» Click here to read the report

Saying we need nuclear plants to meet base load demand in Ontario is like saying you need a mainframe computer to access the internet, It may have been the case in the past, but countries around the world are showing that the next generation energy system is more diverse, greener and a lot more flexible.

All too often we are told, "It can't be done!" Everyone likes renewable energy, but still many do not believe that it is possible to run a demanding power grid — like Ontario's — without coal or nuclear.

This Renewable is Doable solutions paper addresses the misconception of the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) that large-scale nuclear or coal generation is required to meet Ontario's residual base-load demand for electricity. It argues that it is doable to put the right technical, regulatory and policy tools in place to make renewable power the primary source of power for the future.

The Basics on Base Load, a solutions paper by the Pembina Institute shows that any combination of variable and dispatchable power plants (such as renewable energy) can be used to meet base load as long as together they provide a reliable continuous power supply for all parts of the province.

The report presents a suite of policy and technological tools to make energy efficiency, renewable energy and cogeneration and waste heat recycling the primary source of energy to meet base load demand in Ontario. More conservation and efficiency, a distributed mix of smaller renewable power sources, a smart grid network, and power storage technologies could provide a more robust and less costly method of meeting base load in Ontario.

Base load power demand results from continuously running uses of electricity such as refrigerators, freezers, industrial motors, and other uses that do not have defined peaks in use. The OPA's 20 year electricity plan identifies a base load gap of 85 TWh to be met with nuclear power.

The report outlines steps to reduce this gap to 48.5 TWh simply by pursuing the full potential for energy efficiency and conservation that the OPA itself has identified as cost-effective and achievable, as well as with cogeneration, waste heat recycling and fuel substitution programs. Then, the report presents a series of renewable energy and smart grid policies and technologies to meet this residual power demand.