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Ontario suspends Large Renewable Procurement for renewable energy

In a startling about-face, the Ontario Ministry of Energy announced on Tuesday that the second round of the Large Renewable Energy Procurement (LRP) has been suspended.

In announcing that the LRP has been suspended, the Ministry of Energy said that Ontario has a secure supply of power to cover its needs for the next 10 years at least, and that the new projects, which were slated to bring 1,000 megawatts of power on stream, are not necessary.

On September 1, the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) released a study called the Ontario Planning Outlook, which analyses a variety of planning scenarios for Ontario's energy system.

“The IESO has advised that Ontario will benefit from a robust supply of electricity over the coming decade to meet projected demand,” the ministry said in a release on Tuesday announcing the suspension of the LRP.

“Consultations and engagements will begin this fall with consumers, businesses, energy stakeholders and Indigenous partners regarding the development of a new Long-Term Energy Plan, which is scheduled to be released in 2017. As part of this plan, Ontario remains committed to an affordable, clean and reliable electricity system, including renewables,” the release continued.

The announcement effects large solar, wind, hydro, bio and waste-generated energy projects.

“My biggest focus and fight is over,” said North Frontenac Mayor Ron Higgins in an email after the announcement.

Higgins has been an outspoken opponent of the LRP program. He has spent the last year working with his own council positioning itself to resist the possibility of a wind turbine project within its borders.

As well he has been organizing other municipalities in Ontario, mostly rural ones, to press for more municipal input into the site selection process for such projects.

He is scheduled to be a keynote speaker at a conference in Picton on October 24, where municipalities who oppose the projects in their jurisdictions were to meet and talk strategy.

He said on Tuesday that there is an opportunity for municipalities to engage in the new provincial process for developing a new long-term provincial energy program and the focus could be altered to that purpose.

However, the fight to block companies such as NextEra and RES Canada from building projects in North Frontenac and Addington Highlands is over, Higgins said.

“I'm really happy about that. I feel I can get back to the program that I set out when I was first elected two years ago, to promote Economic Development in North Frontenac,” he said.

Although he did not see Tuesday's announcement coming, Higgins has noticed a change in tone from the Ministry of Energy in recent weeks, and he commented on that change at a meeting of North Frontenac Council on Sept. 23.

“Over the past couple of weeks, even going back to late August, I have seen a shift in tone from the Ministry of Energy,” he said on Tuesday. “Until then they did not engage with me and all the correspondence I was sending to them resulted in form letters coming back. I have seen an openness to reassess, to listen to municipalities. I think, however, that losing a by-election in Mississauga two weeks ago was a wake-up call for the Wynne government and that's the immediate cause of this.”

Still, Higgins does not downplay the role that municipalities played over the last 15 months.

“There is no doubt in my mind that the resolution we passed in North Frontenac last year, which was endorsed by 115 municipalities, put a lot of pressure on the Wynne government,” he said.

For their part BEARAT (Bon Echo Area Residents Against Turbines) were quick to applaud the decision and to heap praise on Higgins.

"I want to sincerely thank Mayor Higgins and the North Frontenac Council for their leadership on this issue and encouraging more than 115 municipalities to pass motions calling for projects not to proceed in communities where local support does not exist," said Dan Carruthers, Co-Chair of BEARAT. "We see this cancellation as the first step toward the government recognizing the role local democracy should play in future energy decisions." 

Published in NORTH FRONTENAC
With the participation of the Government of Canada