Canadian Energy Law : Lawyers & Attorneys for Environmental Energy Law

Patrick Duffy

As part of its conservation strategy, the Ontario provincial government has established targets for the installation of 800,000 smart meters by December 31, 2007 and installation of smart meters for all Ontario customers by December 31, 2010. Smart meters record hourly data for every customer and transfer that data to the distributor and a centralized database that will be made available to customers and other interested parties. The aim of the initiative is to provide customers with the incentive and the ability to control their energy costs by moving usage to off-peak periods and reducing energy use during peak periods.

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Andrés Durán

In our October 2005 Energy Law Update we advised you that the Federal government had allocated $97 million over five years, and a total of $886 million over fifteen years, to stimulate the development of renewable energy, such as small hydro, wind, biomass and landfill gas. The Update also noted that provincial governments were developing renewable energy programs, with the Ontario government setting a target of 2,700 megawatts of electrical power to come from new renewable energy sources by the year 2010.

As part of this initiative, the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) and Ontario Energy Board (OEB) have designed a standard offer program (RESOP) for small renewable energy generation programs, and the name of the game (according to the OPA) is to simplify eligibility requirements and contracting and to offer standard pricing in an effort to eliminate barriers that prevent small renewable energy projects from succeeding.

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Aaron Atcheson

The movement known as NIMBY(Not In My Backyard)-ism is taking its toll on Canadian renewable energy projects, particularly on wind farm developments. The latest of the bogeymen used to stop or slow down these projects is the spectre of serious health effects arising from low frequency noise produced by turbines.

NIMBYism is certainly not a new phenomenon, but rather has been a consistent theme within environmental movements since their inception. To a certain extent, renewable energy projects have been supported by the larger environmental movement, keeping NIMBYism at bay. However, unresolved questions about the potential health effects of low frequency noise (LFN) associated with modern wind turbines have become the latest fodder for the NIMBY movement.

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