Sidebar 3: Removing the barriers to progress on green energy

Thursday, April 2, 2009

The headline on the Premier's website says: "Ontario Removing Barriers to Green Energy." Ironically, some of those "barriers" appear to be existing provincial statutes.

"The proposed Green Energy Act would eliminate the barriers that have held up renewable energy projects in the past and make it easier to get new wind turbines, solar panels and biofuel plants online onto the grid while protecting the environment," says a statement from Premier Dalton McGuinty posted on his website.

The Premier's statement goes on to say that the bill would address local bylaws and regulations that are used to delay or stop proposed renewable energy.

The website of Davis LLP, a law firm in Toronto specializing in environmental issues, says that the province's goal is to complete project applications within six months.

In order to do this, 15 provincial statutes will have to be amended, including the Planning Act.

George Smitherman, minister of energy and infrastructure, plans to replace a patchwork of setback rules made by municipalities with a standard setback based on the ministry's review of peer-reviewed studies of the health risks.

The Premier's website says that last year 25 per cent of Ontario's energy came from renewable sources. That includes long-standing hydro energy projects, as well as 589 wind turbines and some solar operations. BF