QUEEN’S PARK — Mike Schreiner released the following statement in response to a new report showing that offshore wind projects in the Great Lakes could provide enough energy to meet all of Ontario’s demand at nearly half the cost of new nuclear reactors.
“As demand for EVs and heat pumps continues to grow, Ontario has the opportunity to become a leader in the new climate economy.
But in order to meet the moment, we need to double our electricity generation capacity by 2050 with clean power.
Now, we have yet another report showing that low-cost renewables are the cheapest, safest and cleanest solution.
In fact, offshore wind could produce electricity at less than 60 per cent of the cost of energy from new nuclear plants.
But instead of jumping at this opportunity, the government is busy investing in dirty fossil gas plants that will increase costs and pollution while refusing to remove the moratorium on off-shore wind.
Bottom line: low-cost renewables are the best-case, affordable scenario for the people of Ontario.
And to take advantage of these crucial opportunities, we need a government that understands the value of a clean-energy future.
This starts by ending the moratorium on off-shore wind and halting the plan to ramp up dirty, expensive gas plants.”