Climate Change & Renewable Energy in Ontario

Electricity generation produces about 30% of all the new greenhouse gases (GHG) emitted by people around the world. In Canada, almost all of the increases in GHG emissions since 1990 are as a result of electricity production.

What Can We Do to Reduce GHG Emissions?

Conserve  - use less energy.  Lower energy consumption reduces GHG emissions, which reduces the rate of global warming.  Here are a few tips to help you reduce your energy consumption:

• Purchase energy efficient appliances whenever possible.
• Turn off the lights when you leave a room.
• Turn down the thermostat a little during winter.

Generating electricity from renewable resources such as wind and biofuels is an important source of “clean” electricity that helps reduce GHG emissions.

Renewable Energy Production in Ontario

The Ontario Government understands that making clean energy is part of the answer to the challenge of climate change. The Government’s new Integrated Power Supply Plan is designed to double the amount of renewable energy produced from 7,702 megawatts (MW) in 2003 to 15,700 MW by 2025.

Most of the renewable energy will be produced by wind, water and forest biomass on Ontario’s Crown land  (87% of the area of our province).

The Ministry of Natural Resources guides the sustainable development of renewable energy on Crown land, and sponsors research to:

• understand the impacts of climate change on our natural resources
• determine what we can do to reduce the impacts and
• develop strategies to help us adapt to our changing world

Developing more renewable energy is one of the ways we can reduce the impacts of climate change.  If we adapt by adopting new renewable energy sources, we can make a difference.

Additional information about renewable energy and climate change, is available in the following reports and publications.

Contact Applied Research and Development Branch for information on how to obtain these reports:

• Fernandez, C.E., and R.A. Metcalfe. 2004. Methodologies for Setting Flow and Level Regimes at Waterpower Facilities During Low Flow Conditions. Waterpower Project Science Transfer Report 3.0. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Peterborough, ON. 18 p.

• Hatch Acres. 2005. Evaluation and Assessment of Ontario’s Waterpower Potential. Final Report. Report prepared for the Ontario Waterpower Association and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. 25 p.

• Helimax Energy Inc. 2006. Mesoscale Mapping Technical report: Seasonal Wind Speed Maps of Ontario. Prepared for the Ministry of natural Resources, Peterborough, ON.

• Metcalfe, R.A., V.Y. Smakhtin, and C. Krzek. 2003. Simulating and Characterising Natural Flow Regimes. Waterpower Project Science Transfer Report 1.0. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Peterborough, ON. 14 p.

• Metcalfe, R.A., C. Chang, and V. Smakhtin. 2005. Tools to Support the Implementation of Environmentally Sustainable Flow Regimes at Ontario’s Waterpower Facilities. Canadian Water Resources Journal, 30(2): 1-14.

• MNR. 2006. Renewable Energy Opportunities on Crown Land. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Peterborough, ON. 2 p.

• MNR. 2005. Wind Resource Atlas.

• Mohammed, G.H. 1999. Recommendations for Sustainable Development of Non-Timber Forest Products. Pp. 116-119 in Davidson-Hunt, I., L.C. Duschesne, and J.C. Zasada., (Eds.). Forest Communities in the Third Millennium: Linking Research, Business, and policy Toward a Sustainable Non-Timber Forest Product Sector. NTFP Conference Proceedings, of Meeting, October 1-4, 1999, Kenora, ON.

• Pyrce, R.S. 2003. Field Measurement of Bankfull Stage and Discharge. Waterpower Project Science Transfer Report 2.0, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Peterborough, ON. 17 p.