<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div dir="auto" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class="">Hi Art;<div class="">I will not be attending our CRAIC discussion tomorrow - we will be attending a special exhibit at the Aga Khan Museum here in Toronto.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">With respect to your photo of the coal train, in Ontario the Ford government has recently decided to increase GHG emissions by 600 per cent through the burning of methane to generate electricity. This is also a more expensive means of generating electricity than using wind, solar, or hydro purchased from Quebec. </div><div class="">Check the message from Environmental Defence below.</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class="">Stay hopeful;</div><div class="">Allan</div><div class=""><br class=""></div><div class=""><header class="entry-header" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin-bottom: 30px; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Interstate, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;"><h1 class="entry-title" itemprop="headline" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 10px; line-height: 1.2; font-size: 4.4rem; color: rgb(0, 70, 127);">Ontario’s next gas plant scandal</h1><p class="entry-meta" style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px; font-size: 1.5rem;"><time class="entry-time" itemprop="datePublished" datetime="2022-10-17T16:21:19-04:00" style="box-sizing: inherit;">October 17, 2022</time> by <span class="entry-author" itemprop="author" itemscope="" itemtype="https://schema.org/Person" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a href="https://taf.ca/author/bryanpurcell/" class="entry-author-link" rel="author" itemprop="url" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(0, 70, 127); transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;"><span class="entry-author-name" itemprop="name" style="box-sizing: inherit;">Bryan Purcell</span></a></span> <span class="entry-comments-link" style="box-sizing: inherit;"><a href="https://taf.ca/ontarios-next-gas-plant-scandal/#comments" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(0, 70, 127); transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" class="">5 Comments</a></span></p></header><img class="wp-post-image wp-image-17961 size-post-banner attachment-post-banner" alt="" style="box-sizing: inherit; max-width: 100%; vertical-align: top; border-style: none; margin-bottom: 30px; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: Interstate, sans-serif; font-size: 18px;" apple-inline="yes" id="0D290109-1664-461E-B707-469F69B63D19" src="cid:81082314-94D5-4CF6-BFA0-DA53F9ACCA48"><div class="entry-content clearfix" itemprop="text" style="box-sizing: inherit; font-family: Interstate, serif; caret-color: rgb(51, 51, 51); color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-size: 18px;"><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px;" class="">A rushed decision to procure new gas fired power plants, without public consultation or transparent analysis of the alternatives. Hundreds of millions of public dollars wasted due to poor electricity infrastructure planning. I’m not talking about the gas plant cancellations of 2011 that cost an <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ontario-liberals-gas-plant-cancellations-cost-1-billion-auditor/article14744879/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(0, 70, 127); transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" class="">estimated $1 billion</a>. This is Ontario’s next gas plant scandal, unfolding right now unless the province changes course quickly.</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px;" class="">On October 7th, Ontario’s Minister of Energy directed the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) to procure 1,500 megawatts of new natural gas-fired electricity generation capacity. This decision was taken without any public consultation, based on a <a href="https://ieso.ca/en/Sector-Participants/Resource-Acquisition-and-Contracts/Resource-Eligibility" target="_blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(0, 70, 127); transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" class="">very brief IESO report</a> without financial analysis or comparison of other pathways. These new gas plants are to be built by 2027, and some given 20-year contracts to operate until at least 2047. Combined with the planned ramp-up of existing gas plants, they will result in more than a 300% increase in carbon emissions from Ontario’s electricity system.</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px;" class="">This decision imperils Ontario and Canada’s progress against climate targets. But it also leaves Ontario on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars in potential contractual penalties. The federal government has committed to net zero electricity across Canada by 2035, and is in the process of drafting a regulation to achieve that goal. The regulation will prohibit the unabated use of natural gas for electricity generation starting in 2035. No company will risk investing in a new gas plant to open in 2027, knowing they will most likely be required to shut it down in 2035. To bring bidders to the table, the Minister has directed the IESO to offer bidders a guarantee: if climate regulations require the new plants to shut down, the people of Ontario will fully compensate them for their losses.</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px;" class="">In other words, this government is planning for Ontario and Canada to fail to meet its climate commitments, and is putting a billion-dollar bet on it. If this is a losing bet – and let us hope that it is – Ontarians will be paying the bill for polluting gas plants we don’t need until 2047. Either way, the people and businesses of Ontario lose.</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px;" class="">It doesn’t need to be this way. Earlier this month, the <a href="https://taf.ca/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/derps-20220930-final-report-volume-1.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(0, 70, 127); transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" class="">IESO released a much more thorough study</a> showing that it would be more cost-effective to meet Ontario’s energy needs using non-emitting distributed energy resources (DERs).</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px;" class="">DERs include solar, energy storage, and automated demand response systems located close to loads in existing facilities. Unlike new gas plants, DERs don’t need to be built over the objections of local communities, and they are fully compliant with the federal government’s forthcoming <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/canadian-environmental-protection-act-registry/publications/proposed-frame-clean-electricity-regulations.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(0, 70, 127); transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" class="">clean electricity regulation</a>. DERs are shown to generate seven dollars for every one dollar invested, and the benefits are distributed in communities large and small across the province.</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px;" class="">Large scale centralized renewables backed by storage is also an option, and overwhelmingly the choice for other jurisdictions that need more generation capacity. Renewables are set to account for almost <a href="https://www.iea.org/news/renewable-electricity-growth-is-accelerating-faster-than-ever-worldwide-supporting-the-emergence-of-the-new-global-energy-economy" target="_blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(0, 70, 127); transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" class="">95% of the increase in global power</a> capacity through 2026, with solar PV alone providing more than half. In contrast, <a href="https://rmi.org/report-release-headwinds-for-us-gas-power/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(0, 70, 127); transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" class="">50% of planned gas plants in the US</a> have been cancelled prior to construction in recent years, across red and blue states, in favour of cleaner and more cost-effective alternatives.</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px;" class="">The bottom line is that investing in new gas fired power plants is fiscally and environmentally reckless.</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px;" class="">This Ontario government doesn’t have a long-term energy plan, nor a strategy to comply with the federal clean electricity regulation. Instead, the province and the IESO are rushing into a poor decision that will come at an excessive cost, increasing emissions, and losing our ‘clean grid’ advantage. But it’s not too late to change course.</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px;" class="">We’re confident that municipalities with gas phaseout resolutions (<a href="https://www.cleanairalliance.org/ontario-municipalities-that-have-endorsed-gas-power-phase-out/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(0, 70, 127); transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" class="">there are over 30</a>) and residents of communities near proposed gas plant sites will be strong in their opposition, just as they were in 2011. More than a decade later, amidst growing climate concern and availability of clean solutions, amidst inflation and increasing carbon price – who <span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic;" class="">is</span> going to support these plants? <a href="https://abacusdata.ca/clean-energy-eclipsing-oil-and-gas/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(0, 70, 127); transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" class="">Recent Abacus polling</a> shows that most Ontarians think clean energy will be more important for the economy than fossil fuels within ten years.</p><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px;" class="">There’s a place for any Ontarian’s voice who depends on clean, reliable, affordable electricity. You could <a href="https://www.infogo.gov.on.ca/infogo/home.html#orgProfile/202090/en" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(0, 70, 127); transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" class="">contact the Ministry of Energy</a> directly or <a href="https://www.ola.org/en/get-involved/contact-mpp" target="_blank" rel="noopener" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: rgb(0, 70, 127); transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, background-color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s;" class="">ask your MPP</a> where they stand and what they can do. All of us should tell the province to put the brakes on new gas plants and invest now in distributed energy resources, large-scale renewables and storage, and conservation. It’s the right path for Ontario.</p><div style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px;" class=""> <br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p style="box-sizing: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 30px; padding: 0px;" class=""><span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-style: italic;" class="">Image credit: Chris Young, Canadian Press via CTV News</span></p></div><div><br class=""><blockquote type="cite" class=""><div class="">On Oct 21, 2022, at 2:12 PM, Arthur Blomme <<a href="mailto:art@integralshift.ca" class="">art@integralshift.ca</a>> wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><div class="">
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" class="">
<div class=""><p class="">Hi Alan</p><p class="">I do not want to defend Rex Murphy but he is much more eloquent
than Monbiot.<br class="">
</p><p class=""><img data-visualcompletion="media-vc-image" alt="May be an image
of outdoors and text that says 'Electric car fuel being
transported to the power station'" class=" x1bwycvy x19kjcj4 x193iq5w
x4fas0m" src="https://scontent.fyvr2-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/312475236_10225155510849560_4867720192119588415_n.jpg?_nc_cat=103&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=cLRcjxfo8WkAX8PoZam&tn=9jSOtPmcp6BAXiom&_nc_ht=scontent.fyvr2-1.fna&oh=00_AT8rIxwX_zusUY8OcY2BzYRr2QmIeLhRc3vcXSZAQTao-Q&oe=63574B7A" moz-do-not-send="true" width="400" height="381" align="left">I
checked out that article by Monbiot. I used to be a fan of
Monbiot and his concept of rewilding but was completely
disillusioned with him after learning from Jonathon Cook of his
blind support for NATO involvement in Ukraine. At that time I
also learned from Angela Bischof that he supports nuclear energy
for climate change remediation. So much for rewilding. <br class="">
</p><p class="">Like the CBC the Guardian has become the mouth piece promoting
the Davos narrative feeding us opinions on climate disaster
without revealing their source. It is ironic that the Monbiot
oped has a segue to an oped the Davos poster child and eugenicist
Yuval Harari.</p><p class="">Peace <br class="">
</p><p class="">Art<br class="">
</p><p class=""><br class="">
</p>
<div class="moz-cite-prefix">On 10/20/22 6:41 a.m., Allan Baker via
craic wrote:<br class="">
</div>
<blockquote type="cite" cite="mid:E25F8876-F19C-4EA4-92B8-140C8670410D@gmail.com" class="">
<pre class="moz-quote-pre" wrap="">The Guardian has a piece by George Monbiot that is an antidote to the Rex Murphys of the world.
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/oct/19/van-gogh-sunflowers-just-stop-oil-tactics?CMP=share_btn_link">https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/oct/19/van-gogh-sunflowers-just-stop-oil-tactics?CMP=share_btn_link</a>
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