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The city’s environmental advisory group, made up of concerned citizens, urged councillors on the committee to lobby the province to focus more on renewable energy sources and conservation.
Councillors Diane Holmes, Peter Hume, Peggy Feltmate, Georges Bedard, Michel Bellemare, Alex Cullen and Bob Monette agreed with the advisory group’s proposal. Councillor Jan Harder, who sits on the board of Hydro Ottawa, and Councillor Gord Hunter dissented.
The province’s plan is to shut coal-fired generating plants and replace the lost electricity largely by increasing nuclear power generation.
At the committee’s meeting this week, advisory group member Edelweiss D’Andrea told councillors the province didn’t do enough research into conservation and alternative energy sources before coming up with its plan. She said the planned $45-billion investment in nuclear power would be better spent on developing other sources and promoting conservation.
Ms. D’Andrea said that if the province took a close look at the business cases for wind, solar, thermal and other clean energy production technologies, she thinks it would find expanding nuclear power isn’t the cheapest way to go, or maybe isn’t even necessary.
Ms. Holmes said that in Ontario, conservation efforts and alternative energy sources haven’t been explored properly, and it’s time for the city to push the provincial government to look at safer, cleaner options.
“We should be looking at other fronts,” she said. “Nuclear is what you do if you cannot bring things into line using conservation and renewable sources—not first.”
Ms. Harder said Hydro Ottawa is already promoting conservation to customers.
The committee’s position will go to a council vote in mid-December. If council adopts the approach, officials will contact Premier Dalton McGuinty urging province to rethink its energy production plans.