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Ontario's Green Energy Disaster
#4783175
06/10/18 03:16 PM
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 40,752
OVERKILL
OP
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OP
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 40,752 |
This one is for SHOZ, as it is from his favourite site https://www.renewableenergyworld.com/art...-black-eye.htmlEverybody loves renewable energy, right? That’s what surveys tell us with global support for renewable energy consistently polling above 80 percent.
But don’t tell that to the people of the Province of Ontario, Canada. On June 7, the electorate handed a stunning defeat to its Liberal Government after 15 years of reign. The election winner: Conservative Doug Ford, brother of Toronto’s infamous crack-cocaine smoking mayor, Rob Ford. The issue in the forefront of voters’ minds: sky high electricity prices.
Ever since the Ontario Government invoked its Green Energy Act in 2009 to transition away from coal power to wind and solar energy, electricity prices have risen a whopping 75 percent. In Ontario, electric bills have become as frequent a topic of water-cooler conversation as apartment rents are in Manhattan or San Francisco.
Without question, on every measure of ratepayer protection Ontario is an egregious case of how not to design a renewable energy program:
Most Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) rates set not by competitive bidding but instead by Government decree at levels as high as $C 80.2 cents ($US 62 cents) per kWh for 20 years No mechanism to automatically adjust FIT rates downward as capacity deployment thresholds were reached Domestic Content requirements that raised domestic equipment prices above global average selling prices A rule that ratepayers still provide FIT payments for energy even when energy production is curtailed An allowance of five years after FIT contract execution for facility construction, creating windfall gains for developers as equipment costs declined while preventing ratepayers from participating in any of those savings. How did Ontario get their renewables policy so wrong?
For starters, in the development of their policy, the Liberals took advice from a range of academics and think tank wonks enamored with the European model of Feed-in-Tariffs. These advisors often distrusted the ability of free markets to set prices for energy and environmental attributes. As a result, the competitive PPA and REC model that has been used successfully in the United States and elsewhere to deliver value to ratepayers wasn’t considered. Worse, the province took on a bold protectionist experiment of using renewables policy as industrial policy. Mandates that a certain percentage of equipment used in a project must be manufactured in Ontario were adopted. In a landmark ruling by the World Trade Organization (WTO) these so-called “Domestic Content Requirements” were eventually deemed illegal, forcing many domestic manufacturing plants to shutter.
The renewable energy industry also shoulders some blame. While it’s understandable that the Canadian wind and solar energy associations, CANWEA and CANSIA, would support policy strongly biased towards the profitability of their members, they can be faulted for not also promoting policy to limit ratepayer costs and enhance the long-term viability of their industries.
For example, CANWEA and CANSIA never pressed hard for any sort of federal tax credits or support, like the kind that exist in the United States, to divert costs away from the rate-base to the general tax-base. Nor have they challenged Canada’s predominantly monopolistic and antiquated electricity market with calls for American-style electricity deregulation like those that began under the 1978 Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) to promote open market access for renewable energy.
As the world moves to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change renewable energy deployment will need to be an ever-increasing part of the solution. Yet as the Ontario experience has demonstrated, there’s a tangible limit on ratepayer willingness to pay for a cooler planet. Let’s just hope that policy makers around the world learn from Ontario and strive not to repeat its mistakes. Otherwise, we’ll all be shoulder high in water from rising seas with nothing more to show than many black eyes and a collection of hockey pucks.
Editor's note: for more on how FIT policies distort markets, take a look at Figure 5 in this article. Of course what isn't mentioned is the fact that 70% of the power necessary to eliminate coal was actually provided by Bruce Nuclear, which involved the reactivation of two shuttered reactors and the refurbishment of two more. This 3,000MW was the biggest component of the coal elimination scheme and was actually put in motion by the previous government: “When Bruce Power returned its four dormant nuclear units to service between 2003 and ’12, it provided 70 per cent of the power the province needed to shut down its coal stations, dramatically improving the quality of Ontario’s air,” said James Scongack, Bruce Power’s Vice President, Corporate Affairs. “The return of the four Bruce Power reactors added 3,000 megawatts of carbon-free electricity to Ontario’s grid, keeping harmful emissions out of the atmosphere and cleaning the air we breathe.” Basically, we were played like a fiddle and the conversion of the Nanticoke coal-fired generating station (3,000MW) to Natural Gas would have given us the same end result. The expansion of Darlington Nuclear (Darlington "B") which was OPG's original plan, would have been more effective, and at a fraction of the price of what we've spent. Be wary of agendas folks, they can result in some really, REALLY stupid decisions.
2019 RAM 1500 Sport - Mobil 1 EP 0w-20, FRAM Ultra 2020 Grand Cherokee SRT - Ravenol SSL 0w-40, FRAM Ultra
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Re: Ontario's Green Energy Disaster
[Re: OVERKILL]
#4783194
06/10/18 03:42 PM
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Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 5,680
JohnnyJohnson
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Joined: Oct 2009
Posts: 5,680 |
World energy the biggest Ponzi Scheme going.
2004 Corolla 137480 Out: Havoline Pro DS 10w-30 Purolator PureOne 10-29-19 136457 In: Pennzoil Platinum HM 5W-20 ST 4386 2006 Duramax 76862 Out: T6 5W-40 XG9100 73909 In: Rotella Dino PH9100 11-3-19
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Re: Ontario's Green Energy Disaster
[Re: OVERKILL]
#4783199
06/10/18 03:44 PM
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Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 14,060
53' Stude
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Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 14,060 |
wow! Stupidity can take many forms i see
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Re: Ontario's Green Energy Disaster
[Re: OVERKILL]
#4783204
06/10/18 04:00 PM
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Joined: Jan 2017
Posts: 3,336
maxdustington
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Joined: Jan 2017
Posts: 3,336 |
We won the election dude, we have to look forward to the future instead of looking back on the last 15 years.
Celebrate good times, c'mon!
99 Toyota Tercel CE 5EFE/C151
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Re: Ontario's Green Energy Disaster
[Re: OVERKILL]
#4783217
06/10/18 04:24 PM
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Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 5,311
Snagglefoot
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Joined: Dec 2017
Posts: 5,311 |
Oh, oh. Politics. Look out! 
If you want the job done right......do it yourself.
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Re: Ontario's Green Energy Disaster
[Re: JohnnyJohnson]
#4783219
06/10/18 04:25 PM
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Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 14,214
CT8
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Joined: Oct 2014
Posts: 14,214 |
World energy the biggest Ponzi Scheme going. The government is a Ponzi scheme.
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Re: Ontario's Green Energy Disaster
[Re: OVERKILL]
#4783220
06/10/18 04:27 PM
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Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,211
umungus1122
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Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 1,211 |
'95 Chevy 1/2t 305 208k -NexGen Maxlife 5w-30, Wix filter '04 Crown Vic 95k Maxlife full syn 5w-20
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Re: Ontario's Green Energy Disaster
[Re: OVERKILL]
#4783224
06/10/18 04:32 PM
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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 1,607
sir1900
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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 1,607 |
The only thing the green energy movement did was a reel in a whole bunch of sheep, while making friends of the Lying Liberals wealthy off the backs of the taxpayer (and sheep).
Thursday's result was very telling.
The Liberals in Ontario do not deserve to hold party status and I am confident no exception will be made to the rule.
2015 Infiniti Q50 Mobil1 5W-30 + FRAM PH6607
2015 Nissan Murano Mobil1 AFE 0W-20 + Mobil 1 M1-108A
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Re: Ontario's Green Energy Disaster
[Re: OVERKILL]
#4783229
06/10/18 04:38 PM
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Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 4,838
sleddriver
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Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 4,838 |
This is what happens when power generation is politicized, generating yet another mass movement that gets so far ahead of itself building its Emerald City, leaving the rate payers to deal with both the costs and red ink.
Watermelon syndrome: What's sold as green quickly turns out red.
Austin Energy is very similar. The 'green' eco-credit pools quickly went into the red, which resulted in a multi-tier rate schedule and over 20% increases. They're now doubling down on even more 'green-ness'.
Also ignored, is the stability and generation capability of the STNP, providing base-line power 24/7. They don't even mention the "N" anymore! Go figure.....
1998 Volvo V70 T5 228,880 mi. Original Owner. M1 10W-30 HM "It's never a mistake to buy tools, defined broadly. They're not a cost, they're an investment." - J.B. Peterson
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Re: Ontario's Green Energy Disaster
[Re: Snagglefoot]
#4783230
06/10/18 04:38 PM
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Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 4,261
Leo99
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Joined: Mar 2014
Posts: 4,261 |
Oh, oh. Politics. Look out! Yes, the problem is politics, not green energy.
Without data you're just another person with an opinion. W. E. Deming
2003 Corolla 250,000 miles (RIP) 2004 Corolla 125,000 miles 2004 Rav4 392,000 miles 2015 Camry 90,000 miles
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Re: Ontario's Green Energy Disaster
[Re: Snagglefoot]
#4783233
06/10/18 04:40 PM
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 40,752
OVERKILL
OP
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OP
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 40,752 |
Oh, oh. Politics. Look out! Ignore the politics and focus on the policy. These were policy decision made, consciously, to serve an agenda, regardless of the cost. The end result could have been achieved far easier, and at significantly lower cost, had there not been that agenda in play. Yes, the outcome resulted in political suicide for the party responsible, but the implications of the policy and how it was foisted upon the consumer is what's being discussed.
2019 RAM 1500 Sport - Mobil 1 EP 0w-20, FRAM Ultra 2020 Grand Cherokee SRT - Ravenol SSL 0w-40, FRAM Ultra
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Re: Ontario's Green Energy Disaster
[Re: Leo99]
#4783236
06/10/18 04:48 PM
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 40,752
OVERKILL
OP
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OP
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 40,752 |
Oh, oh. Politics. Look out! Yes, the problem is politics, not green energy. The problem is the insane agenda.
2019 RAM 1500 Sport - Mobil 1 EP 0w-20, FRAM Ultra 2020 Grand Cherokee SRT - Ravenol SSL 0w-40, FRAM Ultra
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Re: Ontario's Green Energy Disaster
[Re: OVERKILL]
#4783249
06/10/18 05:05 PM
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 9,158
KrisZ
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 9,158 |
Unfortunately the agenda is alive and well. Energy is but a small aspect of it. Plus, they mess it up so much on purpose, this way the other guys will have a hard time reversing what they did. Small setback, that's about it
2015 Grand Caravan 3.6L - 31k miles. 2006 Mazda 3 2.0L - 171k miles
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Re: Ontario's Green Energy Disaster
[Re: KrisZ]
#4783251
06/10/18 05:08 PM
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Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 40,752
OVERKILL
OP
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OP
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 40,752 |
Unfortunately the agenda is alive and well. Energy is but a small aspect of it. Plus, they mess it up so much on purpose, this way the other guys will have a hard time reversing what they did. Small setback, that's about it Yup, Ontario could have had zero carbon emission electricity, had the Darlington expansion gone through. And while that would have fulfilled the cause, it would not have been in-step with the agenda, so instead we wasted 10's of billions on something that didn't get the job done 
2019 RAM 1500 Sport - Mobil 1 EP 0w-20, FRAM Ultra 2020 Grand Cherokee SRT - Ravenol SSL 0w-40, FRAM Ultra
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Re: Ontario's Green Energy Disaster
[Re: OVERKILL]
#4783262
06/10/18 05:19 PM
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 17,057
fdcg27
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Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 17,057 |
Ontario at least avoided putting the provincial government deeply in debt with its attempt to legislatively remake the electricity market, although the citizen ratepayers will still face higher rates for years to come. California citizens weren't so lucky some years back.
18 Accord Hybrid 20K HGMO 0W-20 17 Forester 30K VME 0W-20 12 Accord LX 115K SSO 0W-20 09 Forester 119K M1HM 5W-30 96 Accord LX 104K T5 10W-30 95 318i
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