OTTAWA, April 17, 2013 /CNW/ - Ontario farmers and landowners, rural communities and new college graduates could be left in the cold by the passing of a PC Party Private Member's Bill which is scheduled for second reading debate in the Ontario Legislature tomorrow. The 'Ensuring Affordable Energy Act' (Bill 39), like several previous PC Party legislative proposals seeking a moratorium on wind energy development, is founded on the misperception that wind energy is responsible for increasing electricity costs in Ontario. Instead of reducing electricity costs, however, Bill 39 simply threatens future wind energy investment in Ontario at a time when wind energy projects are providing new job opportunities for Ontarians, enabling the construction of new manufacturing facilities, and providing an important new source of income to landowners and rural communities across the province.
"Right now there are literally thousands of Ontarians participating in the province's ground-breaking clean energy economy. Communities across this province - from Chatham-Kent to Frontenac Island, Tillsonburg to Niagara - stand to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in direct benefits from wind energy projects. Students in new renewable energy programs at Fanshawe College, St. Clair College and St. Lawrence College are currently graduating to 100 per cent employment in a homegrown industry. By continuing to incorrectly identify wind energy as the source of rising electricity costs in Ontario and advocate for an end to wind energy development, the PC Party threatens to pull the plug on new manufacturing, investment and jobs at a time when the province badly needs all three," said Robert Hornung, president of the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA).
Ontario has proven itself a North American leader in attracting clean energy investment as the province updates its electricity system, replacing harmful coal generation with emissions-free sources like wind and solar. Ontario is now Canada's leader in the production of wind energy, with just over 2,000MW of installed capacity -enough to power over 600,000 homes with clean power every year.
"The PC Party continues to ignore a number of studies that have conclusively demonstrated that wind energy has made only a minor contribution to rising electricity costs in Ontario in recent years. Looking forward, Ontario will need new sources of electricity and wind energy is cost-competitive with virtually all potential new forms of power generation in Ontario, including those supported by the PC Party. Wind energy also produces clean electricity without creating hazardous waste, utilizing great amounts of fresh water from our Great Lakes, or increasing greenhouse gas emissions," said Hornung. "Wind energy continues to be a smart and economical choice for Ontario."
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