Ontario electricity produced with rising percentage of greenhouse-gas-emitting power

Allison Jones · The Canadian Press

· Posted: May 14, 2025 6:56 AM EDT | Last Updated: 14 minutes ago

Ontario's energy is present being produced with the highest percent of greenhouse-gas-emitting powerfulness since ember plants were operating successful the province.

The Independent Electricity System Operator precocious posted its 2024 twelvemonth successful review, which contains a breakdown of however overmuch energy was produced from assorted sources.

It shows that past twelvemonth 16 per cent of the energy successful Ontario's grid was produced by earthy gas, making it 84 per cent emissions escaped — down from 87 per cent the twelvemonth earlier and down from a precocious of 96 per cent successful 2017.

The past clip Ontario's energy was produced with astatine slightest 16 per cent of emitting powerfulness was successful 2012, erstwhile the state inactive had coal-fired generation.

Nuclear led the mode successful 2024, with 51 per cent of Ontario's energy generated by those plants, and astir 24 per cent came from hydro power.

The percent of earthy state procreation successful Ontario's energy strategy has been expanding implicit the past respective years. The IESO says state provides much flexibility than galore different sources, and much is being utilized portion immoderate atomic units acquisition refurbishments truthful the strategy remains stable.

"Outages to atomic procreation from this enactment combined with reduced proviso from imports besides resulted successful state generation's higher publication to wide output successful 2024," the IESO said successful its report.

Need to edifice to state was preventable: clime expert

Alienor Rougeot, clime and vigor elder programme manager astatine Environmental Defence, said the request to edifice to state to capable successful the gaps was preventable if Ontario had acted sooner to boost renewable vigor and artillery storage.

"I deliberation this is 1 of those cardinal moments that is highly upsetting and yet ace predictable, which is that the vigor readying and the mediocre decisions that get made five, 8 years anterior to that present are starting to amusement up successful those proviso mixes," she said.

Premier Doug Ford cancelled 750 renewable vigor contracts soon aft his Progressive Conservatives formed authorities successful 2018, aft the erstwhile Liberal authorities had faced wide choler implicit semipermanent contracts with cleanable powerfulness producers astatine above-market rates.

WATCH | EVs and AI expected to nonstop Ontario's energy request soaring:

The IESO had been acceptable successful 2023 to question retired non-emitting energy procreation to bring much capableness into the strategy but aft Energy Minister Stephen Lecce came into the portfolio successful 2024, helium announced the procurement would beryllium "technology agnostic." Critics said that not lone opens the doorway to earthy state but whitethorn favour bringing much of it online.

Lecce said the emergence successful non-emitting energy procreation is "entirely predictable" owed to the ongoing atomic refurbishments.

"Having said that, we're really going to person a greener, cleaner grid, getting down to beneath 99 per cent non-emitting by 2050," helium said.

"So this is portion of the travel arsenic we instrumentality our non-emitting atomic units disconnected the grid, due to the fact that they request to get refurbished for different 40, 50 years."

Lecce says energy grid inactive a bully selling feature

The authorities often touts Ontario's cleanable energy grid arsenic a apical selling constituent erstwhile attracting businesses and concern to the province, and Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said he's not definite that astatine 84 per cent cleanable it is arsenic charismatic arsenic it erstwhile was.

"I'm profoundly acrophobic that our grid has gotten 12 per cent dirtier implicit the past fewer years, particularly erstwhile the authorities itself says that 1 of the competitory advantages Ontario has successful attracting planetary superior concern is our cleanable grid," helium said.

"The Ford authorities is losing that vantage astatine a clip we request to beryllium attracting superior much present than ever."

Lecce said the energy grid is inactive a bully selling diagnostic and volition lone get better.

"When we're getting to adjacent 99 per cent, it's an unthinkable accomplishment that nary industrialized system tin constituent to," helium said.

"We're precise arrogant of the information that we person 1 of the cleanest grids today. We'll person an adjacent cleaner grid time arsenic we get our atomic fleets back."

In summation to ongoing and planned refurbishments of units astatine the province's large-scale atomic plants, operation connected the archetypal of 4 tiny modular reactors is acceptable to statesman this year.

The $21-billion task for the 4 reactors is expected to nutrient capable powerfulness for 1.2 cardinal homes.

Stephen Thomas, cleanable vigor manager astatine the David Suzuki Foundation, said that tiny modular reactors are 1 of the astir costly procreation options. But earthy state tin besides beryllium expensive, and the state should beryllium looking much astatine renewables, helium said.

"We deliberation upwind and star are acceptable for premier time," helium said.

"As we look to the future, we lone spot the outgo of wind, star and retention coming down implicit time, and we spot the other for earthy gas. The outgo of earthy state is hugely volatile, and it's hard to beryllium connected what the spot terms of earthy state mightiness beryllium successful 10 years oregon 20 years."