Ontario's Ultra Low Carbon Grid Feat: Paul Acchione

We CANDU It

On today's show we explore Ontario's clean grid, how it got there, where its going and how unique it is. Ontario "overproduces" clean energy due to our large nuclear (65%) and hydro (25%) infrastructure. We explore how adding wind and solar to the Ontario grid actually drives up emissions, how wind produces out of sync with demand and how we end up curtailing a lot of our renewables or selling it at rock bottom prices to the USA. We dive into the Green Energy Act and the 20 year contracts that have locked Ontario's rate payers into overpaying dramatically for renewables. As crazy as this sounds Ontario could decarbonize a lot of our heating and transportation by simply giving Ontarion's free electricity off peak hours. Paul is a Mechanical Engineer with over 48 years of engineering and management experience and was the 2013-14 President and Chair of the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers (OSPE).