I spend a lot of time thinking about the future – too much, in fact. I’ve learned over time that the future I see today can change drastically by tomorrow. But that hasn’t stopped me from trying to see Ontario’s biogas future numerous times over the last couple of months.
It’s an election year
and it’s looking to be a big one. The Ontario Liberals have been in power for two terms and have over that time done something which I feel proud of and inspired by: committed to making our energy mix cleaner by closing coal plants and investing in renewable energy. The Feed-in Tariff program created as part of the Green Energy and Economy Act of 2009 has been successful in creating a new Green Economy in Ontario – thousands of new jobs and hundreds of new renewable energy companies. Like every new initiative, things are bound to go wrong. It’s how we react that matters, not the original mistake.
The opposition Conservatives have thus far campaigned on ‘high hydro bills’ making it harder on families and companies to get ahead. However, we’ve heard little about what their long term energy plans include. Knowing very well how antiquated our grid is and the paradox of a public utility burning dirty coal while the public health care system tries to remedy the consequences, I know that hydro bills must rise. We don’t really have a choice. My only concern going into this election is that Mr. Hudak will focus on the short-term – and end the FIT program because of the perceived direct link between 81 cent solar and ever increasing hydro bills.
So what if they do?
An idea that at first scared me, is now not sounding like the worst thing in the world – at least for biogas. The wind most definitely will be knocked out of the sails of the wind and solar industries, however, if you’ll pardon the pun.
First off, it sounds like the Conservatives would like to return more decision making power to the municipalities – a change the Liberals made in order to speed up renewable energy development by centralizing permitting decisions. That doesn’t sound so bad, particularly for a technology that is so heavily reliant on locally produced waste streams.
Secondly, one of the province’s large gas distributors, Enbridge Gas, has joined the biogas industry association and signaled its intent to add more ‘green gas’ to the grid. And Bullfrog Power, the leading supplier of green power to retail customers in Ontario, did its first biogas deal.
More high profile customers like these for the gas produced by anaerobic digesters makes the future brighter for an industry that for the most part is just getting started. Biogas has so many non-energy related benefits that make a difference, like actual emission reductions, the production of better than commercial-grade fertilizer, reduced risk of groundwater contamination and an additional revenue source for farmers – it’s good to see other players taking notice. And hey, maybe these customers won’t demand all the carbon credits, leaving the door open for an additional revenue source for farmers in the near future.
Whatever our future holds, it’s clear that voters need to be knowledgeable about energy issues heading into the election, not just ‘hydro bills’.
photo credit: baaker2009
