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Ontario Pursuing Clean Energy Credit Registry

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Ontario’s Ministry of Energy (the Ministry) this week announced its intention to develop a new voluntary clean energy credit registry (CEC) registry. The Ministry has directed Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) to research and report on the design of a provincial CEC registry by July 4, 2022. The Ministry also indicated that it intends to consider the IESO report and stakeholder feedback before implementing the CEC registry by January 2023.   The Ministry stated that the CEC Registry will assist businesses operating in Ontario to meet corporate environmental and sustainability goals. The voluntary CECs would represent 1 MWh of clean electricity generated from one or multiple non-emitting sources such as solar, wind, bioenergy, hydroelectric and nuclear. Purchasers will be allowed to purchase and retire the voluntary CECs to meet corporate and individual goals and demonstrate that their electricity is generated from non-emitting sources.  Revenue from the sale of CECs could (i) be returned to Ontario ratepayers to lower the cost of electricity and/or (ii) support future clean energy generation projects. The proposed CEC registry is intended to assist businesses to reduce emissions and meet the climate targets of the Made-in-Ontario Environment Plan, Ontario’s climate and environment plan.   The CEC registry would match similar voluntary registries in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, and New England For further information or to discuss the contents of this bulletin, please contact Lisa DeMarco at lisa@resilientllp.com.

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Ontario Introduces Changes to OEB Act and Electricity Act

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The provincial government last week introduced Bill 13, Supporting People and Businesses Act, 2021, which includes legislative amendments to the Ontario Energy Board Act (OEB Act) and the Electricity Act.    Changes to the OEB Act include: removing the upper limit on the number of commissioners and providing that the Labour Relations Act does not apply to commissioners; and providing for a single process for ministerial review of certain by-laws made by the board of directors of the OEB. Changes to the Electricity Act include: creating a two-year limitation period that applies to certain payments, adjustments, and amounts settled by the IESO; and replacing current administrative penalties in Part VIII of the Act (which provides for the Electrical Safety Authority (ESA)) and empowering the ESA to order a person to pay an administrative penalty if the person has contravened a prescribed provision of Part VIII or the regulations made under it; certain restrictions, limitations or conditions of a prescribed authorization; or a prescribed order of the ESA. For further information or to discuss the contents of this bulletin, please contact Lisa DeMarco at lisa@resilientllp.com.

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IESO Releases 2021 Annual Acquisition Report

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Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) earlier this week released its 2021 Annual Acquisition Report (the Report) providing details on  the province’s future reliability needs and how to address them. The Report sets out an approach to address these needs over three planning horizons: operations planning, near-term planning, and long-term planning. The Report is anticipated to lead to demand reductions and increased procurement of lower-carbon power. This bulletin outlines key highlights of the Report:   Understanding Ontario’s Reliability Needs Demand side uncertainties. Energy consumption is predicted to increase 1 percent each year until 2040. This prediction may be affected by the pace of economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, demographic changes, changes in government policy, future energy management initiatives, and increasing electrification. Energy management. The Report indicates that the Industrial Conservation Initiative program is forecasted to reduce demand by 1300 MW with an additional 2.8 TWh and 450 MW of energy and demand savings from the 2021-2024 Conservation and Demand Management (CDM) Framework. Planned Actions to Ensure Resource Adequacy Flow East Towards Toronto (FETT). With the upcoming planned nuclear retirements and recommissioning, the supply capacity east of the FETT is expected to decline considerably and additional supply will be required as early as 2023. As a result, IESO is recommending upgrading the transmission line between North Oakville and Pearson Airport by 2026, reducing capacity needs by 2000 MW. To meet the increased demand, IESO is negotiating a transitional contract for the Lennox Generating Station which ends in April 2029. The Lennox Generating Station provides large-scale and flexible supply from a dual gas and oil generation facility. West of London. Electricity demand in Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent is expected to grow from 500 to 2300 MW by 2035. As a result, IESO is recommending development of new transmission infrastructure from Lambton to Chatham and Chatham to Lakeshore, which will require addressing…

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MECP Proposes Amendments to the Emissions Performance Standards

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The Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP) has announced proposed amendments to the Emissions Performance Standards program (EPS) under the Environmental Protection Act (read our earlier bulletin on the EPS here). The proposed amendments announced yesterday do not include changes to the EPS to allow for the use of carbon offsets for the purposes of compliance. This bulletin briefly summarizes the proposed amendments, which are in three key areas: Supporting a partial year coverage of emissions. MECP is proposing the following amendments in support of partial year coverage, including calculations that facilities are to use for determining the following prorated amounts: -Verification amount (emissions); -Production parameters; -Emissions limits. In addition, these amounts will be used to determine the: -facility’s compliance obligation (equal to the amount that emissions are higher than the facility’s emissions limit), or -number of emissions performance units (EPUs) to be distributed to the facility’s account (equal to the amount that emissions are lower than the facility’s emissions limit). Treatment of new facilities. MECP is proposing to align the EPS with federal policy for the registration of new facilities. To be eligible, new facilities must: -be engaged in an industrial activity identified in Schedule 2 of the EPS regulation (which sets out various activities that are covered by the regulation); and -provide estimates that demonstrate the facility is projected to emit at least 10,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) or more per year in any of the three calendar years from the date of first production. Other administrative, technical and clarifying amendments. MECP is proposing the following amendments to support compliance, enforcement and administration of the EPS and support the transition from the federal Output-Based Pricing System (read our earlier bulletin on the transition announcement here), including: -clarifying rules for transferring compliance instruments; -aligning the performance standard…

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Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry Releases Draft Forest Biomass Action Plan

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Today the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (“MNRF”) released a draft Forest Biomass Action Plan (the “Draft Plan”), a commitment made in Ontario’s forest sector strategy, released on August 20, 2020. The Draft Plan is now open for comment until June 21, 2021. This bulletin briefly summarizes the Draft Plan. The Draft Plan seeks to examine innovative uses of forest biomass, such as mill by-products and underutilized forest biofibre, for applications in heat and power generation and sustainable, low-carbon consumer products. The Draft Plan strives to secure jobs, support economic development, and encourage sustainability in the forest sector. The Draft Plan seeks to achieve the following five objectives: Identify pathways to markets for forest biomass by: further refining Ontario’s inventory of forest biomass; publishing reports summarizing the types of forest bioproducts and technologies and describing current and future demand for Ontario bioproducts; completing a jurisdictional scan; developing a life cycle inventory for traditional and non-traditional wood products, study biomass carbon dynamics, and refine life-cycle impact assessment models; supporting development of regional clusters; and conducting collaborative research studies on soil quality, stand development, productivity, and biodiversity. Support demand for forest bioenergy and bioproducts by: ensuring that existing facilities receive ongoing access to the provincial market at fair compensation; publishing a report quantifying the financial contribution of forest biomass; providing resources for the development of community-led projects; advancing the use of forest biomass through the Ontario Bioheat Initiative; creating a provincial bioheat strategy; engaging with potential industry users to integrate forest biomass into supply chains; and pursuing government procurements that use biomass to reduce the carbon footprint of buildings, energy, and other products. Improve the business and regulatory environments for the use of forest biomass by: reviewing and updating Ontario’s Forest Biofibre Directive; streamlining permitting and reduce regulatory burdens; making…

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