POWER May 2013 - 26

ENERGY POLICY
Ontario Goes Coal-Free in a Decade
By the end of 2013, one year ahead of its goal, the province of Ontario will be
virtually coal-free-a first for a North American jurisdiction. How did the most
populous part of Canada go from 25% to 0% coal-fired generation in just a decade,
and what does this phaseout mean for the rest of the world?
By Gail Reitenbach, PhD
Courtesy: Ontario Power Generation
A
decade ago, the Canadian province
of Ontario supplied one-quarter of
its electricity from coal-fired power.
In early January this year, the province announced
that it would meet its goal of phasing
out coal-fired generation a year early. By
the end of 2013, coal-fired generation will be
less than 1%, and 17 of the 19 units that existed
in 2003 will be shut down; the remainder
(backup units) will be eliminated by the end
of 2014 (Table 1). The province's Ministry of
Energy calls the phaseout the " single largest
greenhouse gas reduction measure being undertaken
in North America. "
Rather than compromising the province's
power supply, decisions over the past decade
regarding everything from supply to conservation
to grid enhancements have resulted in an
installed capacity that exceeds the province's
peak demand. According to numbers provided
to POWER by the Ontario Power Authority
(OPA), peak demand (July 13) in 2005 was
26,160 MW, while capacity stood at 30,662
MW. In 2012, peak demand dropped, to 24,636
(July 17), while capacity increased to 35,736
MW, giving the province an enviable surplus.
That " healthy and stable supply is in contrast to
2003, when Ontario paid $900 million importing
power to meet the electricity demand of residents
and businesses, " said OPA spokesperson
26
Table 1. Going, going, gone. This table shows the amount of coal-fired generation in
the decade following the first efforts to phase out coal-fired power in Ontario. Schedules for
2013 and 2014 are projected. Atikokan and Thunder Bay Generating Stations are currently operated
only as back-up reliability sources. Atikokan is being converted to biomass; the province's
Long-Term Energy Plan calls for converting Thunder Bay to burn natural gas. Note that when
all eight units of Nanticoke were operational, it was the largest coal-fired power plant in North
America, with a capacity rating of 3,964 MW, as well as the nation's largest single source of
greenhouse gas emissions. Sources: Ontario Ministry of Energy, OPA
Year
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Coal (TWh)
36.6
26.8
30.0
25.0
28.4
23.2
9.8
12.6
4.1
NA
NA
Note: NA = not available.
www.powermag.com
POWER | May 2013
Coal (% of total generation) Coal unit retirements/conversion
25%
17%
19%
16%
18%
15%
7%
8%
<3%
NA
NA
Lakeview, 4 units
Nanticoke, 2 units
Lambton, 2 units
Nanticoke, 2 units
Lambton, 2 units
Nanticoke, 4 units
Atikokan, 1 unit
Thunder Bay, 2 units

http://www.powermag.com

POWER May 2013

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of POWER May 2013

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