Tag Archives: Hydro Ottawa

Ottawa Council votes unanimously to hold approvals of new power generation installations until protective bylaws in place

23 Thursday Feb 2023

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

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , , , ,

New zoning bylaws to be fast-tracked for 2023 in light of Ontario government’s current new power procurement plan

See the presentation of the power generation bylaw motion by Councillor David Brown beginning at minute 53

February 23, 2023

OTTAWA

Ottawa City Council voted unanimously yesterday to approve a motion put forward by Ward 21 Rideau-Jock councillor David Brown, and seconded by West Carleton-March councillor Clarke Kelly, to hold off granting municipal approval for any new power project proposals that may come forward as a result of provincial government procurement plans. The motion directs staff to tell proponents that municipal support will not be granted until review by a Standing Committee; the Motion further stipulates that developing zoning bylaws for new power generation installation should be done in the Planning department’s 2023 “Workbook” ahead of 2024-2025 for the new suite of bylaws as a whole.

The deadline for the Independent Electricity System Operator’s first phase of new procurement, for 1,500 megawatts of power, was last Thursday, February 16. The IESO plans another RFP to be launched this spring or summer, for an additional 2,500 megawatts of new power.

The motion passed yesterday stipulates that staff be directed to inform proponents of any new power generation projects: “staff will not bring such requests to Council unless such requests are considered through the relevant Standing Committee, it being understood that the Standing Committee will act in accordance with the timelines provided in the LT1 RFP, furthermore, that Hydro Ottawa and its affiliates, shall be entitled to obtain any Municipal Support Resolution required per the LT1 RFP (or other similar processes), via bilateral discussions with its sole shareholder, the City of Ottawa,”

and

“staff will bring forward an amendment to the City of Ottawa’s Zoning By-law that implements the intent of the policies in the Official Plan with respect to renewable energy generation facilities and storage by Q4 2023 that is in advance of the municipal Comprehensive Zoning By-law update“.

Ottawa saw only one submission in response to the most recent IESO Request for Proposals, a small Battery Energy Storage System proposed for Upper Dwyer Hill Road. Another, larger battery project is in development for the Cumberland area; the proponent is Brookfield’s Evolugen division. Both projects are supposed to have had public meetings to present project details; the Upper Dwyer Hill Road project meeting notice was only on the company’s website, and no members of the public attended the January 12th meeting.

Ottawa Wind Concerns made several presentations to city committees including the Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committee to warn that the IESO RFP was on the way, and that Ottawa needed to be ready with protective bylaws for large power generation projects such as wind turbines. Ontario’s regulations for noise levels and setbacks for noise and safety have not been changed since 2009, and are generally viewed as inadequate today.

The community group’s advice was rebuffed, however, with one rural councillor claiming in September that no such procurement was on the way. At that time, the IESO RFP process was in the final stages of “engagement.” The first RFP launched December 7, 2022.

Do wind turbines make noise? YES

Rural Ottawa has already experienced a proposal for a large wind power project when a proposal came forward under the Ontario government’s Feed-In Tariff program in 2009. It was for as many as eight 600-foot industrial wind turbines to be located in the North Gower area, to be built by Pro-Wind, a small company based in Germany. Residents rejected the proposal at the time, saying the power generating machines would be too close to homes and the village school. Residents signed a petition and presented it to City Hall; almost every property-owning resident of the North Gower area signed the document.

Interestingly, one of the proponent’s staff was interviewed by then radio host and journalist Mark Sutcliffe who asked, Do the wind turbines make noise?

“Of course they do,” said the project salesperson. “They’re power generators.”

Citizens of rural Ottawa are concerned that new power projects, no matter what the technology, will be located in rural areas. Noise pollution, vibration, loss of valuable farmland, risk to aquifers, and danger to wildlife are all important concerns.

We are trying to respond to community concerns, said Councillor David Brown, “That is really what this is all about.”

Ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com

The motion, revised prior to Council, is here:

Re / Objet : Clarifying the process of approving new energy projects and infrastructure under the Requests for Proposals from Independent Electricity System Operator

Moved by / Motion de: Councillor D. Brown

Seconded by / Appuyée par: Councillor C. Kelly


WHEREAS the Independent Electricity System Operator has released an Expedited Procurement Process to procure 1.5 gigawatts of electrical capacity by mid-decade and has been engaging with municipalities with respect to Requests for Proposals for a significant number of new projects for energy generation, storage, and infrastructure; and


WHEREAS the Expedited Procurement Process (the E-LT1 RFP) closing February 16, 2023 includes three (3) of thirteen (13) Rated Criteria Points for municipal council support resolutions; and


WHEREAS after February 16, 2023 the Independent Electricity System Operator is planning two more procurement phases totalling 2.8 gigawatts of capacity to be available mid decade; and


WHEREAS the Independent Electricity System Operator requires a Municipal Support Resolution from the municipal council no later than sixty (60) days after the eighteen (18) month anniversary of the Contract Date; and


WHEREAS some Independent Electricity System Operator resources participate in the Ontario electricity market without contracts; and


WHEREAS it is not clear that the inability for a project to receive a “Municipal Support Resolution” will necessarily lead to the revocation of a proponent’s contract; and


WHEREAS Ottawa must decrease its reliance on greenhouse gas-emitting sources of energy, including by increasing local renewable energy generation and battery storage, to achieve its greenhouse gas emission reduction targets; and


WHEREAS the City has received a request for a Municipal Support Resolution for a 5-megawatt/20-megawatt hour battery energy storage system using lithium-ion battery technology at 650 Upper Dwyer Hill Road, Ottawa that is expected to occupy approximately 0.3 acres (0.12 ha) of land, including all required setbacks and spacing; and


WHEREAS municipalities, namely through land use policies in the Official Plan and provisions in the Zoning By-law, set their own priorities with respect to where energy generation, storage, and infrastructure may be permitted; and


WHEREAS increased energy generation, storage, and infrastructure can have significant impacts on local residents that are worth due consideration by Council under a framework in the Zoning By-law that reflects the City’s Official Plan; and

WHEREAS staff will bring forward an amendment to the City of Ottawa’s Zoning By-law that implements the intent of the policies in the Official Plan with respect to renewable energy generation facilities and storage by Q4 2023 that is in advance of the municipal Comprehensive Zoning By-law update;


THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Mayor, on behalf of Council, write a letter to the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Independent Electricity System Operator to formally request confirmation that projects approved through the LT1 RFP and future procurements shall not proceed without a Municipal Support Resolution from municipal council in the form of an approved motion; and


BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that staff be directed, in consultation with Hydro Ottawa, to come forward with recommendations in advance of the new Zoning By-law to help inform City Council plans for energy generation, storage and infrastructure as a deliverable project in the 2023 Planning, Real Estate and Economic Development Department Workplan; and  


BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the appropriate Standing Committees evaluate current and future requests for Municipal Support Resolutions, informed by the recommendations referenced above until amendments have been made to Zoning By-law 2008-250 in Q4 2023; provided, however, that projects proposed by Hydro Ottawa and its affiliates shall be entitled to obtain such Municipal Support Resolution through bilateral discussions with its sole shareholder, the City of Ottawa; and  


BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that until such time as amendments have been made to Zoning By-law 2008-250 in Q4 2023, staff be directed to advise any proponents seeking a Municipal Support Resolution through the LT1 RFP that staff will not bring such requests to Council unless such requests are considered through the relevant Standing Committee, it being understood that the Standing Committee will act in accordance with the timelines provided in the LT1 RFP, furthermore, that Hydro Ottawa and its affiliates, shall be entitled to obtain any Municipal Support Resolution required per the LT1 RFP (or other similar processes), via bilateral discussions with its sole shareholder, the City of Ottawa.


BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this motion be sent to the Premier of Ontario, the Ontario Minister of Energy, and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.

Advertisement

Queen’s Park to pass new legislation to ram through new hydro corridors: Ottawa Citizen

21 Thursday May 2015

Posted by in Ottawa, Wind power

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

, , , , , , , ,

Pathways and green space along the Hydro corridor in the Bridlewood area of Kanata.

Hydro corridor in Bridlewood area of Ottawa: millions of dollars’ worth of new power lines needed

Ottawa Citizen May 21

The provincial government is preparing a new law to make it easier to build and expand hydro corridors, with the Ottawa area a prime target.

Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli told a summit of energy companies in Toronto in early May that he’s working on legislation that’s mostly about adjusting the way Ontario’s main regulator for the industry, the Ontario Energy Board, works once the province sells off a majority share in Hydro One, its main transmission utility.

But part of the new law, according to the text of his speech, will “give cabinet enhanced powers to designate key transmission corridors to expedite their construction.”

Chiarelli’s spokesperson Jennifer Beaudry explained by email that the idea is to let the politicians decide what’s “in the public good” and remove a stage where the energy board makes its own determination about whether a transmission project is really needed. The regulator would still go over costs and decide who should pay what share of them, she said.

A key transmission corridor could be one that brings electricity to a remote First Nations reserve, one needed to power northern mines, or one that’s needed for “enhanced intertie capacity with neighbouring jurisdictions to support clean energy import,” the text of Chiarelli’s speech says.

And that means Ottawa, which is a major transfer point for electricity Ontario buys from Quebec’s hydro dams but where our existing wires are nearly maxed out.

“At present the firm import capability that could be relied on for all hours on the Quebec — Ontario interties is quite restricted due to transmission issues in the Ottawa area,” says a report prepared last fall by the Independent Electricity System Operator, the provincial agency that monitors and forecasts the flow of electricity around Ontario.

Lines that run through Ottawa carry power into Ontario both from northern Quebec and from the big Beauharnois dam near Montreal. Electricity doesn’t travel all that well, so a lot of the energy we use here comes from Quebec, especially in the summer.

A shortage of transmission capacity will be a big deal in the North, where the eventual development of Ring of Fire mines and related industries will take a lot of electricity. It could even affect Toronto, which has a lot of heavy-duty power lines around its outskirts but only a webwork of little ones serving its condo-packed downtown. But it’s here that the clock is really ticking.

Within five years, the agency says, there’ll be no capacity to move electricity from Quebec through Ottawa to the rest of the province unless we build hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of new power lines; all the juice we can suck in, we’ll be using locally. At a minimum, keeping the system functioning means replacing existing lines that run past backyards in Kanata and Orléans with heavier-duty ones, a $325-million project that would only keep the power supply in Ottawa stable, not give us any to spare.

The most ambitious scenario the IESO considered would cost more like $2 billion. It’s a list of things we’d have to do if Ontario wants to make a major deal to buy Quebec electricity in quantity. We’d have to do major work on just about all of Ottawa’s high-voltage lines, but especially on the ones that run through Orléans because they mainly carry electricity from an “intertie” with Quebec at a hydro dam in Masson-Angers to Ontario’s main power grid. It would also mean building a new eight-kilometre line through Kanata, connecting transfer stations at South March and Terry Fox.

As Ontario knows well by now, new electricity projects are rarely popular. Usually, they benefit other people more than those who live nearby — a wind farm is good for the company that runs it and for whoever leases or sells the land, and (arguably) for the province as a whole, but not for the neighbours who have to look at it.

Same thing with a hydro corridor. We need high-voltage wires but nobody has yet found a way to make them pretty. Plus the science is pretty compelling that they don’t pose a health risk, but there’s no convincing some people. There’s really no way that high-tension wires carrying Quebec power past your house in Ottawa’s suburbs toward Toronto are a selling point. Which is why the cabinet will want the authority to shove them down people’s throats.

dreevely@ottawacitizen.com
twitter.com/davidreevely

 

Smart meters not “smart” enough for Ottawa Hydro

07 Tuesday Jan 2014

Posted by in Ottawa

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, , , ,

Frequent contributor to the Financial Post, energy commentator Parker Gallant noticed the story in the Ottawa Citizen on Hydro Ottawa and its struggle with “smart” meters, and sent this along.

Smart Meters not smart enough to suit Hydro Ottawa

The people who run Hydro Ottawa exhibit the same traits as our teens when Apple or Samsung announce the launch of a new i Pad or smart phone–they want the latest gadget. So, Hydro Ottawa trotted off to the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) with a request that they be allowed to accumulate the costs associated with replacing 96,000 smart meters because the newer models had a few new apps.

Once they completed the conversion they would then seek a rate increase.

The OEB declined to approve the conversion concept however, so any of those costs will have to be absorbed by Hydro Ottawa or by their only shareholder, the City of Ottawa. That may result in reduced dividends ($18.6 million in 2012) being paid to the city, and in a mill rate increase depending on how well Hydro Ottawa manage their costs.

The OEB did grant a rate increase of 1.4% which will add an average of $8.28 annually to the delivery line of Hydro Ottawa’s bills or, as Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli might say, the cost of five Tim Horton’s coffees.

It is disconcerting to learn however that, while the OEB declined the smart grid upgrade, the OEB did allow Hydro Ottawa the right to collect 50% of legislated tax changes (capital tax related) from ratepayers as noted from the OEB’s decision on that issue:

EB-2013-0143 In its Supplemental Report of the Board on 3rd Generation Incentive Regulation for Ontario’s Electricity Distributors, issued September 17, 2008, the Board determined that a 50/50 sharing of the impact of legislated tax changes between shareholders and ratepayers is appropriate.

The Application identified a total tax change of $142,451, resulting in a shared amount of $71,225 to be collected from rate payers. Hydro Ottawa requested the Board authorize the recording of this amount in Account 1595 for disposition in a future application given that the associated rate riders are negligible. The Board agrees with Hydro Ottawa’s request and directs Hydro Ottawa to record the tax sharing debit of $71,225 in variance Account 1595 by March 31, 2014 for disposition at a future date.

While the cost of the tax sharing will be negligible, it is worth remembering back to when the province lowered the corporate tax rate. That considerably reduced the tax allocations, referred to as “Payment in Lieu of Taxes” (PIL), that the local distribution companies (LDC) were directing to repayment of the “Stranded Debt”. What happened then was the extension of the time required to pay out the “residual stranded debt” via the Debt Retirement Charge (DRC) we find on our electricity bills. The drop in PIL payments did not reflect itself in reduced distribution charges or reduced electricity charges at that time. 

Now, with local distribution companies (LDCs) suddenly facing new or increased taxes, the poor ratepayers are expected to simply cough up more money. The people running the LDCs and the OEB must believe the Ontario ratepayers have bottomless wallets.

Parker Gallant,

January 7, 2013

Special to Ottawa Wind Concerns

Donations welcome: PO Box 3, North Gower ON  K0A 2T0

email us at ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com