October 16, 2017
October 15, 2017 was quite a windy Sunday. Being a mild fall day too, that meant Ontario’s demand for electricity was low according to the IESO’s Daily Market Summary. Total Ontario demand was only 313,000 MWh for the whole day.
Unfortunately for ratepayers, it was a beyond the norm windy day — industrial wind turbines spread throughout the province were spinning well beyond their yearly average of 29/30% of capacity.
According to the IESO’s daily generator report, the wind turbines could have supplied almost 84,000 MWh* of power, or about 27% of all the power consumed by Ontario’s ratepayers (approximately 83% of their capacity). As it turned out, IESO curtailed or did not accept 42,500 MWh for which wind developers were paid $120/MWh anyway, and the 41,200 MWh grid-accepted power generation got them the standard $135/MWh.
What the foregoing means is wind developers were paid approximately $10,660,000 for curtailed wind generation and grid-accepted power. That works out to a cost per MWh of $260 or 26 cents a kilowatt hour — almost double the current generation cost, for which 25% is being refinanced under the Fair Hydro Act.
As it turned out, the grid-accepted wind generation really wasn’t needed: as the IESO “Summary” report indicates, Ontario’s net exports averaged 2,110MW per hour or 50,640 MW at a negative price of $0.99. That means Ontario’s ratepayers picked up another $50K to provide our neighbours (principally Michigan and New York) with cheap power.
No doubt Ontario was also spilling hydro and steaming off Bruce Nuclear which ratepayers were also paying for on that windy October Sunday.
More proof that wind power provides costly, intermittent and unneeded power. More proof that the Green Energy and Economy Act should be tossed out!
*All numbers are rounded.

25 Comments
Notinduttondunwich
https://globalnews.ca/news/3805442/ontario-government-commits-to-fund-health-study-after-chemical-valley-investigation/
Notinduttondunwich
http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/canada/toronto/ontario-hydro-bills-auditor-general-report-1.4356744
At least when you stretch out your morgage payment to 30 years…. you own a house at the end….
Stan Thayer
Not all of the IWT’s need to be “tossed out”. Some are well placed and well maintained and produce as designed. Now having said that they should be treated like all other generators and shut down when not needed. An IWT can be started much easier than a nuke as long as the primer, nuke or gas or hydro is up.
Any shutdown is a losing proposition but we should all be treated equally not preference given to the most expensive private profit making units.
Stan Thayer
Jim McColl
Can someone tell us what the lifespan of one of these relics is ,how much it costs to remove one when it’s life is over and just who pays for the removal.
Barbara
Texas Law Review, 2016, [ Vol. 95-123 ], 29 pages
Re: Decommissioning
‘Wind Energy’s Dirty Word: Decommissioning’
Includes UK and US
Canadian wind projects are not at end of life. So information from elsewhere might be helpful?
http://www.texaslrev.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Stripling95.pdf
Barbara
‘Importance Of Decommissioning Security’, 2010, 6 pages
Re: Decommissioning
Legal issues that might be considered?
http://m.lw.com/thoughtLeadership/importance-of-decommissioning-security
Slow download!
Or: Use internet search for this article.
Barbara
Macalester College, St.Paul, Minn.
Re: Decommissioning
Original Questions: 20 Questions on Decommissioning, 3 pages.
https://www.macalester.edu/understandingwind/responsesreport/M_decommissioning.pdf
Barbara
Tribal Energy and Environmental Information Clearinghouse (TEEIC)
Re: Decommissioning wind turbines
‘Wind Energy Decommissioning/Site Reclamation Impacts’
Covers a number of issues including water resources (surface and groundwater).
https://teeic.indianaffairs.gov/er/wind/impact/decom/index.htm
Barbara
TEEIC
Re: Wind construction
Includes issues such as: Water resources (surface and groundwater).
https://teeic.indianaffairs.gov/er/wind/impact/construct/index.htm
Notinduttondunwich
https://globalnews.ca/news/3807670/auditor-general-report-ontario-hydro-bill-cuts/
Notinduttondunwich
https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.thestar.com/amp/news/queenspark/2017/10/16/ontarios-financial-watchdog-sounds-alarm-over-hydro-rate-cut.html
Notinduttondunwich
https://globalnews.ca/news/3814264/first-nation-ecojustice-demand-probe-flaring-sarnia-imperial-oil-plant/
Im sure the MOE will be all over this!!!
Barbara
Last time I checked, Imperial Oil is about 70% owned by ExxonMobil?
Notinduttondunwich
Hey Jim…. its a 40 year contract for wind…
Barbara
McCann letter to Palo Alto County, Iowa, October, 2017
http://www.wind-watch.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/McCann-letter-to-Palo-Alto-County-Iowa-October-20-2017.pdf
Notinduttondunwich
http://www.waterwellsfirst.org/fourteenth-complaint-filed-against-samsung-wind-turbine-project-for-polluting-water-wells-in-chatham-kent/
Also crap like this makes my blood boil!!! These people have had fresh potable well water for generations and all of a sudden the wells go bad and it has nothing to do with the piledriving into KPBS.. its so blatently obvious what the source of the wells going bad is and the MOECC turns a blind eye!!! Even better yet… as soon as these folks complain and try to protect their water source they have million dollar lawsuits brought against them!!! Such a pile of crap ….. im so surprised there isnt any violence yet!! Im sure it will come soon enough…. dont blame them at all for civil disobedience….
Barbara
Detroit Freepress, May 16, 2017
‘DTE plans for no coal plants, 80% cut in carbon by 2050’
“15 B proposal would dramatically increase use of natural gas, wind power”
http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2017/05/16/dte-plans-coal-plants-carbon/324991001
Barbara
Crain’s Detroit Business, May 16, 2017
”DTE Energy plans to be coal-free by 2040′
DTE will invest $15 billion over the next three decades in renewable energy and natural gas-burning power generation.
http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article/20170516/NEWS/170519864/dte-plans-to-be-coal-free-by-2040
Notinduttondunwich
https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/07/01/climate/china-energy-companies-coal-plants-climate-change.html
Yup…
Barbara
Don’t ratepayers across North America have the right to know how much it’s going to cost them to transition to the green economy and what climate mitigation will cost?
DTE does not supply electricity to all of Michigan. 15 B is only part of the cost?
Barbara
Ontario Newsroom
Archived News Release: November 20, 2008
‘Ontario signs climate change declaration’
‘McGuinty government takes part in Governors’ Global Climate Summit’
“On behalf of Ontarians, Environment Minister John Gerretsen signed a Global Declaration in California at the close of a two-day Summit.”
https://news.ontario.ca/ene/en/2008/11/ontario-signs-climate-change-declaration.html
Notinduttondunwich
Special thanks to D.D.O.W.T for their remarkable resilience last night…. great crowd out for our final REA “community engagement” meeting…. or whatever you wanna call that crap…. thanks to all who came out to show your support opposing the industrailized turbine power plant illegally being forced on DD… it aint over till its over kids!!! Keep fighting… thank you again..
Notinduttondunwich
http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/politics/torture-syria-31-million-1.4372689
Hope our government is as generous when handing out compensation to folks that are being tortured by industrial wind power plants placed too close to peoples homes….