The true cost of going green in Ontario

Ontario's long-term energy plan calls for $4 billion in spending on energy generated from biomass – i.e. composted organics, or methane from garbage dumps.

What will the province get for the $4 billion investment? It will boost the share of power generated by biomass 0.3 per cent, from 1 per cent of the province's supply today, to 1.3 per cent by 2030.

Solar spending will total $9 billion, and boost solar power's share to 1.5 per cent, from near-zero.

Wind investment will be $14 billion, boosting wind energy's share to 10 per cent of the province's share from 2 per cent.

All in all, those three green power technologies will soak up more than 30 per cent of the Liberals' planned investment of $87 billion, while generating 13 per cent of over-all power by 2030.

Much of the money will come from the private sector, but the return they earn will be built into the electricity prices paid by Ontario residents and businesses.

Is it worth it?

Energy minister Brad Duguid pitches the investment in moral terms, arguing it will clean the air and make children healthier.

"There's a cost to that," he said. "Together we're building cleaner air, together we're building an economy with thousand of clean energy jobs, and together we're building a healthier future for our kids and grandkids. That's something worth fighting for."

Keith Stewart of Greenpeace says the costs of renewable power are visible, while full social costs of burning fossil and nuclear fuels are not.

"If factored into today's bills, the cost of smog and climate change, and the cost of dealing with radioactive waste, your bill today would be a lot higher than it is, because we're not paying those costs," he said in an interview.

Stewart also predicted there will be "huge drops" in the cost of developing solar power as the industry matures, and Ontario can be at the forefront of technological developments in solar if it nurtures the sector at home.

Ian Howcroft, vice president of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters CME, said developing a made-in-Ontario renewable energy sector will benefit the province.

But his group is uneasy about the plan's cost estimates of speedy renewable development.

"We have to do it in a businesslike fashion," he said. "We have to look at the return on investment, and we have to look at what the ultimate costs are.

"We're supportive of the direction, but we do have concerns about how much we how much we should pay to develop wind, to develop solar, given what the ultimate cost is going to be."

The CME will participate when the plan is subjected to scrutiny by the Ontario Energy Board, he said.

Jack Gibbons, chair of the Ontario Clean Air Alliance, says that biomass and wind power are still likely to be less expensive than rebuilding nuclear facilities, although conservation and efficiency are the best ways to solve energy issues.

But he said in an interview that Quebec produces huge amounts of renewable power from its hydroelectric plants:

"In terms of new renewable, water power imports from Quebec are lower cost than any of the made in Ontario options."

That would have to be negotiated with Quebec, but Gibbons says Ontario should take the initiative.

"It's low-cost, it's very reliable, it's a base load supply of power, it's not intermittent," he said.