Ontario: Micro energy projects forecast
London Free Press / Joe Matyas / 03 February 2010
Ontario's electricity landscape is changing rapidly, participants at a public event in London heard Wednesday.
"The electricity network will change more in the next 20 years than it has in the last 100 years," a consultant working on London Hydro's smart meter program said at an event sponsored by Ontario's Independent Electricity System Operator, responsible for the daily operation of the province's electrical system.
The drivers for change include the world economy, climate change, other environmental factors and new technology, said Michael Martin, an IBM digital media architect.
Forum participants were told Ontario's electricity system is morphing from a large centralized system dependent on huge nuclear and coal-fired plants, to a broader one that'll incorporate power produced by small plants and even rooftop solar panels.
About 15,000 applications for various kinds of small and "micro" alternative energy projects have been received, he said.
Harvesting power from many sources, instead of a few, will require a more complex transmission system, said Doug Thomas of the independent system operator, adding Hydro One has been directed to build 20 new transmission lines -- costing billions of dollars -- to extend the system's reach.
