nuclear-news

Despite the anti wind energy bluster, wind energy is the best deal for Ontario

Wind energy is
the smarter long-term choice based on cost, environmental protection,
and wider sharing of benefits to rural communities.

At its current rate of 11.5 cents per kWh in Ontario, wind energy is
cost-competitive with virtually all other new sources of electricity
generation.

While some politicians and a group of highly motivated anti-wind
activists have worked hard to discredit wind energy, the benefits and
attributes of the world’s fastest-growing major source of electricity
speak loud and clear.

Wind energy is a better deal for Ontario than new nuclear
http://www.thespec.com/opinion/columns/article/863783–wind-energy-is-a-better-deal-for-ontario-than-new-nuclear
Chris Forrest  Jan 04 2013  Last year, 2012, saw wind energy’s
contribution of clean power to Canada’s electricity supply grow by
nearly 20 per cent to just over 6,200 megawatts (mw) of installed
capacity, maintaining Canada’s position as one of the world’s leading
wind energy markets.

Every 1,000 mw of new wind energy drives $2.5 billion in investment,
creates 10,500 person-years of employment, and provides enough clean
power for more than 300,000 Canadian homes. New wind energy projects
have been commissioned in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec,
Manitoba, Northwest Territories and Nova Scotia in 2012. Ontario
continues to lead the country with more than 2,000 mw of installed
wind energy capacity now in place.

As more countries debate the future role of nuclear power, and
countries such as Germany and Japan look to get out of the business
completely, we, in Ontario, will soon be forced to make a choice with
respect to future electricity investment: renewable power partnered
with natural gas, or new and refurbished nuclear power. Wind energy is
the smarter long-term choice based on cost, environmental protection,
and wider sharing of benefits to rural communities. This view is
broadly shared, as demonstrated by new investments in electricity
generation globally. The world installed almost 50 per cent more new
wind energy capacity in 2010 alone than it installed in new nuclear
capacity over the entire last decade. In fact, 180,000 mw of new wind
energy was installed worldwide between 2000 and 2010, while only
26,000 mw of new nuclear was built.

At its current rate of 11.5 cents per kWh in Ontario, wind energy is
cost-competitive with virtually all other new sources of electricity
generation. While transparent all-in pricing on nuclear is very hard
to find, it is broadly understood that electricity from new nuclear
generation will be significantly more expensive than 11.5 cents per
kWh, even without considering the large cost overruns that have
characterized many nuclear energy developments in Ontario.

While wind energy produces fewer greenhouse gas emissions on a
life-cycle basis than nuclear power, it also uses no fresh water to
generate electricity, and creates no harmful radioactive waste
products that must be sealed and buried in the ground. The Nuclear
Waste Management Organization is seeking a willing host community to
store this radioactive waste on a permanent basis.

There is no other form of energy contributing and dispersing economic
benefits in as many rural communities at the scale of wind energy.
Wind energy is right now delivering hundreds of millions of dollars in
new tax revenues, payments to farmers and landowners, and community
vibrancy funds in dozens of rural communities across the province.
Wind projects also create new opportunities for local contractors and
service providers before, during and after construction.

While some politicians and a group of highly motivated anti-wind
activists have worked hard to discredit wind energy, the benefits and
attributes of the world’s fastest-growing major source of electricity
speak loud and clear. Wind energy is growing in more than 90 countries
around the world at an average annual rate of more than 25 per cent a
year because governments, citizens and electricity system operators
alike have found a reliable, clean, and safe form of energy at a good
price.

January 5, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Canada, renewable