One of Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s first acts in power after being elected in 2018 was to scrap more than 750 renewable energy projects.Fast forward six years and Ford’s Progressive Conservatives are poised to preside over the largest buildout of renewable wind energy the province has seen in more than a decade.On Monday, the Ontario government unveiled plans to install an additional 5,000 megawatts of renewable power by 2034 — more than double the 4,900 megawatts of presently installed wind capacity at present.Later this year the government will issue tenders for 2,000 megawatts of power, which roughly equal to the refurbishment of the Pickering nuclear power plant. Unlike prior contracts, the awards process will be competitive based on the lowest cost per kilowatt..The government said it made the change of heart due to the expected rise in demand from sources such as EVs combined with the falling costs of producing wind and solar power.That’s despite the fact that more than 150 Ontario municipalities — almost a third — have passed resolutions banning new industrial wind power sites and declaring themselves “unwilling hosts” as per local activist group Wind Concerns Ontario (WCO).The “Unwilling Host” started in 2014 after Kathleen Wynne became premier and she said she wouldn’t force wind power sites on municipalities that weren’t willing to host them. Since then a number of them started passing the Unwilling Host resolution.But the group complained Wynne didn’t live up to that promise, which subsequently turned into a major election issue in the 2018 campaign.“It’s not 2009,” says WCO president Wilson. “We know a lot more about wind turbines now, and the problems they can bring to municipalities and residents such as noise pollution; health problems for some residents linked to long-term sleep disturbance; risk to wildlife including raptors and bats which are crucial to the eco-system, especially agriculture; and disturbances to aquifers, such as in North Kent where dozens of families now have contaminated well water.”.That didn’t stop environmentalists from praising the move."The fact that the government has now had this about-face on wind power and solar power speaks to how amazing this technology is, how fast it's growing in other parts of the world, how much the costs have come down,"Keith Brooks, program director with Environmental Defence, told the CBC."Around the world — in China, in Minnesota, in California, in the Netherlands — renewable power is experiencing a great boom. For Ontario to be sitting on the sidelines would be a real shame."
One of Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s first acts in power after being elected in 2018 was to scrap more than 750 renewable energy projects.Fast forward six years and Ford’s Progressive Conservatives are poised to preside over the largest buildout of renewable wind energy the province has seen in more than a decade.On Monday, the Ontario government unveiled plans to install an additional 5,000 megawatts of renewable power by 2034 — more than double the 4,900 megawatts of presently installed wind capacity at present.Later this year the government will issue tenders for 2,000 megawatts of power, which roughly equal to the refurbishment of the Pickering nuclear power plant. Unlike prior contracts, the awards process will be competitive based on the lowest cost per kilowatt..The government said it made the change of heart due to the expected rise in demand from sources such as EVs combined with the falling costs of producing wind and solar power.That’s despite the fact that more than 150 Ontario municipalities — almost a third — have passed resolutions banning new industrial wind power sites and declaring themselves “unwilling hosts” as per local activist group Wind Concerns Ontario (WCO).The “Unwilling Host” started in 2014 after Kathleen Wynne became premier and she said she wouldn’t force wind power sites on municipalities that weren’t willing to host them. Since then a number of them started passing the Unwilling Host resolution.But the group complained Wynne didn’t live up to that promise, which subsequently turned into a major election issue in the 2018 campaign.“It’s not 2009,” says WCO president Wilson. “We know a lot more about wind turbines now, and the problems they can bring to municipalities and residents such as noise pollution; health problems for some residents linked to long-term sleep disturbance; risk to wildlife including raptors and bats which are crucial to the eco-system, especially agriculture; and disturbances to aquifers, such as in North Kent where dozens of families now have contaminated well water.”.That didn’t stop environmentalists from praising the move."The fact that the government has now had this about-face on wind power and solar power speaks to how amazing this technology is, how fast it's growing in other parts of the world, how much the costs have come down,"Keith Brooks, program director with Environmental Defence, told the CBC."Around the world — in China, in Minnesota, in California, in the Netherlands — renewable power is experiencing a great boom. For Ontario to be sitting on the sidelines would be a real shame."
