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OTTAWA, Ontario, CA, May 03, 2006 (Refocus
Weekly)
The federal energy department in Canada will
eliminate at least four programs created to provide direct support
for renewable energies.
“The new government under prime minister Stephen Harper is
committed to putting an end to the massive increase in GHG emissions
that Canada has seen over the past decade,” says energy minister
Gary Lunn. “To do that, we need a new approach to addressing climate
change that is effective and realistic for Canada.”
The Conservative administration is developing a ‘made-in-Canada’
plan for reducing emissions and ensuring clean energy for Canadians,
and will terminate 15 programs in the energy department that have
completed their mandate or which require a different approach.
The C$25 million Market Incentive Program was an initiative of the
action plan on climate change to “stimulate emerging markets for
renewable electricity” by establishing emerging green power sources
as “full-fledged competitors in the electricity market by 2010.”
Funding was to expire in March 2006.
Electric utilities, retailers and marketers developed projects to
develop market-based programs and promote the sale of green power to
residential and small commercial customers. The federal government
provided a financial incentive of up to 40% of eligible costs, to a
maximum of $5 million per recipient, and projects were selected on
their ability to reduce GHG emissions and to stimulate green power
markets.
NRCan says MIP and continued momentum in the market would prompt the
purchase of 4,000 GWh of new generation a year by 2010 and reduce
GHG emissions by 2 Mt annually. Agreements were signed with Enmax
Energy of Calgary, Hearthmakers Energy Cooperative of Kingston,
Manitoba Hydro of Winnipeg, Maritime Electric of Charlottetown, NB
Power of Fredericton, Nunavut Power of Iqualit, SelectPower of
Guelph, and TransAlta Energy (VisionQuest Windelectric) of Calgary.
Other cancellations include the ‘On-Site Generation at Federal
Facilities’ program that promoted adoption of renewable energy
technologies for on-site electricity generation in federal
operations; the ‘Federal House in Order Leadership Measures - Built
Environment’ that provided demonstration funding for renewable
energy technologies in government facilities; and the ‘Pilot
Emission Removals, Reductions & Learnings Initiative’ that provided
companies with an incentive to reduce GHG emissions through
renewable energy projects, methane emissions and carbon sinks.
Before the government released its final list of cancelled programs,
rumours had indicated that the $1 billion Wind Power Production
Incentive and the anticipated Renewable Power Production Incentive
would be affected by the cuts.
“We will develop solutions that have clear environmental benefits to
Canada and involve all Canadians - provinces, territories,
stakeholders, private sector and individuals,” says Lunn. The
‘made-in-Canada’ approach will focus on achieving sustained
reductions in emissions in Canada while ensuring a strong economy.
Other climate change programs that were eliminated include a program
for passenger transportation in urban areas, the benefits of
concrete roads for emissions reductions in the transportation
sector, a program to assess regulatory and economic issues related
to interprovincial electricity trade, a program to analyze
environmental information associated with electricity generation, a
project to encourage industry to become more energy-efficient, an
initiative to explore the feasibility of afforestation for carbon
sequestration, a program to explore tree plantations for carbon
sequestration, a series of tools for off-road vehicles and
equipment, studies on GHG reduction opportunities, cost-sharing with
provinces and territories, and the high-profile ‘One-Tonne
Challenge’ to encourage individuals to reduce personal GHG emissions
by 20%.
Federal environment minister Rona Ambrose has said Canada may drop
its support for the Kyoto Protocol and join the Asia-Pacific
Partnership on Clean Development & Climate developed by the United
States, China, India, Australia, Japan and South Korea. That process
focuses on trade and transfer of technologies to reduce emissions
without setting targets or timelines.
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