Ontario targets end to coal power

Ontario is on track to phase out coal-based power production by 2014, according to a report released last week by the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO).

The government-created non-profit organisation, which manages the Canadian province's electrical grid, made the prediction as part of its latest reliability report.

The report forecasts that coal-based power will be replaced by a mix of renewables, nuclear and natural gas. "Almost 10,000MW of new generation or demand management is in service or planned, comprising nuclear refurbishment, new natural gas generation, conservation and more than 1,400MW of renewable generation projects," the report said, adding that natural gas-based electrical capacity is already exceeding coal-based capacity.

Plans to phase out coal in the province were originally announced in June 2005. These said the last coal plant would be switched off by early this year, but coal capacity will be left on-stream for longer than planned. This is due to what The Ministry of Energy calls "disappointing" trends in increased power requirements.

The new 2014 cut-off date was formalised in Ontario regulation 496/07. In May, the non-profit Pembina Institute environmental think-tank called for an increased focus on renewable rather than nuclear energy, which it said would mitigate the time issues inherent in nuclear projects, allowing for a faster 2012 cut-off date for coal.

The IESO report said that provincial restrictions on the proportion of electricity coming from nuclear power plants mean that the revitalisation of it s nuclear power industry will have to come from the replacement or refurbishment of existing plants rather than the creation of new ones. The amount of planned nuclear capacity in Ontario is limited to 14,000MW over the next 20 years.

The report also claimed that transmission lines would also have to be improved over the next five years to ensure the 2014 target is met.