FOE Kicks Off Green Power Play for Ontario

TORONTO, Ontario, Canada, June 12, 2002 (ENS) - Just 40 days into Ontario's new open electricity market, Friends of the Earth Canada is launching a new initiative tp recognize and promote the purchase of renewable energy by commercial electricity customers.

Known as the Green Electricity Leaders' Coalition of Ontario (GELCO), the new program starts with the participation of key charter members Interface Flooring Systems Canada Inc., Toronto Hydro, DuPont Canada Inc., and the Toronto & Region Conservation Authority.

Ontario Power workers install solar panels (Photo courtesy OPG)

GELCO has three levels of recognition:

• Bronze level - for a corporate policy in place with declared targets and timetable
  
• Silver level - for a signed contract with a supplier in place but not activated
  
• Gold level - for active contracts with the green electricity flowing

Environment Minister David Anderson, and Natural Resources Canada Minister Herb Dhaliwal, congratulated Friends of the Earth on the new GELCO initiative.

"Many governments and institutions, numerous businesses and thousands of Canadians have joined us in choosing electricity produced in an environmentally friendly way", said Anderson. "This has offset greenhouse gas emissions by some 280,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, with commensurate reductions of emissions that contribute to smog and acid rain."

From left are GELCO charter members Blair Peberdy, Toronto Hydro; Rahumathulla Marikkar, Interface Flooring; Jim Dillane, Toronto & Region Conservation Authority; Bea Olivastri, Friends of the Earth; and Richard Gareau, Dupont Canada. (Photo courtesy FOE Canada)

"As a leading Canadian energy company, in a city that logged 33 smog alert days last summer, Toronto Hydro Corporation is committed to supporting the City of Toronto's carbon dioxide emissions reduction target," said Dr. Richard Lü, Toronto Hydro vice president, Environment, Health and Safety.

The Government of Canada has pledged to purchase 20 percent of federal electricity requirements from renewable energy sources by 2006. In May, Dhaliwal launched a new C$260 million federal production incentive to encourage the construction of 1,000 megawatts of new wind power capacity over five years.

"Increasing our use of emerging renewable energy sources is a part of Canada's plan to address climate change and improve air quality," said Natural Resources Minister Dhaliwal. "The Government of Canada is helping these new energy sources become full-fledged market participants by the Kyoto commitment period, thereby ensuring that future generations share the economic, social and environmental benefits of our natural resources."

Canada has still not announced whether or not it will ratify the Kyoto Protocol, an addition to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that sets legally binding limits on the emission of six greenhouse gases linked to global warming.