REPORT NO. 107 of the WINDSOR ESSEX COUNTY ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE of its Electronic Poll held on October 21, 2020
Approval of the E-mail Poll as of October 21, 2020
Councillor Chris Holt, ChairCouncillor Kieran McKenzie
Keri Banar
Derek Coronado
Katie Kuker
Michael Schneider
Radwan Tamr
Richard St. Denis
Your Committee submits the following recommendation from Subcommittee of the Windsor Essex County Environment Committee: the
WHEREAS the Government of Ontario is planning to ramp up the greenhouse gas pollution from Ontario’s gas-fired power plants by more than 300% by 2025 and by more than 400% by 2040; and,
WHEREAS to help fuel this massive increase in fossil fuel electricity and climate threatening pollution, the provincial government recently purchased 3 gas plants at a cost of $2.8 billion and Enbridge is hoping to build a new pipeline through Hamilton to import fracked gas from the U.S.; and,
WHEREAS Ontario is set to throw away more than a third of the greenhouse gas reductions it achieved by phasing-out its dirty coal-fired power plants due to a power plan built around ramping up gas-fired generation to replace the output of the Pickering Nuclear Station (scheduled to close in 2024); and,
WHEREAS there is a better way to keep our lights on. We can meet our 2030 climate target and lower our electricity bills by phasing-out our gas-fired power plants by 2030 and embracing lower cost and cleaner options:
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Reverse cuts to energy efficiency programs and stop under-investing in this quick to deploy and low-cost resource. We can ensure we maximize our energy efficiency efforts by paying up to the same price per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for energy efficiency measures as we are currently paying for power from nuclear plants (e.g., up to 9.5 cents per kWh).
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Return Ontario to leadership in developing increasingly low-cost renewable energy resources. Support renewable energy projects that have costs that are