Ontario’s Integrated Energy Plan must strike right balance between wind, solar and other resources

OTTAWA — Scott MacDougall, director of the Pembina Institute’s electricity program, made the following statement in response to the Government of Ontario’s release of its Integrated Energy Plan:

“Ontario’s commitment to meeting the province’s growing demand for energy while significantly reducing emissions over time is commendable. Achieving a virtually zero-emissions electricity grid by 2050, as the province has stated today as its aim, would be an important contribution to Canada’s overall economic resilience and energy security in the coming years.

“We are pleased to see some language in today’s plan that suggests the province is beginning to regard the use of natural gas in its electricity system as a back-up resource. There is also important focus on distributed energy resources – including things like rooftop solar and energy storage – as well as expanded focus on energy efficiency measures. These are the most cost-effective ways to address demand and provide other grid services, and would represent an important modernization of the energy system in Ontario. The Plan lays out some promising avenues to reduce barriers to integrating these resources, such as incentive mechanisms as well as expanded market access through aggregation programs, local generation procurements and potential Distribution System Operator capabilities. All of this indicates a mindset shift about how power is generated in Ontario, making the most of the lowest-cost energy available at any given time.

“However, to truly ensure reliability and affordability of the electricity grid in the medium-term, as well as further into the future, Ontario must ensure it is striking the right balance between the scale up of the more expensive forms of non-emitting generation, including nuclear power, with the cheapest forms – wind, solar and battery storage. Ontario could more quickly achieve its goals of a reliable, affordable, clean electricity system – and avoid overreliance on high-cost imported natural gas from the United States – if it were to more quickly expand wind and solar generation over the next five to ten years. As Ontario moves forward with implementing its Plan, we encourage the government to consider the overwhelming evidence from around the world that demonstrates wind and solar is an integral part of modern electricity systems. As our research shows, other jurisdictions are already achieving high rates of penetration of wind and solar on their electricity grids – some as high as 70% - without compromising affordability or reliability.

“Finally, while the plan is to look at diversified clean energy options, we caution against the continued expansion of natural gas to homes. The role of natural gas in residential home heating will decrease as consumers switch to more efficient and economical options such as electric heat pumps over time. Therefore, expanding natural gas connections will result in stranded assets as more customers move away from the system, leaving uncertainty on how to pay for infrastructure maintenance costs.”

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