I would like to offer my support to city staff for their December 3rd report to council on the Guelph Area Transmission Refurbishment Project and the Community Energy Initiative.
The plans that Hydro One and the Ontario Power Authority have, to build another large transmission line to our city, and possibly a regional gas powered “peaker” plant, are at odds with Guelph’s own robust and innovative Community Energy Initiative.
I urge council to make this initiative an opportunity to demonstrate our community’s desire to be more self-sufficient energy-wise through conservation and the CEI’s goal of creating new, local, small-scale renewable and combined heat and power projects. I urge council to commit new resources to engaging our citizens in the Peaksaver programme, through a door-to-door campaign that would encourage large-scale compliance with the plan.
The CEI will be less costly in dollars and on the environment. It will create more local jobs with contracts for growing Guelph-based solar and other renewable-resource private-sector businesses. It will help to motivate our citizens to be effective stewards of our energy resources. The CEI’s commitment to make us more sustainable in our own energy consumption is a positive step that needs to be encouraged. The long-distance transmission lines, if allowed to expand through our city, will put us back decades in our own sustainability. The lines will cost the consumer more. They will encourage expansion of nuclear and gas plants that have environmental risks attached to them.
The success of our Community Energy Initiative depends on the city making it clear to the province and the OPA that these transmission lines are not needed, and not wanted in this innovative, progressive city.
Thankyou for considering your support of the staff report, and for representing the will of our populace to do all that you can to make our Community Energy initiative a reality. JG