![\"windandsolar\"](\"https:\/\/cna.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/windandsolar-1024x800.jpg\")
What would happen if Ontario flipped the switch and powered the grid only with renewable energy?<\/p>\nWhat would happen if Ontario flipped the switch and powered the grid only with renewable energy?<\/p>\n
For starters, says Paul Acchione, a consultant and engineer who has worked with nuclear energy and fossil fuels for more than 40 years, it couldn\u2019t be done.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause the wind doesn\u2019t always blow and the sun doesn\u2019t always shine, (they) can only have 40-55 per cent capacity factor and the grid operates at closer to 70 per cent,\u201d according to Acchione.<\/p>\n
Ontario needs power around the clock, with a minimum demand around 4 am (\u201cbase-load power\u201d) and a peak demand around 4 pm or 5 pm.\u00a0 Solar power can help meet demand as it rises during the day, but shuts down toward sunset. And wind power varies with the weather. Neither wind nor solar power can meet base-load demand on their own, and need back-up from a reliable, ready-when-needed energy source like natural gas.<\/p>\n
Some renewable energy advocates look forward to the day that electricity can be stored on a scale large enough to power Ontario\u2019s grid. Storage innovators like Tesla are making progress, and storage prices are coming down. But Acchione points out that they\u2019re still not economically viable. He says that storage for renewable energy is about 2,000 times more costly than using gas as a backup, which means nuclear energy still has a role to play. \u201cCurrent storage rates are expensive and simply not available which means renewable energy must be backed up with nuclear, gas or coal. Of the three, nuclear is the cleanest.\u201d<\/p>\n
Acchione predicts storage will become more affordable in 40 or 50 years. Until then, he says, Ontario\u2019s power puzzle is easily solved:<\/p>\n
\u201cTake all the hydroelectric we can get economically and then fill in the base with as much nuclear as we can. The incremental, we can do with renewables, but you will need to invest a little bit in storage 6-8 hours so that they can fill in the peak load (times when power demands are greatest).\u201d<\/p>\n
In other words, the goal of all-renewable energy for Ontario won\u2019t be met for decades, and nuclear energy will remain the foundation of the province\u2019s electrical system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
What would happen if Ontario flipped the switch and powered the grid only with renewable energy?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12810,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[257],"tags":[],"topic":[],"class_list":["post-12809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-public-newsletter"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n