MicroFIT flip flops
The Ontario Power Authority keeps looking for ways to reduce the popularity, and therefore the cost, of its high-priced MicroFIT solar electricity program. The program was designed to guarantee renewable energy producers a profit. Since small scale solar PV is the most expensive electricity …
View the post titled MicroFIT flip flopsWhen is wood waste renewable?
Is biomass really renewable? The Green Energy Act treats wood waste as an infinitely renewable source of energy, like sunlight and wind. But is it? Biomass sceptics have pointed to high costs (in money and in energy) to collect, transport and handle wood waste, especially as fuel for el…
View the post titled When is wood waste renewable?Hanna lawsuit against wind turbines grinding on
Procedural skirmishing is underway in the Hanna lawsuit against Ontario wind turbines.
View the post titled Hanna lawsuit against wind turbines grinding onOff-shore wind turbines: new rules
Off-shore wind turbines will likely have the best winds, but they also involve complex tradeoffs different from those that apply on land. The Renewable Energy Approvals (REA) regulation (O. Reg. 359/09) under the Environmental Protection Act therefore contemplates a special approvals regime …
View the post titled Off-shore wind turbines: new rulesWind and health?
Do wind turbines harm human health? No, says the Ontario Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Arlene King, in a report released today. Claims of adverse health effects have been taken very seriously, as the Ministry of the Environment evaluates numerous applications for renewable energy approvals …
View the post titled Wind and health?Electricity conservation getting serious
Ontario’s landmark Green Energy Act (GEA) was passed a year ago, on May 14, 2009, to bring us major changes in energy conservation and renewable energy. Big subsidies have ramped up renewable energy generation, through the Feed-In Tariff (FIT) and microFIT programs. Now it’s time for energy …
View the post titled Electricity conservation getting seriousCuts to Renewable Subsidies
Reports say that Spain is slashing the prices it pays for renewable energy, as part of an aggressive response to its debt crisis. Spanish bonds were downgraded this week, and today it announced that unemployment has risen above 20%. Spain already has the third highest deficit in the EU, afte…
View the post titled Cuts to Renewable SubsidiesNew cars: greenhouse gas limits and ethanol
Canada will control greenhouse gases, although only when the US does. Last week, Canada and the US jointly announced stricter limits on GHG emissions from new cars (light-duty vehicles). This is the first-ever federal regulation to directly control GHG emissions across Canada. Our federal go…
View the post titled New cars: greenhouse gas limits and ethanolPeak oil: Who worries?
A surprising variety of knowledgeable people are worrying about peak oil: Petrobras, for example, the Brazilian state oil company. The International Energy Agency. Sir Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group. The City of Bloomington, Indiana. The chairperson of Total Oil. Will peak oil …
View the post titled Peak oil: Who worries?Renewable energy FIT contracts rolling out
The Ontario Power Authority has just announced the first group of contracts to buy renewable energy electricity at premium Feed in Tariff (FIT) prices, under the Green Energy Act. These contracts have been awarded for projects that do not require upgrades to the electrical transmission and d…
View the post titled Renewable energy FIT contracts rolling outReceive Blog Posts
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