In April 2014, Ontario became the first jurisdiction in North America to fully eliminate coal as a source of electricity generation. The Thunder Bay Generating Station, Ontario's last remaining coal-fired facility, has burned its last supply of coal.
Ontario has fulfilled its commitment to end coal generation in advance of its target of the end of 2014. Since 2003, Ontario’s coal closure plan has eliminated up to 30 megatonnes of emissions annually. 10 years ago Ontario relied on coal for 25 percent of its electricity.
Other provinces also do not use coal. Newfoundland, British Columbia, Manitoba, PEI, and Quebec did not use coal. Ontario was using coal and then eliminated it. Manitoba has a coal plant that is shut off almost all the time. It is for emergency use only.
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According to a 2005 independent study, "Cost Benefit Analysis: Replacing Ontario's Coal-Fired Electricity Generation," the estimated cost of coal generation was approximately $4.4 billion annually when health, environmental, and financial costs were taken into consideration.
Nuclear energy has played a key part in the province's efforts. Ontario is home to all but one of Canada's 19 currently operating nuclear power reactors, but by the end of the 1990s all four of Bruce A's nuclear units had been laid up by then-operator Ontario Hydro.
In 2013, refurbished nuclear units came back on line and nuclear accounting for over 59% of Ontario's electricity supply. "A coal-free electricity supply mix has led to a significant reduction in harmful emissions, contributing to cleaner air and a healthier environment," the report notes. The number of smog days in the Greater Toronto Area dropped from 48 days in 2005 to zero in 2014.
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Bruce power plant
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Ontario has fulfilled its commitment to end coal generation in advance of its target of the end of 2014. Since 2003, Ontario’s coal closure plan has eliminated up to 30 megatonnes of emissions annually. 10 years ago Ontario relied on coal for 25 percent of its electricity.
Other provinces also do not use coal. Newfoundland, British Columbia, Manitoba, PEI, and Quebec did not use coal. Ontario was using coal and then eliminated it. Manitoba has a coal plant that is shut off almost all the time. It is for emergency use only.
According to a 2005 independent study, "Cost Benefit Analysis: Replacing Ontario's Coal-Fired Electricity Generation," the estimated cost of coal generation was approximately $4.4 billion annually when health, environmental, and financial costs were taken into consideration.
Nuclear energy has played a key part in the province's efforts. Ontario is home to all but one of Canada's 19 currently operating nuclear power reactors, but by the end of the 1990s all four of Bruce A's nuclear units had been laid up by then-operator Ontario Hydro.
In 2013, refurbished nuclear units came back on line and nuclear accounting for over 59% of Ontario's electricity supply. "A coal-free electricity supply mix has led to a significant reduction in harmful emissions, contributing to cleaner air and a healthier environment," the report notes. The number of smog days in the Greater Toronto Area dropped from 48 days in 2005 to zero in 2014.
Read more »
