NIAGARA FALLS, Ont. - Ontario's newly minted energy minister wants to review the role of renewable energy and other non-carbon sources to help secure a reliable supply of power for the province when coal-fired plants come off-line in 2014.
"The foundation of the energy supply mix in Ontario is nuclear and Niagara Falls, but that gives us the confidence to be able to examine more fully the opportunities to enhance renewable in the balance," George Smitherman said in an interview Thursday.
"We do think there's an opportunity, because we've had good success early on, to examine whether we could accelerate the integration of renewables into the Ontario energy supply mix."
The Liberal government said Thursday it will ask the Ontario Power Authority to review a "modest" portion of the province's power plan and explore the role of renewable energy and conservation.
The province's Integrated Power System Plan is currently before the Ontario Energy Board, which is working to determine whether the plan meets the government's current directives.
The Ontario Power Authority review, announced ahead of Smitherman's first address to the energy sector since he took over the new energy and infrastructure "super ministry" in June, will look at the amount and diversity of renewable energy sources in the supply mix.
It will also look into accelerating conservation targets, improving transmission capacity, and converting existing coal-fired facilities to biomass.
Smitherman told industry players in Niagara Falls that the province needs to "raise the bar on our plans to harness Ontario's vast green-power potential."
But he also said nuclear power will continue to make up half of the province's electricity supply, noting that renewable sources involve the 25 per cent of energy needs not met but nuclear or hydro.
Bryne Purchase, director of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Police Research at Queen's University, said he was pleased Smitherman is considering replacing the existing coal plants with biomass.
"I would love to see him continue to move in that direction because I think that's really what holds a great deal of promise for the future of the province," Purchase said.
Lawyer Charles Keizer, who co-chairs the energy team at Ogilvy Renault, said the Ontario Power Authority announcement and subsequent speech were positive in terms of dealing with supply problems in the province.
Smitherman "had a very succinct and ... positive message for the industry ... that this ministry is moving forward in a way that is highlighting the fact that, in this world, you can't just simply rely on old solutions."
But critics said the planned review won't really help the environment unless the government removes the cap on renewable energy development in Ontario.
"If Smitherman wanted to put his stamp on the Ministry of Energy, he'd question the sacred cow of his government's energy policy -- nuclear power," said Shawn-Patrick Stensil, energy expert at Greenpeace.
"Instead, he's continuing to throw more money at nuclear power while giving renewables no space to grow."
Stensil also reiterated criticism about the cost of building nuclear stations, which has more than doubled since the government first developed its electricity plan in 2005.
Smitherman defended the commitment to nuclear, saying the quantity of the supply that's produced from nuclear plants is relatively low-cost energy.
"On any project, even if it's a wind farm, the commodity prices are affecting the costs of those farms," he said. "Each form of energy has its own complications associated with getting it done."
