Ask the right questions when assessing power plan, Transforming Toronto tells OPA

Transforming Toronto is telling the Ontario Power Authority to make sure it asks the right questions when the time comes to assess its Integrated Power System Plan (IPSP). In a written submission Wednesday, Transforming Toronto spokeperson David MacLeod called on the OPA to answer six key questions about its 20-year power plan for Ontario. MacLeod said the plan, which emphasizes nuclear energy and giant power lines, should be evaluated according to these criteria:

1. Could the OPA meet Ontario’s electricity requirements at a lower cost or lower risk (or both) by additional procurement from some or all of the following?
- Conservation, demand management, energy efficiency
- Renewable energy, including wind, solar, small run-of-river hydro, geothermal and biomass
- Combined heat and power

2. Does the IPSP sufficiently consider the social, environmental and health concerns of the proposed supply mix and associated infrastructure?

3. Has the IPSP fully pursued the potential for conservation and demand management as well as renewables beyond the minimum levels directed by the Minister?

4. Has the OPA’s analysis fully evaluated the potential for maximizing demand response resources, and does it provide for a process to facilitate such procurement?

5. Are the IPSP’s avoided cost estimates reasonable?

6. Does the IPSP properly account for the benefits of local distributed generation, both in terms of cost and system reliability/security?

To download the full submission, please click here.

World rallies for action on global warming as UN climate talks begin

Transforming Toronto, a citizens’ group working on energy issues, is encouraging supporters to attend a rally, march and “eco-fair” in downtown Toronto this Saturday, Dec. 8.

The rally, sponsored by the Toronto Climate Campaign, begins at 12:00 noon at Yonge and Dundas Square. At 1:30 p.m. a “March for Clean Energy” will head over to Hart House at the University of Toronto. At 2:00 p.m. the “eco-fair,” with a complimentary hot meal, will allow visitors to connect with non-governmental organizations, volunteer groups, and green businesses.

Climate change events are taking place in 60 countries to send a message to the United Nations Climate Conference, which began talks Monday in Bali, Indonesia, and runs for two weeks.

For complete information on the Toronto events, visit www.torontoclimatecampaign.org.

Incentives work to cut peak power use

Incentives work! Thirty per cent of residential customers and 24 per cent of businesses in Toronto cut their year-over-year electricity use by more than 10 per cent this summer, the Toronto Star reports. All received rebates from a special Toronto Hydro program. Click here to read the Star article.

Berkeley breakthrough makes home energy projects affordable

A brilliant new financing idea is about to put solar panels and solar-thermal water heaters on thousands of residential roofs in Berkeley, California.

On Nov. 6, the City of Berkeley passed a plan to create a “Sustainable Energy Financing District.” Under the plan, homeowners who invest in green energy solutions will be able to pay for them on their property tax bills. The city pays the upfront cost of the installation which the homeowner then pays off over 20 years using the money saved – or earned – from the upgrade.

The cost is attached to the home, not the homeowner, so people who move before the 20 years are up do not pay for energy savings for the next owner.

“With Berkeley's financing plan in place, just about any home or business owner who can afford to pay their utility bill every month should be able to go solar,” according to Gary Gerber, president of a solar installation company in Berkeley.

Transforming Toronto spokesperson David MacLeod learned about the Berkeley option on a fact-finding trip to California last month.

“Right now, homeowners who want to go green face big up-front costs at a time when home prices, and household debt, are at near-record levels,” say MacLeod. “By taking debt out of the equation, Berkeley is removing the number one obstacle facing homeowners who want to use less energy or generate their own.

“This is an idea we should bring to Toronto as soon as possible.”
Randy Robinson, MacLeod’s Logan Ave. neighbour, says the Berkeley option could be used to finance home heating upgrades as well as solar electricity generation and hot water heating.

“If a version of the Berkeley option existed in Toronto, I would already have a high-efficiency gas boiler in my basement,” said Robinson. “That would cut my greenhouse gas emissions for home heating by at least 38 per cent, according to the home energy audit I had done. But even with $1,200 in government rebates, I am still looking at borrowing eight or ten thousand dollars. Right now I just can’t absorb that cost – especially when a new boiler adds little if anything to the resale value of our house.

“Obviously, home energy upgrades are even further out of reach for people with more debt. That’s why the Berkeley option is such a breakthrough.”

The City of Berkeley plans to cover the upfront costs of residential solar installations by issuing a municipal bond or taking out low-interest loans. City staff and consultants are working on the details of the program now, with a view to having the program up and running by the summer of 2008.

For more information on the breakthrough in Berkeley and how it will work, check the following sites:

San Francisco Chronicle article.

Interview with Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates

Renewableenergyaccess.com article.

City of Berkeley streaming video:
Footage of the Berkeley City Council meeting that passed the energy resolution is available at here. Click on the 3 hour, 20 minute video for 11/06/07. Then jump to Item 30 – Creation of Sustainable Energy Financing District – on the pulldown menu.

Funny climate video

The Alliance for Climate Protection (Al Gore is chair of their board) and Current TV have announce the winner of their “Sixty Seconds to Save the Earth” Ecospot Contest. The winner is Dave Schlafman for his video entitled Sky is Falling. Watch it now.

New minister needs to hear from transmission line opponents

Ontario’s new Minister of Energy needs to hear the voices of opponents to the proposed East Toronto Transmission Line (ETTL), a local citizens’ group says.

“The recent provincial election confirmed that, contrary to some reports, the ETTL is still on the table as a way to bring electricity into Toronto,” says David MacLeod, spokesperson for Transforming Toronto. “The Ontario Power Authority says the line is still an option, and Liberal candidates in the election campaign refused to rule it out even though they were given ample opportunity to do so.

“That’s why it’s so important to tell Gerry Phillips that opposition to the line is as strong as ever,” MacLeod said.

Phillips, the new Minister of Energy, became an MPP in 1987 and has been a fixture in Cabinet since Dalton McGuinty became Premier in 2003. His appointment is a clear signal that the Premier wants to take no chances with the often-sensitive energy portfolio.

If built, the ETTL would run through Scarborough-Agincourt, Phillips’s riding.

Full information on the East Toronto Transmission Line is available at www.transformingtoronto.ca. To send an e-mail message to Gerry Phillips now, go here.

Transforming Toronto Featured on CTV News

Last night CTV aired a segment on Transforming Toronto and the opposition to the transmission line. The piece discussed the various health concerns around the lines, as well as the fact that cleaner, greener alternatives are readily available that would eliminate the need for the lines as well as the associated nuclear plants. Suzanne Gibson of Transforming Toronto noted that these solutions are in place in other countries around the world, and so could easily be implemented here.You can check out the video clip of the story on the CTV website under the CTV Toronto Special Reports section; the story is titled "Naomi Parness on the Battle Against New Hydro Lines".

Transforming Toronto Meeting Oct 16, 2007

Mark your calendars! The next meeting for Transforming Toronto is scheduled for Tuesday, October 16, 2007 from 7-9 pm at the Frankland Community Centre, 816 Logan Avenue (just south of Danforth).

At this meeting we will be reviewing the results of our election activities to raise awareness of the issue and will be mapping out plans for our post-election efforts. This will be a working session, and we welcome new individuals interested in getting involved and making a difference.

For those planning to attend, please RSVP by sending an email to outreach@transformingtoronto.ca, with "October 16 meeting" in the subject line.

And to stay informed of Transforming Toronto events and news, simply subscribe to our newsletter in the upper left corner of this page.

Politicians on Energy Hotseat over Future of Transmission Lines

The Toronto Observer recently published a great article on the East Toronto Transmission Line issue. The story highlights the responses of various political candidates to a survey on the the issue conducted by the Ontario Clean Air Alliance, and discusses the efforts of Transforming Toronto in pressing the matter with candidates during the election campaign.

NDP & Green Candidates Opposed to East Toronto Transmission Line

NDP and Green Party candidates in East Toronto ridings are opposed to the proposed East Toronto Transmission Line according to the results of a questionnaire released by the Ontario Clean Air Alliance today.

Education Minister Kathleen Wynne (Don Valley West) stated: “I do not support the idea of a transmission line being built through our community”. However, Minister Wynne did not directly respond to the questionnaire which asked: “Do you believe the Minister of Energy should issue a directive to the Ontario Power Authority, pursuant to Section 25.30 of the Electricity Act, telling it to cancel its plans for the East Toronto Transmission Line; and develop an alternative strategy consisting of energy conservation and small-scale local generation to meet the electricity needs of downtown Toronto?”

The Progressive Conservative leader and candidate in Don Valley West, John Tory; Health Minister George Smitherman (Toronto Centre); Public Infrastructure Renewal Minister David Caplan (Don Valley East) and Government Services Minister Gerry Phillips (Scarborough-Agincourt) did not respond to the questionnaire.

As part of its strategy to increase Ontario’s nuclear capacity by 20% by 2025, the Ontario Power Authority is considering and developing a plan to build the East Toronto Transmission Line to bring more nuclear electricity to downtown Toronto. The East Toronto Transmission Line would start at the Parkway Transformer Station in Markham and move south through Scarborough, Leaside, the Don Valley and Riverdale to the Hearn Transformer Station on the Toronto waterfront.

The full responses from the candidates can be viewed at here.

Sept. 19, 2007 Inject some energy into the debate – attend these all-candidates’ meetings!

Find out what candidates for the Oct. 10 provincial election really think.

Riding
Date / Location

Don Valley West
Sept. 24, 7:00 p.m. 55 Overland Drive (Don Mills and Lawrence)
Sept. 26, 7:00 p.m. Marc Garneau Collegiate, 135 Overlea Blvd.(at Don Mills Rd.)
Sept. 27, 11:30 am. - 2:30pm York Mills Collegiate, 490 York Mills Rd.
Sept. 30, 2:00 p.m. 1&3 Concorde Place

Scarborough-Agincourt
Sept. 26, TBA

Scarborough Centre
Sept. 20, TBA

Toronto-Danforth
Sept. 27, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m. Ralph Thornton Centre, 765 Queen St. E.

Beaches-East York
Oct. 3, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. East York Civic Centre, 850 Coxwell Ave.

Don Valley East
Sept. 24, 7:00 - 9:30 p.m. Jubilee United Church, 40 Underhill Dr.
Sept. 26, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. Town Hall, 1685 Victoria Park Ave.

Toronto Centre-Rosedale
Sept. 19, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. Oakham Lounge, 68 Gould St.(Ryerson University)
Sept. 25, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. Rosedale United Church, 159 Roxborough Dr.
Sept. 27, 7:00 p.m. Regent Park CRC, 203 Sackville Green
Oct. 1, 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. Sutton Place Hotel Grand Ballroom (Bay and Wellesley)
Oct. 2, 8:00 - 9:00 p.m. Heliconian Club, Hazelton Ave.
Oct. 4, 7:00 p.m. St. Lawrence North Market Hall (Front and Jarvis)
Oct. 5, 7:00 p.m. St. Simon the Apostle Church, 525 Bloor St. E.

Sept. 19, 2007 Liberals won’t rule out transmission line, candidate says

A Liberal government won’t tell the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) not to build the East Toronto Transmission Line (ETTL), the Liberal candidate in Toronto-Danforth says.

Asked if her party would issue a legal directive instructing the OPA to cancel the line and invest the money it would cost in conservation, energy efficiency, and clean, green energy, Joyce Rowlands said, “No. We will not issue that directive.”

Rowlands made the statement at an all-candidates’ meeting Tuesday night. Representatives of all other parties answered “yes” to the question.

While admitting that the Liberals would not take the ETTL off the table, Rowlands downplayed the issue. She stated that the line is the least likely option for new transmission, that it will not be necessary if energy consumers embrace conservation, and that “we have three years to decide.”

At least 100 people attended the meeting at St. Barnabas Anglican Church on Danforth Ave. Judging by the level of interest, energy issues will play a big role in voters’ decision on Election Day, Oct. 10. Nuclear energy, renewables, and the Portlands Energy Centre were all hot topics.

Ms. Rowlands shared the stage with fellow candidates Robert Biscibis of the Progressive Conservatives; Shona Bracken of the Communist Party; Patrick Kraemer of the Green Party; and New Democrat Peter Tabuns, the incumbent MPP in the riding.

Sept. 17, 2007 OPA missing the boat on renewables, columnist says

The Ontario Power Authority is overlooking opportunities to generate at least 8,500 mega-watts of additional electricity from renewable resources, Toronto Star columnist Tyler Hamilton says. Click here to read his critique of the OPA's 20-year power plan for Ontario.

Transforming Toronto Public Meeting

Tuesday, Sepember 11, 2007, 7 to 9 pm
Location: Ralph Thornton Centre at 765 Queen Street East

As Ontario election campaign kicks off, East end power line still an option

Transforming Toronto is urging east-end residents to make the proposed East Toronto Transmission Line (ETTL) an issue in the Ontario election campaign that begins today. The election offers many opportunities to ask candidates how they will help stop the line.

In a presentation Aug. 29, the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) made it clear that the ETTL, sometimes called the third line, is still very much an option. A map in the OPA’s presentation of the new Integrated Power System Plan for Ontario (Click here to read the document) clearly shows a line from the Parkway Transformer Station in Markham to the Hearn Transformer Station near the mouth of the Don River.

The Plan reflects current Liberal government policy. The Liberal approach is best summarized as “the ETTL if necessary, but not necessarily the ETTL.” In July, Steve Erwin, spokesperson for Dwight Duncan, said: “What the minister has said over and over again… is that conservation and distributed generation and co-generation projects and other renewables, if they succeed and if residents use them, we can avoid a third transmission line into Toronto.”

Meanwhile, at the local level, Joyce Rowlands, the Liberal candidate for Toronto-Danforth, has told residents on Logan Avenue that she is against the ETTL. Toronto-Danforth MPP Peter Tabuns, a New Democrat, is campaigning against the line. The NDP says its energy plan, with “targets for efficiency, localized cogeneration and green power, and conservation… sets the stage to protect the community from the possibility of a high voltage transmission line, and the Portlands Energy Centre from becoming operational. Aggressive investment in efficiency and green power will allow Toronto to provide itself with the electricity security it needs to make the transmission line and Portlands Energy Centre redundant.”

For this election, the question to put to candidates is not, “What is your position on the East Toronto Transmission Line?” The real question on the doorstep, and in all-candidates meetings, is: “If elected, will you issue a legal directive to the Ontario Power Authority to remove the East Toronto Transmission Line as an option? If elected, will you insist that the $600 million that the line would cost be invested instead in conversation programs and clean, green, local energy generation?”

Transforming Toronto urges residents to press all party candidates on their position and push for all-party consensus against the need for the ETTL. Watch community newspapers or visit candidate websites for details on all-candidates meetings in your riding.

For more information on the line itself, see the Ontario Clean Air Alliance’s fact sheet here.

'The Future of Energy: Where have we been & where are we going?'

Mr. David Hughes has spent a lifetime studying the supply side of Canada's energy question at NRCan and the Canadian Geological Survey. Quite literally no one in the world knows more about this subject than he and only a handful know as much. When such a man tells us that conservation not generation offers us by far our best chance at a comfortable future it would be best that we all stop to listen.

On September 11 David Hughes will be giving a talk in Council Chamber that has made him justly famous in energy and sustainability circles throughout North America. Mr. Hughes will speak to the issue of Energy Security regionally, nationally and globally and to the geological data which supports his call for the absolute necessity for the most rapid transition possible from fossil fuels to conservation and renewables. This call is in line with the call being made by those scientists, activists and policy makers concerned with Global Warming.

It is our sincerest hope that we will see you on this date and I can promise you that this evening will be among the richest information sessions of the year and relevant for even the most informed on the towering twin challenges of our time: Energy and Sustainability.

Tuesday September 11, 2007
Toronto City Hall, 100 Queen Street West at Bay Street
Council Chambers
7pm-9pm
Free

For more information contact: Jeff Berg, jeffberg@rogers.com (416 604 0851) www.postcarbontoronto.org, www.pledgeTOgreen.ca

Co-sponsored by: The Coalition for a Green Economy
Grassroots Environmental Products/GrassrootsStore.com

Sun-loving Germans show how it’s done

While the Ontario Power Authority’s current plan for increasing the use of solar panels to generate electricity is to add 80 megawatts (MW) of power by the year 2027, Germany is adding that amount of solar capacity every six weeks.

After working on the problem for 10 years, the Germans now generate 2,600 MW of power per year from solar. That’s enough juice to shut down three of their nuclear reactors during the summer months.

Germany is a northern country, like Canada. Sunny enough, but it ain’t Arizona. Click here to learn more about how Germany leads the world in soaking up the sun.

Shelve power line plan in favour of forward-looking energy strategy, group says

TORONTO – Toronto won’t need another giant electricity transmission line if Ontario adopts a forward-looking energy strategy, an east-end community group says.

“The world is on the verge of an energy revolution in which conservation, efficiency, and locally-generated green power will account for the lion’s share of our electricity needs,” said David MacLeod, spokesperson for Transforming Toronto. “The proposed East Toronto Transmission Line is part of the outdated model of super-sized generating stations, monster power lines, and wasted energy.

“It’s the wrong way to go,” he said. “That is why we have called on energy minister Dwight Duncan to shelve plans for the line and spend the $600 million it would cost on cleaner, greener alternatives.”

MacLeod made the comments following the release yesterday of a comprehensive green energy plan for Ontario. The plan by the Pembina Institute and the World Wildlife Fund would conserve more energy and double locally-generated power in Ontario from 15 per cent of the total used today to 30 per cent by 2027.

“Transmission lines typically lose about seven per cent of the electricity they carry, and 17 per cent at peak times on hot days like today,” said MacLeod. “By saving power and generating more of it locally, we can wipe out any need for more big transmission lines.”

Conservation and local energy generation are already working for other jurisdictions, MacLeod said. Ontario’s per capita electricity consumption is more than 50 per cent higher than that of New York state. Germany generates more solar power today than Ontario will generate in 20 years under current plans.

“The future is now,” said MacLeod. “It just isn’t here. Our political leaders need to get with the program.”

For more information, visit transformingtoronto.ca and renewableisdoable.ca.

Takin' it to the Beach!

The Toronto Beaches International Jazz Festival this past weekend featured not only great music but also Transforming Toronto's very own power trio of (l to r) Julie Simmons, Sandra Pimpaso, and Jeff Johns. They did a great job of getting the message out about the East Toronto Transmission Line, collected signatures on our petition, and even had a debate with a couple of engineers from the Ontario Power Authority. Interestingly, the engineers revealed an intimate knowledge of the web site at transformingtoronto.ca

Don’t build near transmission lines, British MPs say

New homes and schools should not be built within 60 metres of High Voltage Overhead Transmission Lines, a committee of British MPs says.

The Cross-Party Inquiry into Childhood Leukaemia and Extremely Low Frequency Electric and Magnetic Fields is calling on the British government to “recognize the potential risks to children’s health,” boost research, and educate homeowners and the public about EMF.

The Inquiry also calls on the government to “Consider the potential health risks of EMF exposure as part of the Government’s Energy Review and give full consideration to alternative options, such as local generation, which could contribute to a reduced future need for new HVOTL.”

For full information, click here to read the Inquiry’s report dated July 18, 2007.

East-enders oppose transmission line, support “cleaner, greener”

TORONTO – Residents of several east Toronto neighbourhoods are banding together to fight construction of a giant electricity transmission line now under consideration by the Ontario Power Authority.

“If built, the East Toronto Transmission Line [ETTL] will cost electricity users $600 million that would be much better spent on cleaner, greener energy alternatives,” said David MacLeod, spokesperson for a new community group called Transforming Toronto. “Now is not the time to be pouring our energy into yesterday’s technologies.”

The group has written to Ontario Energy Minister Dwight Duncan, calling on him to issue a legal directive to the Ontario Power Authority that will remove the possibility of the ETTL and invest the $600 million in conservation measures and locally-generated power.

“We’ve heard some general statements from the Minister suggesting that the line might not be built, but ‘might not’ is not ‘will not,’” said MacLeod. “This transmission line is still very much a live issue. We want to see it dead, not just sleeping until the provincial election is over.”

Transforming Toronto plans to make the ETTL an issue in the Oct. 10 election, MacLeod said.

“We’re just a group of citizens, but in the next three months we feel we can reach a lot of people, not only in ridings along the proposed route of the line, but right across Toronto,” he said.

“The future of our city, and our planet, demands strong, progressive leadership on energy issues,” MacLeod said. “What is needed now is a bold approach that says ‘Yes, we can.’ Local power is the answer.”

The group invites all concerned citizens to get involved with the campaign by visiting www.transformingtoronto.ca.

Transforming Toronto wrote to Ontario Energy Minister Dwight Duncan today

Read the letter here.

Welcome to the Transforming Toronto News & View Page

There is a lot happening here at Transforming Toronto and we have only just begun. To stay up-to-date with the latest news in regards to the East Toronto Transmission Line (ETTL) as well as what is going on with Transforming Toronto, bookmark this page and visit regularly or subscribe via email.