Bill 39 2013

An Act to provide for control by local municipalities over renewable and affordable energy undertakings

Note:  This Act amends or repeals more than one Act.  For the legislative history of these Acts, see the Table of Consolidated Public Statutes – Detailed Legislative History at www.e-Laws.gov.on.ca.

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Definitions

   1.  In this Act,

"industrial wind turbine" means the structure that supports an electrical generator and electrical and mechanical equipment used to convert wind energy into electricity, and includes the base and foundation to which the structure is attached, but does not include,

  (a)  any additional land, building and structures, or

  (b)  any transformer, transmission or distribution line or other equipment; ("éolienne  industrielle")

"Minister" means the Minister of Energy or whatever other member of the Executive Council to whom the responsibility for the administration of this Act is assigned under the Executive Council Act. ("ministre")

Control over industrial wind turbines

   2.  (1)  No person shall install or operate an industrial wind turbine in a local municipality unless the installation or operation is authorized by a by-law of the municipality.

Same, territory without municipal organization

   (2)  No person shall install or operate an industrial wind turbine in territory without municipal organization unless the installation or operation is authorized by an order of the Minister.

Not a regulation

   (3)  An order made under subsection (2) is not a regulation for the purposes of Part III (Regulations) of the Legislation Act, 2006.

Electricity Act, 1998

   3.  Section 25.32 of the Electricity Act, 1998 is amended by adding the following subsection:

Restriction on contracts re renewable energy sources

   (2.1)  The OPA shall not enter into a contract for the procurement of electricity supply or capacity derived from renewable energy sources unless the price for the supply or capacity does not exceed the price that would be payable if the supply or capacity were derived from non-renewable energy sources.  

   4.  Section 25.35 of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Feed-in tariff program

   25.35  The feed-in tariff program that the OPA has developed to procure energy from renewable energy sources under this section, as it read immediately before the Ensuring Affordable Energy Act, 2013 received Royal Assent, is terminated.

   5.  Subsection 114 (1.3) of the Act is amended by adding the following clause:

    (i)  governing all matters necessary to implement the termination of the feed-in tariff program described in section 25.35.

Green Energy Act, 2009

   6.  (1)  Subsection 4 (2) of the Green Energy Act, 2009 is amended by striking out "a municipal by-law".

   (2)  Subsection 4 (4) of the Act is amended by striking out "or regulation" at the end and substituting "a regulation or a municipal by-law".

   7.  (1)  Subsection 5 (2) of the Act is amended by striking out "a municipal by-law".

   (2)  Subsection 5 (4) of the Act is repealed and the following substituted:

Exception

   (4)  Subsections (2) and (3) do not apply,

  (a)  with respect to a restriction imposed by an Act, a regulation or a municipal by-law; or

  (b)  with respect to prescribed instruments or other restrictions or prescribed classes of instruments or other restrictions.

Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act

   8.  (1)  Section 19 of the Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act is amended by adding the following subsections:

Prohibition against industrial wind turbines

   (2.2)  Section 2.2 of Part 2 of the Niagara Escarpment Plan is amended by adding the following paragraph:

Industrial wind turbines prohibited

11.2 No industrial wind turbines shall be installed or operated.

Same

   (2.3)  Appendix 2 of the Niagara Escarpment Plan is amended by adding the following definition:

   Industrial wind turbine - the structure that supports an electrical generator and electrical and mechanical equipment used to convert wind energy into electricity, and includes the base and foundation to which the structure is attached, but does not include,

    a)  Any additional land, building and structures, or

    b)  Any transformer, transmission or distribution line or other equipment.

   (2)  Subsection 19 (3) of the Act is amended by striking out "subsection (2.1)" at the end and substituting "subsections (2.1), (2.2) and (2.3)".

Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act, 2001

   9.  Section 5 of the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act, 2001 is amended by adding the following subsections:

Industrial wind turbines prohibited

   (2)  The Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan is deemed to provide that no person shall install or operate an industrial wind turbine in the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan Area described in subsection 2 (1) of Ontario Regulation 140/02 (Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan) made under this Act.

Definition

   (3)  In subsection (2),

"industrial wind turbine" means the structure that supports an electrical generator and electrical and mechanical equipment used to convert wind energy into electricity, and includes the base and foundation to which the structure is attached, but does not include,

  (a)  any additional land, building and structures, or

  (b)  any transformer, transmission or distribution line or other equipment.

Non-application

   (4)  For greater certainty, the requirements of sections 11 and 12 with respect to amendments to the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan do not apply to the amendments described in subsection (2).

Planning Act

   10.  The definitions of "renewable energy generation facility", "renewable energy project", "renewable energy testing facility", "renewable energy testing project" and "renewable energy undertaking" in subsection 1 (1) of the Planning Act are repealed.

   11.  (1)  Clause 50 (3) (d.1) of the Act is repealed.

   (2)  Clause 50 (5) (c.1) of the Act is repealed.

   12.  Section 62.0.2 of the Act is repealed.

Commencement and Short Title

Commencement

   13.  (1)  Subject to subsection (2), this Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.

Same

   (2)  Sections 1, 2, 10, 11 and 12 come into force 90 days after this Act receives Royal Assent.

Short title

   14.  The short title of this Act is the Ensuring Affordable Energy Act, 2013.

 

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Bill enacts a new Act to deal with industrial wind turbines which are generally defined as a structure that supports an electrical generator and electrical and mechanical equipment used to convert wind energy into electricity.

No person is allowed to install or operate an industrial wind turbine unless authorized by a by-law of the municipality where the turbine is located or an order of the Minster of Energy if the turbine is located in territory without municipal organization. The possibility to obtain that authorization does not exist for the Niagara Escarpment Planning Area or the Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Plan Area: the installation or operation of industrial wind turbines is entirely prohibited in those areas.

The Bill amends the Electricity Act, 1998 to prohibit the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) from entering into contracts for the procurement of electricity supply or capacity derived from renewable energy sources unless the price for the supply or capacity does not exceed the price that would be payable if the supply or capacity were derived from non-renewable energy sources. The Bill terminates the feed-in tariff program that the OPA has developed to procure energy from renewable energy sources.

The Bill amends the Green Energy Act, 2009 to allow municipalities, by by-law, to restrict the use of goods, services and technologies designed to promote energy conservation and to restrict activities with respect to renewable energy projects, renewable energy sources or renewable energy testing projects.

The Bill amends the Planning Act to reverse the effect of the amendments made to the Act by Schedule K to the Green Energy and Green Economy Act, 2009. Those amendments exempted renewable energy undertakings from the normal application of the Planning Act, including policy statements, provincial plans, official plans, demolition control by-laws, zoning by-laws and development permit regulations and by-laws.