her imagination comes true. The information that was provided in committee and provided to the Auditor General was quite clear, and she chooses to misconstrue it. “Misconstrue” is not unparliamentary, Mr. Speaker, because I actually looked it up in the dictionary. The word “misconstrue” means “to fail to understand the true or actual meaning.” And there are a number of synonyms. The others synonyms are “to misapprehend, to misconstrue, to misinterpret, to mis-know, to misperceive, to misread, to miss, or a mistake.” I would choose the word “mistake,” because the chair of the OPA was at committee. He showed the calculations on the costs, and they actually amount to $1 to $2 per year over 20 years, Mr. Speaker. She doesn’t want to admit it. She chooses to misconstrue it and she wants to obfuscate the truth.

That remark received considerable attention from the media and when questioned by them Minister Chiarelli added this disingenuous remark, “It’s’ less than a cup of Tim Horton’s coffee a year.”

Well, Minister Chiarelli is right, but he is only referring to the cost to ratepayers from the Ontario Power Authority’s direct costs — it ignores all of the other costs identified by the Auditor General.

Under the terms of the “Memorandum of Understanding” between the OPA and TransCanada, the OPA was obliged to purchase the gas turbines as noted in the following taken from that Memorandum:

2. Within ten (10) Business Days following the execution of the Reimbursement Agreement and in

accordance with the terms thereof, the following payments shall be made to TCE by the OPA:

 

(a) $210,000,000 in respect of TCE’s costs relating to the acquisition of gas turbines for the

OGS Facility and all contracts related thereto, including transportation, carrying, storage,

foreign currency hedging, procurement, design and engineering costs and the initial spare

parts;

 

The problem with the OPA acquiring those turbines is that the Act that created the OPA doesn’t allow them to acquire “capital” assets related to the production of electricity.  The OPA’s purpose in life is to “plan”!  That meant that the acquisition cost was immediately tossed into that big pot referred to as the Global Adjustment which is billed out to ratepayers. 

 

So let’s look at that “$2.01” cup of coffee!   

 

According to the Yearbook of Electricity Distributors for 2012 on the Ontario Energy Board’s website ,there were 4,893,782 Total Customers . If they each paid $2.01, the annual cost would be $9,836,502 and over 20 years is approximately $197 million which is remarkably close to what the OPA paid for those gas turbines.

 

It is interesting that the Minister used the word “misconstrue” during the debate (he was censured by the speaker for its use) as that is exactly what he continues to do with the energy file by telling only partial truths.

 

This cup of coffee is tainted. The ratepayers of Ontario recognize that each and every time they open their bills from their local electricity supplier.  Minister Chiarelli should revisit what he tells the public because they understand the meaning of “misconstrue” much better than he does!

 

©Parker Gallant,

December 5, 2013

The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent Wind Concerns Ontario policy.

Reblogged from Wind Concerns Ontario

Chiarelli defines “significant” municipal involvement. Pssst, want a skating rink?

05 Thursday Dec 2013

Posted by in Health, Ottawa, Renewable energy, Wind power

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Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli gave a few more details in an interview yesterday on what “significant” municipal support might mean. Turns out, anything. If a community accepts a contribution toward “infrastructure” or a “service” that will be deemed to be municipal support.

This will be important in smaller communities in Ontario which have already accepted money for things like signs, and contributions toward skating rinks or arenas, etc. “Vibrancy funds” are the wind biz way of contributing money to a community and if the community accepts that, it is “support.”

DufferinsSponsorSign

Reaction to the Long Term Energy Plan: no one’s smiling

04 Wednesday Dec 2013

Posted by in Health, Ottawa, Renewable energy, Wind power

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Please go to Wind Concerns Ontario’s website to catch up on all the reaction and links to news stories and columns about the new Long Term Energy Plan, announced on Monday. www.windconcernsontario.ca

On Rick Gibbins Lunch Bunch on CFRA today, Carleton business prof Ian Lee said he cannot believe what Ontario is doing to itself. No matter what political stripe the Ontario government was in the past, he said, there was always the understanding that in order to compete with the northeastern States, we had to keep our power prices low. Not now: this is suicide, he said.

What not many commentators are noting however is the disastrous effect this will have on Ontario’s small towns and rural communities, because we are hit harder by the delivery charges, and because we need power for everything including pumps for our wells, electric fencing for livestock, etc. Local stores don’t have the choice of turning off meat freezers or display lights.

Our young families and people on limited incomes will be hit hard–many are already at their limit.

Worse, the government seems determined to push ahead with its wind power agenda, which will mean devastation of our communities environmentally and financially. As the Globe and Mail said in an editorial yesterday (see the Wind Concerns site) “If you know you’re in a hole, stop digging!”

You may write to Minister Chiarelli at write2us@ontario.ca to express how his price-pushing, wind-agenda plan will affect you and your family.

There is a demonstration being planned for Minister Chiarelli’s office on Saturday December 7th at 1 PM. If we get more details, we will post.

Email us at ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com

Ontario needs real change, not blame: WCO

03 Tuesday Dec 2013

Posted by in Ottawa, Renewable energy, Wind power

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Wynne continues wind folly with Long Term Energy Plan

Province needs change not blame, says advocacy group

December 2, 2013, For Immediate Release

 

Toronto—Ontario’s new Long Term Energy Plan released by Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli today has no real change, and maintains the same targets for wind power development, just a longer time frame. That’s bad news for ratepayers and taxpayers affected by higher electricity rates as a result of the province’s push for “green” power.

“Ontario never did a cost-benefit analysis for wind power, but now we know what the costs are,” said Wind Concerns Ontario president Jane Wilson. “Very little power produced, power produced out of phase with demand, and few of the thousands of jobs promised. At the same time, the costs are skyrocketing electricity rates, plummeting property values, and absolute tyranny through industrialization of Ontario’s rural communities with huge wind power plants.”

Wilson noted that the Energy Minister’s response to criticism about electricity rates is to produce a new website that featured a tutorial on how consumers can better use electricity.

“That was pure insult,” she said, “especially to rural residents forced to pay horrendous delivery charges for power, and who are already doing all they can to conserve while the government continues with policies that drive up costs.

“We need change, not blame.”

Wind Concerns Ontario also notes that though municipalities and citizens throughout the province demanded a stronger role in siting wind power generation projects, the government hasn’t budged.

Wind Concerns Ontario policy calls for no new Feed In Tariff or subsidy contracts for wind, cancellation of the contracts where construction has not yet begun, and compensation for people who have lost value in their properties neighbouring wind power projects, or whose health has been affected.

www.Windconcernsontario.ca

FACTS about wind power in Ontario

  • Currently 3,700 Megawatts of wind power under contract but not yet connected to the grid: could mean another $1 billion per year to Ontario costs or $250 to average ratepayer’s bill annually
  • Over 6,700 huge industrial wind turbines are already built or are proposed for Ontario
  • 76 Ontario communities have declared themselves “Not A Willing Host” to wind power projects

Wind Concerns Ontario is a coalition of individuals and community groups concerned about the negative impacts on health, environment and the economy from industrial-scale wind power generation projects.

Prowind being sued by Woodstock area residents for $28 million

26 Tuesday Nov 2013

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Residents of Norwich Township near Woodstock Ontario have decided that legal action is the best way to protect their community from property value loss and potential health problems related to the environmental noise and vibration produced by large-scale wind turbines.

In a news release dated today, the community members say they are filing a “draft” of the intended legal action, demanding $28 million; the legal action is directed at Prowind Canada, Gunn’s Hill Wind Farm, and the property owners leasing land for the wind power project.

Prowind Canada developed a power project just south of Ottawa at Brinston, which it sold to EDP Renewables, and is the developer responsible for the Marlborough wind power project near North Gower and Richmond in the City of Ottawa.

Toronto-based environmental lawyer Eric Gillespie is acting for the Norwich area residents; he can be reached at 416-436-7473.

Gillespie is also the lawyer for Ottawa Wind Concerns, which objects to the Marlborough project, within 3 km of more than 1,000 area homes. The Marlborough project, if it proceeds, could reduce property values for nearby homes by $134 million.

ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com

Ottawa decision of interest to all Ontario

24 Sunday Nov 2013

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Here from the Manotick Messenger, is an excerpt from Ward 21 Councillor Scott Moffatt‘s account of the North Gower-Richmond Not A Willing Host petition effort and inclusion in a City of Ottawa motion–which passed unanimously at council.

Other municipalities have been demanding a return of local land use planning powers–in fact, since before the Green Energy Act–but Ottawa, as the second largest city in the province, is the most populous municipality to do so.

The Not A Willing Host communities now number 75: to see the list and map, go to www.ontario-unwilling-hosts.org

2013 is turning out to be a year where issues under provincial jurisdiction are coming up time and time again.These issues give the City of Ottawa a minimal role in the final approval, whether it is the approval of a landfill expansion on Carp Road, or the proposal of expanding gaming within City limits. One of these issues, renewable energy projects, is not new to our area and stems from the…Green Energy Act, which gives municipalities no role in the approval of solar projects or wind power projects.

Nowhere in Ottawa is this issue more prevalent than in North Gower. In 2008, a wind developer came forward with an application for ten industrial wind turbines to be installed between North Gower and Richmond. It is important to note that this project has never been approved and there has not been an opportunity for them to apply since 2010*, but with a new application process being developed and the continuing interest of this wind developer, the potential does still remain.

[*Editor’s note: this is not quite accurate. At the time the province suspended applications for its Feed In Tariff subsidy program, Prowind’s North Gower project, Marlborough Wind Farm, was already on the list of applicants and was awaiting an economic connection test. Just two weeks ago, Prowind sent an email to Ottawa Wind Concerns to say it will be reviewing the requirements in the new application process, and would likely re-apply.]

The challenge for municipalities for these applications is that they do not have the ability to weigh in on the topic, conduct a meaningful consultation process or make any substantive recommendations on applications. This has led to over 70 municipalities across Ontario declaring them as Not A Willing Host to a wind power project. Residents of North Gower and the surrounding area recently came together and submitted a petition to the City of Ottawa that included 1,228 names declaring North Gower as Not A Willing Host.

… This led to the unanimous approval of a motion I put forward at Council last week that asks the Province of Ontario to make the necessary legislation and/or regulatory changes to provide municipalities with a substantive and meaningful role in siting wind power projects. City Council, in a 24-0 vote, sent a strong message to the Province that we should have a real voice in approving these projects.

This is a motion not just for North Gower or Ottawa, but for every municipality in Ontario.

Energy Minister Chiarelli, in testifying before the committee looking at the gas plant cancellations, said last week that it will be “virtually impossible” for a wind power proponent to receive approval without “significant” involvement or support from a municipality. Until we see the new process, we don’t know exactly what that means, but can it be the province really has been “listening” to the municipalities? MPP Lisa Thompson told the Minister in the same hearing session, “You better start listening to the 75 municipalities–you know what I mean.”

Email us at ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com