Spring Weather brings Unneeded Wind Generation in Ontario while Solar Generation in California does the Same Costing Ratepayers a Bundle
Ontario
The recent two days in Ontario brought Spring showers and lots of IWT (industrial wind turbine) generation as the wind was blowing throughout the province. Based on IESO data it also resulted in them apparently curtailing some of its unneeded generation.
On April 22nd IESO forecast those IWT would generate 46,220 MW (39% of capacity) but curtailed 4,464 MW. Then on April 23rd IESO forecast they would generate 91,540 MW (77.8% of capacity) but again curtailed 10,288 MW. Those “first-to-the-grid” contacts resulted in the owners of the IWT receiving $135/MWh for accepted generation and $120/MWh for what was curtailed!
Over the same two days IESO data disclosed Ontario’s net-exports to our neighbours in Quebec, Michigan and New York were 90,293 MW or 73.4% of what they accepted into the grid from IWT generation strongly suggesting it wasn’t needed. IESO sold that power at an average price of $16.83/MWh on the 22nd and $18.83/MWh on the 24th so we ratepayers wound up paying $512.21/MWh or 51.2 cents/kWh for the 32,735 MW that was apparently required in Ontario to keep the grid supplied with what was in demand. The total costs of the IWT generation coupled with the curtailment costs were $18,378,020 and we were paid $1,611,881 for the 90,293 MW they sold over the intertie lines resulting in the foregoing cost of $512.21/MWh for the 32,735 MW used in the Ontario grid and a net cost to ratepayers and taxpayers of $16,767,139!
The owners of the IWT were surely rubbing their hands in glee while Ontario taxpayers were forced to pick up $7.3 billion in costs associated with “Cost-Relief Programs” caused by the intermittent and unreliable supply of electricity from principally those IWT and to a lesser degree solar generation sources!
California
In California a recent article noted “In 2024, residential PV (Photovoltaic) will shift nearly $4 billion onto others’ bills, more than double the 2020 amount.“
What the foregoing statement implies is the plentiful solar panels sitting on residential roofs in California contribute much less towards the “fixed costs” which are detailed as: “vegetation management, grid hardening, distribution line undergrounding, EV charging stations, subsidies for low income customers, energy efficiency programs, and the poles and wires that we all rely on whether we are taking electricity off the grid or putting it onto the grid from our rooftop PV systems.“ The effect is a layering of those costs onto all the other ratepayers without rooftop solar.
To put the foregoing into perspective the article goes on to state: “In 2014, the homes served by these three IOUs (Investor-owned utilities) got less than 2% of their electricity off their roofs. Today they get about 20%. As fewer kWhs are sold from the grid, retail rates must rise even more in order to recover the fixed costs of the system.“ The story goes on to note California’s electricity rates are more than double the national average in the U.S.
The following chart from the article shows the steep climb in rooftop solar in the state:
Another article related to California basically aligns with Ontario’s IWT issues due to lower demand during the Spring noting: “Solar energy waste is most prevalent in the spring when there is less need for heating and cooling. Use is high in the morning and evening but drastically reduces during the day. Therefore, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory found that with a high demand of solar power on an electricity grid, the netload of renewable energy takes on a “U” shape. However, even when demand is low, solar panels continue to absorb energy that goes to waste. In 2022, the state wasted 2.4 million megawatt-hours of electricity, and 95% of that was solar. Throwing away free power raises electricity prices.“
Conclusion
The foregoing actually presents proof that politicians in both California and Ontario who pushed the renewable energy agenda have been responsible for driving up what we all consider a basic necessity of life. They failed to see the future implications of the transition to “renewable energy” in an effort to reputedly save the world from “climate change”!
The time has come for politicians to appreciate their inability to predict the future and stick to managing our bureaucracies in a way that will ensure “energy security” without inflation driven concepts sold to them by the eco-warriors!
ajmarciniak 