Is Solar Power the Right Energy Option for Ontario?

Image by Wayne National Forest via FlickrBy Ned Hall

Canada still has a lot of work to do to ensure a clean energy future, and it looks like solar power could be one of the best options to give it a shot, especially in Ontario. The two latest studies carried out by Canadian scientists have shown that Ontario, or to be more precise southeastern Ontario, has enormous solar energy potential, in fact if the results of these two studies are accurate then southeastern Ontario has the potential to produce approximately the same amount of power as currently all U.S. nuclear reactors do (around 100 gigawatts).

The first study concluded that if choice roof tops in southeastern Ontario were covered with solar panels, they could produce five gigawatts, or about 5 percent, of all of Ontario's energy. This is approximately the same amount of energy that is currently produced by all the coal power plants in Ontario, meaning that solar power could at least replace the coal in Ontario, making Ontario's energy portfolio more environmentally friendly. Of course since solar energy is an intermittent energy source (the Sun doesn't shine all the time), the best thing to ensure reliability would be to couple solar energy with other renewable energy sources such as wind and hydropower.

The other study set its sights on available land in southeastern Ontario that could be used for solar farms. Since much of the land in Ontario has very little economic value (barren land, not suitable for food farms), land that could be used for solar farms could deliver up to 90 gigawatts of clean, renewable energy.

This data definitely deserves more attention as southeastern Ontario could produce 90 gigawatts of renewable energy, on mostly barren land. 90 gigawatts of renewable energy is definitely a more than respectable amount that should at least make the Canadian government think about the possible benefits of developing solar energy projects in this small part of Ontario.

Ned H. is currently working on his new site renewable energy articles, where he also discusses the development of renewables in Canada.

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