Alternative Energy Sources Make Coal Plants Extinct

Apr 16, 2014

Biomass the Clean Energy Replacement

The Ontario government says that it has completely eliminated coal as a source of electricity. Ontario is the first jurisdiction in North America to have achieved this goal, now that the last coal has been burned at the Thunder Bay Generating Station.

The good news for producers in Ontario is that coal has been replaced with a number of electricity sources that can be produced on the farm. Sources like wind, solar, and biomass are all seen as opportunities for Farmers. The Thunderbay Generating Station facilities will be converted so that it can continue to generate electricity by burning a specialty black pellet -- advanced biomass. The fuel procurement process for this plant is already underway. This conversion will allow the facility to retain 60 jobs at the plant.

“Getting off coal is the single largest climate change initiative undertaken in North America and is equivalent to taking up to seven million cars off the road,” comments Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli. “Today we celebrate a cleaner future for our children and grandchildren while embracing the environmental benefits that our cleaner energy sources will bring.”

In January, Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operators (IESO) released the 2013 Ontario Electricity Data report showing that wind energy production in Ontario has doubled over the past four years. According to the report, the annual Ontario production of wind energy has grown from 2.3 TWh in 2009 to 5.2 TWh in 2013. That translates into wind generating enough electricity to power 550,000 Ontario homes in 2013. CanWEA predicts that wind energy will continue to increase significantly over the next few years as more energy projects get added into the power grid.