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cutting wind in Ontario

If the wind project is paid $0.08/kWh (the average tariff for projects in the province’s first renewable RFP)... The quote is from a 2005 document, Ontario Landowner's Guide to Wind Energy , produced by the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association. The Bank of Canada's inflation calculator indicates 8 2005 cents equate to 9.6 2016 cents. In 2016, Ontario announced new Large Renewable Procurement (LRP) contracts at 8.6 cents/kWh 5 wind contracts totalling 299.5 MW, with a weighted average price of $85.94/MW… Comparing the cost of industrial wind turbines in Ontario by the procurement cited in the 2005 report, and the one run by the IESO in 2016, there has been little change in price. In between these two procurements, over a decade apart, prices soared. There are no consumer benefits from the feed-in tariff mechanisms, introduced after the passage of the Green Energy Act.  Between the start of 2009 and the end of 2012 the government, through the Ontario Power Authority, contracte...

Can 20 year contracts be amortized over 30 years?

written by Gary Mooney, and reproduced here with permission. I contacted the Ministry of Energy by phone to ask if 20-year electricity generation contracts – e.g. wind and solar -- were going to be extended to match the government’s new 30-year amortization period for capital expenditures. The answer that I got back was: * There will be no negotiations to extend contracts at this time. * But generators will be offered the opportunity to continue producing electricity beyond the 20-year point, at the market price (or a negotiated price, not sure which was mentioned). This is consistent with Minister Thibeault’s comment, in justifying a longer amortization period, that wind turbines have a useful lifetime of 30 years. The idea of an extension of wind contracts will be a major concern to those living with turbines, as they have been expecting that the problem will go away after 20 years. And worse, if there are no negotiations now, these folks will have to live with uncertainty for anywhe...

Alternative (Energy) Facts - from Environmental Defence, et al.

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I started receiving messages last night on a sorta report by Environmental Defence (ED), and as I am still receiving them, I thought I'd write some thoughts - if only to simply copy a link when again asked for my thoughts. Here is how ED's Keith Brooks begins a blog post on their latest "work": Electricity prices in Ontario have risen in recent years, putting the squeeze on some Ontario residents and businesses. There are many reasons for the increase in electricity prices and renewable energy is one of them.  However, the role of renewables in diving up electricity bills has been vastly exaggerated. I wrote on a poor 2014 ED work and noted their new backgrounder contains a graphic  with the same information as Figure 1 of their 2014 work . Without acknowledging any level of competency in the compilation of data for either ED graphic, here's the elements of residential electricity bills as they report them for 2016 and 2014: Perhaps the "role of renewables...

Conservation: wasted in Ontario

If you follow my work you already knew of natural gas-fired power plants having their contracts essentially bought out. Antonella Artuso has provided the opportunity to read the story presented with the skill of a professional journalist - and she uncovered an estimate on the savings provided: "Atlantic Power Corp. has announced it is idling plants in North Bay, Kapuskasing and Nipigon but will be paid until the end of its contract on Dec. 31, 2017, while Northland Power’s Iroquois Falls facility says it will produce less power until April. TransAlta Corp. has stated that its new contract provides a fixed monthly payment until Dec. 31, 2018, with “no delivery obligations.”... The IESO will not provide information on how much the NUGs are paid, but told the Toronto Sun that the replacement NUG contracts will generate “ratepaye r savings of up to $53 million over the next two years. ” Included in my post on the same topic; Should numbers be disclosed, the value of the IESO's emp...

Surplus power: the other side of wind's "success story"

Great post from Parker Gallant

Climate Heretic: to be or not to be?

Judith Curry discusses 3 thought provoking articles - all worth a full read. "The truly astonishing thing about all this is how little climate heretics – such as myself, Roger Pielke, and Matt Ridley – actually diverge from the consensus science position: RP Jr. hews strictly to the IPCC consensus; Matt Ridley is on the lukewarm side of the IPCC consensus, and I have stated that the uncertainties are too large to justify high confidence in the consensus statements. RP Jr and Matt Ridley provide appalling examples of the personal and arguably unethical attacks from other scientists, journalists, elected politicians and others with government appointments. Scott Adams provides some genuine (and as always, humorous) insights into the psychology behind the dynamics of the climate debate. As to the question: to be or not to be a climate heretic? I’m planning a climate heretic blog post shortly after the first of the year. After seeing RP Jr’s title, perhaps I will title it ‘Happy Heret...

Rebuttal of Ontario Clean Air Alliance re: Darlington refurbishment

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I'm often asked about claims from the Ontario Clean Air Alliance, and I usually don't prioritize acknowledging them publicly. Privately I have, and because the topic continues to come up, I thought I'll post based on a quick e-mail I produced regarding this OCAA graphic - which is from a more comprehensive document where they reference the sources of most of the figures: