Wednesday, July 09, 2003
Letters to the Editor
The Globe and Mail
444 Front Street W.
Toronto, Ontario M5V 2S9
Dear Editor:
Re: Ontario’s Green Energy
Eric Reguly (Going green will not solve Ontario’s energy crunch, 03/07/09, B2) is, indeed, to the point in his assessment of Ontario’s struggles to avoid power blackouts.
I do note one point Eric takes from the renewable energy supporters that is quite misleading. He indicates that; “as more and more green energy is produced, the price should come down.” Not quite.
Likely there is scope for technical improvement in solar cells to lower the current exorbitant cost of that energy option. Windmill generation technology is very well developed and mature. There is little scope for improvement of these beautiful expressions of engineering art.
In fact, as more and more wind energy is produced, the Achilles heel of wind energy will become apparent to all. Alternative sources of energy are needed when the wind does not blow. Expensive duplicated alternative generation sources must thus be available to satisfy demand. They may sit idle when the wind does blow. A complete wind energy system must depend on huge overcapacity (3 to 4 times) and some form of energy storage with alternative generation to fill in when the wind does not blow.
Green energy enthusiasts should thus expect to pay on the order of five to ten times more for electricity when renewable sources provide most of it. Right now it’s difficult to get them to sign on to support the modest extra cost of green energy programs such as “Greenmax”. As Eric has noted Ernie Eves is simply surfing on the “Green Wave” to garner some votes for the next election. Little does he care that green energy initiatives will continue to rise and then crash onto the beach while fossil and nuclear alternatives are available.
Yours truly,
Duane Pendergast