14 DAY TRIAL // High officials in Ontario, Canada have announced plans to phase out coal as an energy source in the province. More precisely, they wish to pass legislation banning the burning of this fuel, and close the province's remaining coal-fired power plants.
Thus, Ontario's Ending Coal for Cleaner Air Act aims to make it illegal for the Atikokan, Lambton, Nanticoke and Thunder Bay energy generating facilities to burn coal for electricity after December 31, 2014.
Besides, the Act would outlaw the construction of new coal-fired plants, Triple Pundit reports.
The province's high officials say that these measures are intended to limit climate change and global warming by limiting the amounts of emissions that Ontario releases on a yearly basis.
The new legislation is also expected to benefit public health, and reduce air pollution-related health care costs.
“Coal-fired electricity generating facilities are major sources of air pollution. Emissions from these facilities include: oxides of nitrogen (NOx); sulphur oxides (SOx); particulate matter (PM); and a variety of toxic pollutants (e.g., mercury),” the Ending Coal for Cleaner Air Act reads.
Furthermore, “These emissions are associated with major health impacts (e.g., premature death, increased hospital emissions for patients with asthma and chronic lung disease) as well as environmental impacts (e.g., buildings, crops and ecosystems).Coal-fired electricity generating facilities are also large emitters of greenhouse gases (GHGs) which contribute to global climate change.”
Ontario aims to have its energy demands met by renewables, natural gas and nuclear energy. In order to further improve on its ecological footprint, the province has decided to also invest heavily in energy efficiency.
Media reports say that, of the coal-fired plants targeted by the Act, the Nanticoke Generation Station and the Thunder Bay Generating Station will be converted and made to generate energy from biomass.
The conversion of the first is expected to be done by the end of this year. The Thunder Bay Generating Station, on the other hand, will switch to running on biomass over the course of the following year.