Support growing to ban coal power

London Free Press
May 28, 2010
Chip Martin
 

Support growing to ban coal power
But Sarnia, London cool to idea

With three Ontario cities calling on the provincial government to mothball coal-fired electric power plants, the Ontario Clean Air Alliance is drumming up more support for the notion.

But it’s unlikely Sarnia or London is about to join the growing chorus just yet despite the fact they are in one of Canada’s worst smog belts where air-pollution-related death rates are the second highest in Canada.

In Sarnia, about 400 work at the nearby Lambton generating plant which has been identified as Ontario’s second-largest source of air pollution.

So Sarnia isn’t about to join Hamilton, Kitchener and Guelph in asking Premier Dalton McGuinty to put coal plants, including Lambton, on standby reserve for use only as a last resort to “keep the light on in Ontario,” as the Clean Air Alliance says.

Mayor Mike Bradley said he doesn’t like dirty power from coal, but finds himself “with one foot on the dock and one foot in the boat” on the issue.

“It would be incredibly insensitive of council toward the 300 to 400 who face uncertain futures,” he said.

“We want to find a third way,” he said, noting plans are being investigated to convert the plant to natural gas and biomass fuel.

Bradley notes half the bad air wafting into Sarnia and Lambton originates from coal-fired power plants in the United States.

“You can’t just turn out the lights in Ontario,” he said.

In London, Deputy Mayor Tom Gosnell predicted “coal-fired plants are going to be with us for a long time.”

He said he doubts London city council would back a ban on coal power because of the potential impact on the economy and the need to deliver power new industry.

“We have to remain economically viable,” Gosnell said. And technology is doing a better job cleaning up the emissions from such plants with scrubbers, he said.

Gosnell said he wants to see cleaner air but the risks associated with shutting down coal plants concern him.

Ontario has set a target date of 2014 to wean the province off coal power, having abandoned earlier deadlines of 2007 and 2011.

The Ontario Clean Air Alliance is calling on the coal plant closure on the eve of the summertime heat that spikes power demand and -- ironically -- reliance on coal.

“With a long, hot, smoggy summer ahead of us, now is the time to fully eliminate dirty coal use,” the Alliance says in a press release.

Studies have shown death rates from respiratory diseases across Southwestern Ontario are dramatically higher than for Ontario as a whole, between 45 and 50 a year per 100,000 residents.

But during peak demand periods, coal is still needed as “insurance” says Terry Young, spokesperson for Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator.

He notes Ontario has made great strides in reducing its dependence of coal but a totally coal-free environment is not yet possible.

“We’re not there yet,” Young said. He notes 6% of Ontario’s power comes from coal today, compared to 25 per cent just five years ago.

Last summer, a relatively cool one as the economy was still mired in recession, saw sharply reduced power demand.

At Ontario Power Generation, spokesperson Ted Gruetzner said weather and economy, along with an increase in alternative energy sources had a dramatic impact on coal use.

“That was the lowest amount of coal we burned in 45 years,” he said.

This fall, four coal-burning units will be decommissioned in Ontario, including two of the four units at Lambton generating station.