Letters: July 29

Re: Solar Energy

It was truly sad to read the misguided rant about the cutback in the solar pv tariff by your letter writer Michael Wise (Letters, July 22, 2010).

Mr. Wise would do well to acquaint himself with the true cost of nuclear-generated power in this province.

Having declared their intent to close all coal burning electrical generators by 2014, the McGuinty government implemented their Green Energy Plan, which was to include a mix of new nuclear reactors and various forms of alternative sources. The centrepiece of this plan was a $45 Billion upgrade to Darlington including two new reactors (the first in North America in more than 30 years) but they had to step back when the proposed new nukes alone were priced at $26 billion (3.7 times the Ontario Power Authority’s forecast). Moody’s Investors Service, one of the world’s leading credit rating agencies, estimates the real cost to be 2.5 times that. These new reactors were to provide 2400 mega watts at a projected cost with overruns, etc. of $10,000/kilowatt. (The reason why there is a “debt retirement charge” on your Hydro bill is to cover $20 billion in cost overruns on previous nuclear plants.)

Using OPA’s own figures, if all of the 16,000 applicants to the micro-fit programme installed 10kW dual axis tracking pv arrays, which are the most efficient, they would generate 265,000 mega watts/yr at a cost of $212.5 million (at 80cents /kw). or 5.3million mega watts over 20 years, costing $4. 2 Bbllion. No cost overruns. No capital cost to the taxpayers. No green house gas emissions. No toxic spills. No polluted environment from uranium mining. No spent fuel rods deadly to all forms of life for thousands of years. Candu reactors typically require major multi-billion dollar overhauls after 25 years.

Which do you think is more economical Mr Wise? $4. 2 billion or $26 billion? 80cents/kilowatt or $10,000/kw. That $4.2 billion would be in the hands of your neighbours to be spent in communities like yours, not going offshore or feeding some fat cat.

Southeastern Ontario has the potential to produce almost as much solar power as all the nuclear reactors in the United States, according to a recent study done by Queen’s mechanical engineering department.

Mr. Wise should reserve his outrage for the schizophrenic McGuinty government that implements the Green Energy Act, puts new Nukes on hold because of $$ and then cuts back the feed-in tariff to slow down or halt the micro-fit programme, opening the door for extending coal plant usage past 2014.

But the real outrage in this story is the way Ontario Hydro (OPA) and their masters, the nuclear lobby, have been allowed to derail a decent programme by causing unconscionable delays in processing applications and then invoke pseudo economic considerations and claim limited grid capacity, while reserving the majority of the grid for future nuclear transmissions.

Oh, by the way Mr.Wise, solar pv still generates electricity in overcast conditions. Check out world leader Germany where it is raining or overcast 65% of the year.

Patrick Maloney