In discussions about renewables such as wind and solar we often forget to talk about the challenges of using these technologies in certain climates. The same goes for electric car batteries and biodiesel. Folks in California probably don’t give this much thought, but being Canadian — and having shovelled my driveway four times this month — it’s a reality that can’ t be avoided.

Take earlier this month. I was supposed to visit OptiSolar’s solar farm in Sarnia but the forecast called for snow — lots of it. We cancelled the visit, thank god. Later on the news that night I watched as police on snowmobiles rescued people whose cars were stranded in snow-filled ditches at the edge of the highway — the main highway into Sarnia that I was supposed to take. Needless to say, OptiSolar’s panels got blanketed by snow, again, and again, and again this month.

The New York Times has an interesting story about winter and its impact on renewables. It talks about snow on solar panels, ice on wind turbines, and how the cold can turn biodiesel into thick goo. But winter, it should be pointed out, does have some advantages: the wind blows better in the winter and solar panels are more efficient in the cold (though the days are shorter).

The story also talks about the new work opportunities that winter presents. Removing snow from neighbourhood solar panels or solar farms could be the new “green-collar job” for local kids!

I acknowledge that nuclear power has to play a role in our battle against climate change, with the caveat that we exhaust all other reasonable, low-emission alternatives and maximize efficiency and conservation. The industry will have its hands full just trying to replace the megawatts lost as older plants are decommissioned or refurbished. This leaves open the question, in the current market environment, of how much *new* nuclear is likely to be built over the coming decade. My Clean Break column today looks at how the rising cost of building nuclear plants could affect its competitiveness with other alternatives, even excluding some of the environmental question marks like waste management uncertainty and plant safety. (more…)

I have a story in today’s Toronto Star about George Smitherman, new energy and infrastructure minister for Ontario. Last week, Smitherman directed the Ontario Power Authority to review and “fine tune” its 20-year power plan so that it might accelerate conservation goals and increase renewable-energy targets. (more…)

I’ll let the article speak for itself, but I have a story in today’s Toronto Star about the Ontario government’s plan to “fine tune” its 20-year power mix strategy to add more renewables and accelerate conservation targets. New energy minister George Smitherman recently travelled to Spain, Germany, Denmark and California to learn what those jurisdictions are doing, and apparently it was an eye-opener for him. He believes Ontario, which has already set relatively aggressive conservation and renewables targets, can raise the bar even further by exploring pump storage, more solar and wind, and investing more in transmission so that renewable opportunities can be unlocked. Convinced of the greater potential, he has directed the Ontario Power Authority to spend the next six months reviewing the renewables and conservation component of its 20-year plan.

It’s encouraging. But as environmentalists were quick to point out, the government is still not changing its plans to maintain the province’s nuclear fleet at 14,000 megawatts. Personally, I wouldn’t expect them to, because they’ve been caught before making promises they can’t keep.