wind power - big flop in heatwave
We cruised through this week's record-breaking temperatures with only minor glitches.
And while the Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty would like you to believe it's their energy policy that's saved us, in fact it's their economic development plan — or lack thereof— that's freed up massive amounts of electricity.
Ontario has lost almost half a million manufacturing jobs since McGuinty came to power, so we just don't need the same kind of generation we once did. Worse, they were in industries, such as auto companies, that provided good, high-paying jobs that had a multiplier effect in their communities.
The bad news is, GM recently announced it was shutting another line in Oshawa — despite the $10-billion bailout the federal and provincial governments gave it in 2009.
The good news is it will free up even more electricity so the government can brag about its conservation policies. Thursday's peak power demand was 24,000 megawatts at 5 p.m. On a similar day in 2006, it was more than 27,000.
A spokesperson for the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), the company that oversees the electricity grid, says it's a combination of factors helping the situation.
"We have more supply than we had in 2005, with new nuclear, gas and renewables. We have more supply and less demand," Terry Young said.
So, all those giant wind turbines that are destroying our once lovely landscape are really helping out, right? Wrong. When it's hot and sultry, as it was this week, and when we really need extra electricity — the wind doesn't blow.
The breakdown on supply Thursday went roughly like this:
At 11,025 megawatts, nuclear is 50% of our production. So for you granola types, who think we can go nuke-free, think again.
Gas-fired plants produced 4,959 MW.
Then came old faithful — hydro power. Niagara Falls isn't just a nice backdrop for a tightrope walk; it's the clean, green energy that can be cranked up and cranked down quickly as needed. The Beck I and II plants produced 4,778 MW Thursday.
Remember McGuinty's 2003 pledge to shut all coal-fired plants by 2007? It may be a dirty demon to him, but it's still going strong. Coal production Thursday was 2,232 MW — more than twice the 853 MW produced by wind power.
The McGuinty government has been very clever about branding the Mike Harris and Ernie Eves years as a time of energy crisis. In fact, the Tory years were an era of industrial boom. That's what caused the hydro shortage.
Heck, you still hear Liberal MPPs decrying the 2003 blackout as somehow caused by Eves(PC energy minister at that time). They repeat the mantra that things were so bad, hundreds of diesel generators were brought in to bail them out.
That's just not true. The blackout was caused by foliage falling on a hydro line in Ohio.
And the diesel generators? A myth — unless you're talking about the backup diesel generators most hospitals and large companies use in emergencies.
So, welcome to conservation, Ontario-style. The more jobs you lose, the more energy you save.
And while the Liberal government of Dalton McGuinty would like you to believe it's their energy policy that's saved us, in fact it's their economic development plan — or lack thereof— that's freed up massive amounts of electricity.
Ontario has lost almost half a million manufacturing jobs since McGuinty came to power, so we just don't need the same kind of generation we once did. Worse, they were in industries, such as auto companies, that provided good, high-paying jobs that had a multiplier effect in their communities.
The bad news is, GM recently announced it was shutting another line in Oshawa — despite the $10-billion bailout the federal and provincial governments gave it in 2009.
The good news is it will free up even more electricity so the government can brag about its conservation policies. Thursday's peak power demand was 24,000 megawatts at 5 p.m. On a similar day in 2006, it was more than 27,000.
A spokesperson for the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), the company that oversees the electricity grid, says it's a combination of factors helping the situation.
"We have more supply than we had in 2005, with new nuclear, gas and renewables. We have more supply and less demand," Terry Young said.
So, all those giant wind turbines that are destroying our once lovely landscape are really helping out, right? Wrong. When it's hot and sultry, as it was this week, and when we really need extra electricity — the wind doesn't blow.
The breakdown on supply Thursday went roughly like this:
At 11,025 megawatts, nuclear is 50% of our production. So for you granola types, who think we can go nuke-free, think again.
Gas-fired plants produced 4,959 MW.
Then came old faithful — hydro power. Niagara Falls isn't just a nice backdrop for a tightrope walk; it's the clean, green energy that can be cranked up and cranked down quickly as needed. The Beck I and II plants produced 4,778 MW Thursday.
Remember McGuinty's 2003 pledge to shut all coal-fired plants by 2007? It may be a dirty demon to him, but it's still going strong. Coal production Thursday was 2,232 MW — more than twice the 853 MW produced by wind power.
The McGuinty government has been very clever about branding the Mike Harris and Ernie Eves years as a time of energy crisis. In fact, the Tory years were an era of industrial boom. That's what caused the hydro shortage.
Heck, you still hear Liberal MPPs decrying the 2003 blackout as somehow caused by Eves(PC energy minister at that time). They repeat the mantra that things were so bad, hundreds of diesel generators were brought in to bail them out.
That's just not true. The blackout was caused by foliage falling on a hydro line in Ohio.
And the diesel generators? A myth — unless you're talking about the backup diesel generators most hospitals and large companies use in emergencies.
So, welcome to conservation, Ontario-style. The more jobs you lose, the more energy you save.
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