Ontario Farmer : The Ontario Rural Council Renewable Energy Forum 2007
Bureaucracy, low price barriers to renewable energy, the province is called upon to put more support behind its renewable energy goals
by Bob Reid, Ontario Farmer Daily
November 20th, 2007
The ground swell of support for renewable energy among rural land owners is being simultaneously supported and discouraged by the province.
The ruling Liberal government has set of target of having 10 per cent of the province's energy needs met through renewable energy sources by 2010. Yet an offer of 11 cents per kwh for electricity produced on farm from Ontario Hydro, through its Ontario Renewable Energy Standard Offer Program (RESOP) is far below the cost of producing that source of energy.
That was a comment echoed by several speakers involved in the emerging technology at a renewable energy forum held in Stratford recently, sponsored by The Ontario Rural Council (TORC).
That figure was based on incorrect information gleaned from solar power projects, said Garry Fortune, energy consultant to a project creating a bio gas digester for creating electricity on the farm of Laurie Stanton of Ilderton. That project has been ongoing for two and a half years, including installing a series of vertical tank digesters that allow the system to remain operational should one cease to function.
He suggested a rate of 42 cents per kwh, similar to the rate given to solar and wind generated electricity would be more in line.
A capacity audience comprised of 250 people, either already involved in renewable energy or considering entry, had the opportunity to learn about the challenges involved. Several listed speakers expressed both excitement in the potential of renewable energy as another cash crop for farmers as well as frustration in the bureaucracy involved and foot dragging on the part of Ontario Hydro.
An Embro-area farmer in the audience, currently putting power on the grid through his 30 kwh wind turbine generator, shared that he immediately lost the lower rate Ontario Hydro charges customers for the first portion of monthly electricity billed, on occasions when his farm used more power than it contributed through a net energy agreement with Hydro. "That is a disincentive," he added.
His pain was shared by speaker Carol Leeming. She and her husband Bob erected an 80 kwh wind generator on their mixed farming operation near Seaforth. In addition to waiting several weeks for Hydro to connect their system to the grid, the cost of that connection was three times their estimate for the service.
"We had no where else to go with the hook up," said Leeming "We had to pay it."
In total the eight month project cost $250,000 including erection of a 40-metre high tower refurbished from Holland. Payback is expected at 10 to 15 years, depending on the rising price of electricity and how much wind blows to generate power.
At least the Lemmings did get connected to the grid. There was concern expressed by speaker Cornell Feenstra, registered master electrician and electrical contractor to community based wind co-operatives, that the infrastructure in certain areas of the province may not allow larger generating systems to connect. This specifically involves southwestern Ontario where a combination of aging infrastructure and power distribution lines being restricted to 60 per cent capacity could be limiting factors.
It was suggested by one audience member that spare capacity was being reserved for increased nuclear power use which will continue to make up a larger portion of power generation in Ontario.
Rural land owners not having the resources to become involved in renewable energy do have the option of joining co-operatives created for that purpose. Representatives from two such organizations - Countryside Energy Co-operative based in Milverton and Co-op Val-Eo in the Lac-St.-Jean area of Quebec - relayed their experiences.
Val-Eo founder and general manger Patrick Cote said it is important for co-ops to create a local monopoly on land use for generating electricity so they are not squeezed out by the large domestic and foreign corporations which are rapidly becoming involved in renewable energy.
"They are not bad guys. They just know their business," said Cote.
Like any natural resource, the wind for power generation belongs to the community, said Cote adding "Community business means the best business practice."
He noted that wind power generation does not create a lot of jobs within the community but it provides an opportunity to put local capital to work.
He suggested keeping total control of any project during development for as long as possible, before making an agreement for the distribution of power with a licensed electricity distributor. The Val-Eo Co-op eventually reached an agreement with a Toronto-based distributor.
Participants at the day long event were able to compare the advantages and disadvantages of main renewable energy sources examined - wind, bio gas and water.
The bio gas digester on the Stanton farm, setting up to eventually milk 2,000 cows, will capture enough methane gas to power a converted diesel generator that could supply one third of all Ilderton's electricity needs, said Fortune, at a 300 kwh capacity.
He pointed out that while wind turbines need the wind to blow to create electricity, bio gas digesters work 24 hours a day regardless of weather conditions.
The methane gas can also be "cleaned up" and put into natural gas pipelines for distribution to end customers, similar to electricity distribution.
The environmental advantages of renewable energy were a high priority among those already involved in creating "a green economy" in rural Ontario. Carbon credits for reducing gas emissions will become more valuable in the future, said Fortune.
However, he noted that Ontario Hydro is already trying to "scoop up" those credits, another disincentive. "I say stop Hydro from taking away those credits."
Germany is a world leader in on-farm power generation with 6,000 on-farm bio gas digesters generating 640 mega watts. Twenty per cent of the crops produced there are used for energy production.
The Ontario Minsitry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) has made a limited amount of funding available for renewable energy products (20-project limit.) Initial capital costs are high with no mature data on the actual cost of power generation because of the industry's infancy.
This has made lending institutions quite cautious so far in getting involved. Further, environmental benefits do not have a column entry on cash flow charts to date.
Hydro is offering contracts of up to 20 years fixed payment schedule, taking inflation into account.
For the industry to move ahead politicians will have to exert pressure on the bureaucracy to streamline the process, said Kris Stevens, Policy and Communications, Ontario Sustainable Energy Association (OSEA). An impact study is required for any project over 10 kwh, paid for by applicants.
He urged farmers and rural land owners not to be intimidated by the complexity of renewable energy projects or discouraged by the bureaucracy involved as several organizations have been formed to assist Ontario's energy pioneers.
John Kieran, with the Ministry of Energy's Conservation and Distribution Energy Branch, said that although farm businesses represent about two per cent of all business numbers in the province, 30 per cent of applications for renewable energy project participation have been submitted by farmers.
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