Bay of Quinte MPP and Ontario Energy Minister Todd Smith says his plan to meet the province’s growing electricity needs in the 2030s and beyond will include securing new generation from green sources such as wind, solar and hydroelectric.
Smith also announced two nuclear projects last week aimed at addressing the demand that will come from electric vehicles and manufacturing that he hopes will see a new, large-scale nuclear plant at Bruce Power and three new small modular reactors at the site of the Darlington nuclear plant.
The plans to build new nuclear, and contract more electricity generation from non-emitting sources, are part of a strategy released by Smith today called Powering Ontario’s Growth, which includes moves to prepare the system for 2030 to 2050.
However, for now, natural gas is still needed to keep the system reliable.
“While we build the next phase of Ontario’s electricity grid to reliably meet peak demand, in the near-term, natural gas generation is going to continue to provide our province with the insurance policy to maintain system reliability and support electrification across our economy.”
The Independent Electricity System Operator has said that Ontario’s electricity demand could double by mid-century.
Smith says the new planned procurement of green power, including wind, solar, hydroelectric and biogas, will pair well with recent energy storage procurements, so that power generated by solar panels, for example, can be stored and injected into the system when needed.
Critics say Ontario wouldn’t be in as much of an electricity supply crunch if the Progressive Conservative government hadn’t cancelled 750 green energy contracts during its first term.
(The Canadian Press)
