KINGSTON — City council''s support of new electricity projects doesn''t include those that use fossil fuels.
City council unanimously voted in favour of an amended motion that will see "blanket municipal support" automatically provided to projects that contribute to Ontario''s electricity supply.
"I think it is highly unlikely that we will see any gas plants coming to Kingston but just to be crystal clear we put it in writing," said Lakeside Dist. Coun. Wendy Stephen, who put forward the amendment.
"Supporting electricity generated through the burning of fossil fuels would really run counter to the direction we''ve chosen for our city."
Only projects that involve solar, electricity storage and biofuels will be supported.
The move to keep fossil fuels out of the support resolution was supported by 11 of the twelve councillors present, with Countryside Dist. Coun. Gary Oosterhof being the only dissenting voice.
Oosterhof said ruling out the use of fossil fuels could increase energy costs in the future.
"We have to be very careful with this," Oosterhof said. "We are speaking on behalf of 130,000 people in the city who, when they wake up in the morning, want their power to be there."
"There is a role for gas to play," he said, noting that "politicians can mess up the energy file."
The Independent Energy System Operator (IESO) is seeking to foster the creation of an additional 2,518 megawatts of year-round electricity by 2028.
According to the IESO, there are 55 applicants in Ontario qualified to submit proposals under the request for proposals, which could include a significant amount of solar installations, electricity storage resources, hybrid generation and storage options, natural gas and biofuels.
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Kingston City Council stayed true to its Climate Leadership plan this week, while remaining open to new energy projects.
At its regular meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023, Kingston City Council voted to approve a 12-month blanket municipal support resolution for long-term projects, recommended by the Independent Energy System Operator (IESO) — with one amendment.
In a report prepared by Paige Agnew, Commissioner of Community Services for the City of Kingston, City staff recommended that Council provide "a 12-month blanket municipal support resolution for long-term reliability projects in the form prescribed by the Independent Electricity System Operator, the sole purpose [of which] is to facilitate applications made for long-term reliability projects."
The report notes that "after more than a decade of strong supply, Ontario is entering a period of emerging electricity system needs, driven by increasing demand, the retirement of the Pickering nuclear plant, the refurbishment of other nuclear-generating units, as well as expiring contracts for existing facilities." Accordingly, recognizing the necessity to address these needs in a timely, cost-effective, and flexible manner, the IESO "has engaged with stakeholders in the development of a resource adequacy framework."
As Ontario''s electricity system evolves to become more diverse and dynamic, procurement processes must evolve along with it, the report suggests. The IESO recommended that one mechanism the City could use to support its resource adequacy initiatives would be a Long-Term Request for Proposals (LT1 RFP), which is intended to "acquire capacity services to meet system reliability needs from New Build and Eligible Expansion, Electricity resources starting in 2028 or earlier," the report states.
In an attempt to competitively procure up to 2m518 megawatts (MW) of year-round capacity, the IESO would accept LT1 RFP applications from September 29 through December 12, 2023. Applications for LT1 contracts will be awarded by the IESO based on a number of criteria, but a demonstration of municipal council support, would in principle provide an advantage to local applicants to the LT1 process according to the report.
Council heard from two delegations who spoke to the report.
First, Grant Johns spoke to the report on behalf of his company Shift Solar, a Canadian renewable energy development firm. Johns said, "We have a project that we’re proposing for the ISO procurement near the city of Kingston within your jurisdiction. It’s my understanding that the CAO has recommended a blanket municipal support resolution for projects in your area."
Johns didn''t talk at length about the project that his company is proposing for the area except to say that the company works with local landowners "as sort of a middleman between them and long term owner/operators projects. We help develop the projects, permit them, bring them to a shovel ready stage, and then we work with partners that will own and operate these projects long term" and that the specific project is a 100 MW battery on about 15 acres of non-farmland and we think this is a great win for the city. We believe that there’s a lot of host community benefits that we can provide, as well as making sure that there’s secure energy in your area for the future."
He voiced the company''s support for the blanket municipal support resolution because it allows "proponents such as myself to gain additional points in the procurement," and he pointed out that the municipal support is non-binding. "There are no obligations, and it does not preclude us from doing any of the usual permitting or work with the provincial and municipal governments in order to make sure that these projects are safe and operational for the long term."
The second delegation was led by Aric McBay, Lead, Integrity of Creation and Climate Change for the Providence Centre for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation. McBay, who was representing a group of over 25 signatories — individuals and groups including students and seniors, farmers and urbanites, professors and concerned citizens — asked that Council amend the proposed resolution to explicitly exclude fossil fuel generation from blanket support, or reject the proposed resolution altogether.
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