NIMBYism kills power plant proposal

Oakville gas plant cancellation highlights Ontario's decision to scrap a 900-megawatt gas-fired power station near homes and schools, citing health risks, opting instead for transmission lines, cleaner power, and Greater Toronto Area grid reliability.

The McGuinty government has pulled the plug on its controversial plans to build a power plant in the affluent enclave of Oakville, west of Toronto, a move opposition members say allows politics to trump finding a cleaner way to keep the lights on.

The surprise announcement marks a victory for local residents, who complained that the 900-megawatt,gas-fired power station would be too close to neighbouring homes and schools and pose health and safety risks. But it also leaves in tatters Premier Dalton McGuinty's pledge that he won't tolerate the "not-in-my-backyard" attitude of opponents to green-energy projects, his flagship job-creation initiative.

Energy Minister Brad Duguid announced at a hastily called news conference in Oakville that the plant won't be built anywhere in the Greater Toronto Area. Rather, he said, the province can meet the electricity needs of homes, hospitals, schools and businesses by building more transmission lines and with 8,000 megawatts of new, cleaner power added in recent years.

Nearby Mississauga saw its own utility fight over power infrastructure, highlighting regional tensions.

"The investments that we have made in the energy system have given us the reassurance that we no longer require this gas plant," Mr. Duguid said. "There are better ways to move forward and indeed a transmission solution is the way to go."

Opposition members said government officials had a change of heart when they realized the plant could cost them a seat in next year's provincial election. Kevin Flynn, Liberal MPP for the riding of Oakville, had introduced a private member's bill to stop the plant.

"Politically, it was one bad poll and they cancelled it," said Progressive Conservative MPP Ted Chudleigh.

New Democrat energy critic Peter Tabuns said government officials have insisted for more than a year that the Oakville plant was absolutely necessary to meet growing demand for electricity.

"Now all of a sudden, coincidentally enough with an election looming, they say that there is more than enough electricity supply," he said.

Mr. Duguid sought to set the record straight as he denied suggestions that NIMBYism played a role in defeating the plant. About 2,500 members of a group calling itself Citizens for Clean Air protested on the front lawn of the provincial legislature earlier this year. Just last week, the group paid Erin Brockovich, an anti-pollution activist played by film star Julia Roberts on the silver screen, to attend several events to call attention to its fight with the province.

"We're pleased that the government was listening to us," Frank Clegg, the group's chairman, said in an interview. "It's not just an Oakville issue. It could happen in anyone's neighbourhood," he said, where residents often mobilize against gas plants.

The group's success in blocking the plant does not at all show that well-heeled NIMBYs in Oakville can have more sway with government than those in less affluent neighbourhoods, he said.

"This effort was not a bunch of people writing big cheques," he said. "We have hundreds and hundreds of volunteers. When you have 2,500 people at a rally, it's not because people have money."

Mr. Clegg said he does not know how much Ms. Brockovich was paid.

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