powerAs the IESO announced 11 “winners” in its Large Renewable Procurement Process (LRP 1), it shut out the opportunity from existing renewable power generation plants, like Cochrane Power’s now-closed 12 MW biomass power facility.

“The procurement process specifically declared that existing plants could not bid on LRP 1, even if that plant did not have a current operating agreement,” said Mike Doody, Chair, North Eastern Ontario Municipal Association (NEOMA). “And, now we see that IESO was unable to procure any of its allocated 50MW of bio energy, all the while, telling our member municipality, Cochrane, and all of the members of the NEOMA that if we had any enquiries about the process, we should send them to engagement@ieso.ca. This is not what we would call quality community engagement. In fact, there is no record of any IESO employee or board member ever engaging with any municipal stakeholder in our area concerning the LRP 1 process.”

“We at NEOMA represent 15 municipalities in North Eastern Ontario,” continued Doody. “What we are witnessing, some 1000 km up Highway 11, is that many Toronto-based bureaucrats seem to able to only look as far as their desks.”

At the same time that IESO was managing this RFP and prior the submission deadline, community representatives from Cochrane were meeting with the leadership of IESO’s Clean Energy Procurement department. The purpose of that discussion was the critical need for Cochrane Power’s biomass operations in the region. And, while these discussions were under the purview of the IESO’s development of a strategy for Non-Utility-Generators (NUGs), it is disappointing that IESO could not connect-the-dots between LRP 1 and Cochrane Power. If it had, the leadership of Ontario’s energy system could have demonstrated their abilities as problem-solvers rather than their preferred, obviously more comfortable role, as process-managers.

Had it done so, Ontario would have gained several benefits:

  1. At least 12 MW off carbon-offsetting biomass would be generating power, immediately
  2. North Eastern Ontario’s lumber sector would have received millions of dollars a year in revenue by supplying Cochrane Power with lumber waste
  3. A municipal landfill with the 30-year projected lifespan now looks to be completely full in less than two years
  4. What has once revenue for the lumber sector has now become a cost, further sliming the already tiny profit margins of one of Ontario’s most important sources of income
  5. Dozens of workers are leaving a town of 5,000 people, a town now reeling from not only the loss of income ($500,000 dollars in year in water fees, alone), but also the emissions-free heat that Cochrane Power provided the community pool, fitness centre, and ice rink. Instead, the Tim Horton Event Centre has had to rely on diesel generation for additional heating.

As the unidentified spokeswoman for the IESO stated in the Globe and Mail article, “there were fewer proposals for bioenergy”. Of course there were. The RFP process was rigged to attract only new, capital intensive facilities. For whatever reason, the IESO chose to specifically ignore existing facilities that had already covered all their capital costs, had all local and environment permits, a willing host, and a proven operator.
“While energy planners are so blinded by their own processes, they see nothing but their desire for shiny new power projects,” said Doody. “These, they declare are ‘the winners.’ The losers, however, are the people of Ontario – taxpayers and ratepayers – both. Here, in North Eastern Ontario, we have a 12 MW biomass power plant, ready to go; a forest and agriculture industry ready to fuel it; a Government of Ontario that says it is dedicated to addressing climate change; and an electricity system operator who wants to pay the lowest cost possible for power.”

“Here in North Eastern Ontario, we have the solution. Yet, we are being ignored.”