Sludge Watch ==> Renewable Energy Poised to Take Flight - but Ministry is stalling

[maureen.reilly at sympatico.ca]

Sludgewatch Admin:

Just what is going on with the Ontario Government?  They are desperate for 
more energy...especially renewable energy (that is wind, solar, biomass) and 
they have created a fast track program and price supports to bring these 
proposals on line.  But now they are stalling out.

  What do they seem to be fast tracking?  Putting waste into an old cement 
kiln in Bath Ontario.    That s right ...they are going to bring in used 
tires, trash, biohazard BSE risk materials (animal meat and bone meal) from 
the United States  and allow it to be burned with no emissions controls at a 
cement kiln.  Then they take a state of the art facility proposal like the 
Liberty Energy sludge fueled energy plant and even though it meets all the 
government requirements, they slow track it.

It sure looks like the Ontario Government is making rural municipalities 
their new landfill...with land application of sewage sludge, paper sludge, 
and now burning local and imported wastes with no controls in a cement kiln. 
  They are hobbling the new, clean technology while the plan to allow dirty 
technologies to linger and propagate.

Delicate sensibilities of urban 'greens' are pushing NIMBY approaches.  They 
are trying to stop state of the art urban solutions to urban wastes and 
forcing inferior waste management proposals into the rural landscape.   A 
gutless MOE drifts on the tides without following their own Ontario Energy  
programs and policies - or the advice of their Expert Panel on paper sludge.

The story below explains how it is supposed to work...to help bring in clean 
renewable energy (wind, solar, biomass) and close down the old coal burning 
facilities.

Government needs to step up and actively promote wind,solar and biomass into 
the marketplace.  The public is simply confusing the old coal fired 
incinerators with the new cleaner technologies while the Government, as the 
Ontario Environmental Commissioner points out, is doing nothing to bring 
clarity to the discussion.

..............................................................................................
   05 / 25 / 2006 - Vol. 6, No. 11 - Calgary/Red Deer Edition



Renewable energy poised to take flight

Small producers offered premium to spur growth



By Paul Henderson - Business Edge
Published: 05/25/2006 - Vol. 2, No. 11



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Ontario's latest energy policy will make the province a North American 
leader in renewable energy and put it on the path of such world leaders as 
Germany and Japan, renewable energy experts say.

Given worldwide problems with solar panel and wind turbine supply keeping up 
with demand, just how much of an impact on the provincial economy it will 
have is hard to gauge. But experts agree the new policy will be a boost for 
the industry, particularly in Ontario.

The path is the result of an announcement in March by Premier Dalton 
McGuinty and Energy Minister Donna Cansfield of a standard offer contract 
(SOC) program, which will set a fixed price for 20-year contracts for small 
renewable energy projects that are less than 10 megawatts (MW).

The Ontario Power Authority (OPA) will pay 11 cents per kilowatt hour (kWh) 
for biomass, wind or micro-hydro projects and 42 cents for photovoltaic 
solar.

Consumers currently pay 5.8 or 6.7 cents per kWh for electricity, depending 
on their consumption level and the time of year.

The Ontario Sustainable Energy Association (OSEA), whose report the SOC is 
based upon, had been concerned that the government would adopt a 
watered-down version of the plan.

But OSEA general manager Melinda Zytaruk says the plan is "a bold step that 
puts Ontario at the forefront of renewable energy development in North 
America."

Other renewable energy leaders echo Zytaruk's sentiments.

Robert Hornung, president of the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) 
says the SOC program is a positive step to diversify the industry and create 
a "complementary procurement mechanism designed to bring small projects 
online."

This will allow a broad number of players into the market, including 
communities, co-operatives, small businesses, farmers and homeowners, he 
says, as well as helping Ontario make more efficient use of its distribution 
networks.

"Smaller projects have not been able to participate in the existing 
procurement process in Ontario - the large RFP (request for proposals) 
process," Hornung says. "We believe these processes need to continue because 
there is ample scope still for large projects. But this will certainly help 
to diversify the industry because one of the strengths of wind is that it 
can be built at a variety of sizes and scales."

In that respect, solar photovoltaic (PV) panels are even better. Their 
modular design means a rooftop can have one or 100 panels depending on the 
south-facing roof space.

Canadian Solar Industries Association (CanSIA) executive director Rob 
McMonagle estimates Ontario's SOC program will spur the installation of as 
many as 15,000 solar panel systems by homeowners in the next five years, 
amounting to about 40 MWs.

He adds that Germany - a nation whose renewable energy commitment is about 
15 years ahead of Canada's - is installing about 40 MWs of capacity every 
week.

"Putting it in that perspective, it's a small drop in the bucket. But most 
of the international companies are noticing this has tremendous 
opportunities, so they are willing to support us," McMonagle says. "The 
small size of the Canadian PV market is primarily due to the lack of support 
offered by governments in Canada for the use of solar electricity."

That is now changing in Ontario.

"There have been a tremendous number of inquiries from large international 
firms about solar in Canada once this announcement took place. Previously 
there was no interest whatsoever in any of these large firms," McMonagle 
says.

EPOD International of Reno, Nev., has already announced its intention to set 
up a solar panel-manufacturing facility in Canada as a result of Ontario's 
SOC program, although the facility will be in Kelowna, B.C. "EPOD intends to 
aggressively pursue solar system sales in the Ontario market, effective 
immediately," the company said in a news release last month.

Other companies also have contacted CanSIA about setting up manufacturing or 
at least sales branches in Ontario.

Vancouver-based Xantrex Technology Inc., which manufactures inverters for 
renewable energy systems, applauded Ontario for adopting the SOC program, 
and said it believes it "is ideally positioned to take advantage of the 
increased demand for solar products created by this Ontario incentive."

The SOCs - which are elsewhere called feed-in tariffs or advanced renewable 
energy tariffs - will increase the economic viability of putting up solar 
panels or a small wind turbine.

This is the most popular mechanism by which renewable energy has been 
supported elsewhere in the world. Germany is the world leader in renewable 
energy with more than 50,000 people employed directly in the solar-panel 
industry compared to about 800 jobs in Canada's solar industry.

"Germany has been growing 30 to 40 per cent a year and last year it grew 87 
per cent," McMonagle says. "Fifteen years ago, they were in the same place 
we are now. Their support started 15 years ago and it's not as if they have 
more solar resources because their solar resources are actually worse than 
ours."

That means solar could have a bright future if Ontario and other provinces 
follow the path already blazed by the Germans.

"The main issue comes down to looking at the future of energy resources," 
McMonagle says. "Germany has had a very progressive long-term view. It took 
us 70 years to build up the electricity grid. You won't see a change of 
supplies overnight, but in that respect Ontario should be applauded for 
starting to look at the long-term picture."

While the SOCs will encourage those people the industry refers to as "early 
adopters" to invest, solar panels will still not be totally economically 
viable.

At 42 cents per kWh someone looking for a 10- or 15-year investment will be 
disappointed. Over the life of a solar panel - which can easily be 40 years 
- the investment will make money, but not in the short to medium term.

Add to the long-term investment benefits the fact that it has been proven 
internationally that installing a solar system is not an expense, but an 
asset; houses with solar panels increase in value, making the SOC program a 
good first step.

In fact, this is just what CanSIA wanted because the solar industry couldn't 
keep up if the rates were set higher, as they are in Germany, where they are 
more than double the 42 cents Ontario is offering.

"If we suddenly plunked down a program like in Europe, the industry wouldn't 
be able to handle it," McMonagle says. "There are very few installers, very 
few inspectors, very few electricians who know anything about solar. So to 
try to all of a sudden pop through a huge increase in demand without having 
that infrastructure in place is an opportunity for chaos."

The wind industry is also facing a major supply problem causing a global 
wind turbine shortage.

"In fact if you were looking for a turbine today in Ontario and you go to 
all of the major wind turbine manufacturers right now, they are taking 
orders for 2008," Hornung says.

There is tremendous pressure for the turbine industry to increase 
production, and Ontario's SOC program could provide the lure needed for 
companies to set up shop here.

"Does the SOC program guarantee that manufacturing will come to Ontario?" 
Hornung says, "No. But Ontario has certainly made itself more competitive in 
that regard by moving forward with standard- offer contracts because that 
does provide some certainty to the marketplace."

See also: Income fund plugs into clean electricity.