New Study Concludes Ontario will $56 billion better off without more wind turbines

From the press release:

TORONTO, ON July 8, 2013 – A new detailed analysis concludes that investment in Ontario’s nuclear generation capacity will deliver the greatest benefit to Ontario ratepayers and the economy while dramatically reducing future potential greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Ontario is in the middle of a review of its 2010 Long-Term Energy Plan (LTEP). Many observers have speculated that with slower than forecasted growth in energy demand in Ontario, building out the full capacity contemplated by the LTEP could result in higher than anticipated costs to ratepayers and an unacceptably large surplus of power generation capacity. New decisions on the future supply mix for Ontario may have to be contemplated.
To inform the LTEP review, the Power Workers’ Union (PWU) and the Organization of Canadian Nuclear Industries (OCI) commissioned Strategic Policy Economics Inc. (Strapolec) to assess the economic and GHG emission impacts associated with two supply mix options. One scenario – Retained Wind − assumes that planned new wind generation goes forward while investments in nuclear power generation are curtailed. Under this scenario, additional gas-fired generation is needed as a backstop to the intermittency of wind generation. The other scenario – Retained Nuclear − assumes that the planned refurbishment of existing nuclear reactors and the building of new reactors would proceed while the proposed development of new wind generation would not.
The study shows that retaining the nuclear generation capacity as planned in the 2010 LTEP while reducing contemplated wind generation would:

• Produce $56 billion in direct benefits to Ontario’s economy through $27 billion in savings to ratepayers and $29 billion in direct investment in Ontario. This represents a $60 billion net incremental benefit to Ontario as compared to the Retain Wind scenario.

The remainder of the press release can be read at The Power Workers' Union, as can the entire study, Ontario Electricity Options Comparison: Illustrating the Economics of Ontario Energy Supply Options | Marc Brouillette | Strategic Policy Economics



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