Ontario committed to eliminating coal-based power

Ontario committed to eliminating coal-based power: energy minister

TORONTO - Oct 7 (The Associated Press)

Ontario's coal-fired power plants will be mothballed in three years, no matter how clean the fuel is, says provincial Energy Minister Dwight Duncan.

"There is an unequivocal commitment to achieve that goal," Duncan said Wednesday.

Questions about whether the coal plants would indeed be shut down by 2007 as promised surfaced earlier this week after an agenda item for the governing Liberals' party policy conference next month pondered what conditions might require the government to "relent" from its election commitment.

Duncan said the party can discuss what it wants, but he and Premier Dalton McGuinty are set on meeting the deadline.

"We are moving relentlessly toward that goal," he said.

An enormous response to the government's recent request for proposals on new generating projects for 2,500 megawatts _ yielding bids totalling 60,000 megawatts _ is a very good indication the province will be able to replace those coal generators, Duncan said.

Despite his reassurances, Duncan was grilled by both opposition parties during committee hearings.

"Why would you be debating that if you've decided you are going to be closing them?" NDP Leader Howard Hampton said.

"Why would you even debate that if the commitment is clear?"

Conservative energy critic John O'Toole called on Duncan to break the promise or risk rising electricity prices and economic fallout from closing the plants.

Duncan also rejected the prospect of keeping the plants open by using so-called clean coal technology that eliminates the vast majority of nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide from the emissions of burning coal.

He said such technology does not address carbon dioxide emissions that are crucial to the province's commitment under the Kyoto protocol to reduce greenhouse gases.

The five coal plants _ Lakeview, Nanticoke, Thunder Bay, Atikokan and Lambton _ produce about one-quarter of the province's peak power supply.

(Toronto Sun)

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