Clean Energy Revolution Leading to Jobs – Long-Term Energy Plan Turns On Clean Power, Turns Off Dirty Coal – November 25, 2010 – Cornwall Ontario

Cornwall ON – Ontario’s updated Long-Term Energy Plan sets the course for a clean energy revolution that is creating thousands of new, good jobs in Ontario, and cleaning up the air we breathe.

The government’s 20-year energy plan, Building Our Clean Energy Future, makes the essential investments to keep the lights on in our homes, businesses, schools and hospitals.  It creates a balanced mix of clean power sources and shuts down all dirty smog-producing coal plants.

Ontario is building a clean energy future by:

• Closing all coal units by 2014 and fast-tracking the closure of two more coal units in 2011, three years ahead of schedule;
• Creating 50,000 jobs in Ontario’s growing clean energy economy;
• Increasing Ontario’s power supply coming from renewable sources like wind, solar and bio-energy to 13 per cent by 2018, up from 3 per cent today;
• Building the largest expansion in hydroelectric power in almost 40 years with projects to get more power from Niagara Falls and the Lower Mattagami River;
• Securing clean and reliable nuclear power as a baseload for half of Ontario’s power supply;
• Moving forward immediately with five priority transmission projects to bring more clean power online, to serve changing demand, and to ensure reliability;
• Reducing costs for consumers and making our power system more efficient through conservation, saving 7,100 MW of power.

To keep the lights on with energy powered by clean sources, residential and small business electricity bills are forecasted to increase by 3.5 per cent annually over the next 20 years. Industrial rates are forecasted to increase by 2.7 per cent annually over the same timeframe.

The government is helping Ontarians with the costs of turning on more clean power and turning off dirty smog-polluting coal plants by:

• Taking 10 per cent off monthly electricity bills for families, farms and small businesses starting January 1, 2011, under the proposed Ontario Clean Energy Benefit;
• Moving the Time-of-Use off-peak period for electricity to 7 p.m. which will provide an additional 10 hours every week in the lowest cost period.
• Helping seniors and low- and middle-income Ontarians through a proposed expansion to the Energy and Property Tax Credit, providing up to $900 back, and up to $1025 for eligible seniors;
• Helping large industrials and manufacturers conserve energy, save on electricity costs and increase their competitiveness through the Industrial Conservation Initiative, starting in January 2011.

“There is a clean energy revolution happening in Ontario, creating thousands of new, good jobs and cleaning up the air we breathe. Our energy plan is an economic plan with Ontario at the forefront of clean energy, creating a new industry and new jobs. And, we’re helping Ontario families with the cost of turning on clean energy and turning off dirty coal.”

–          Hon. Brad Duguid, Minister of Energy

QUICK FACTS

§      More than 20 businesses have announced they are creating new jobs in Ontario, setting up plants to manufacture parts for the solar and wind industry.

§      8,400 megawatts of cleaner power have been brought online and more than 5,000 kilometres of transmission lines have been upgraded since 2003.

§      In 2003, 67 per cent of Ontario’s electricity was generated from emissions-free sources. By 2030, 92 per cent of our electricity mix will be clean and emissions-free.

§      In 2003, Ontario had 19 dirty coal units and just ten wind turbines; today, the province has over 700 new wind turbines and by 2014 all coal units will be closed.

§      Shutting down all of Ontario’s dirty coal plants is the equivalent of taking seven million cars off the road – that’s almost all of the cars in Ontario today.