Gobble Gobble

Just got back from Alberta after spending the last few days with family, giving thanks and eating some delicious turkey. My niece Sarah is one and a half years and now walking & talking. Absolutely adorable. Last time I saw her - she could only sleep & cry. She's even eating adult food. Not just cheese & crackers but turkey, stuffing and potatoes. You name it - the kid will eat it. I also got to stay 2 nights in Banff. What a place it is. We took a gondola to the top of Sulfer Mountain. I gotta say, the Rocky mountains sure put things into perspective. A perspective that's tough to describe in a blog post but unfolds when you breath the mountain air and gaze at the wonder. My world does not seem so complicated in comparison. > Check it out some of my photos.

Anyhoo, it's good to be back in the big smoke feeling warmer and seeing the fall colours. Here are some random thoughts on the headlines as I plug back to the interwebs.

Ontario FIT Domestic Content Requirements (Source: Renewable Energy World)

While the first draft of the FIT rules specifically mentioned that projects that applied for a FIT contract would need to meet a minimum of Ontario-made equipment, no details about the domestic content rules were known until September 24th, providing both the manufacturers and developers with little time to plan for them.

FIT stands for Feed-In-Tariff and a key element of Ontario's Green Energy Act. In order to receive the FIT incentive, anywhere from 25-60% of the equipment must be Ontario made. Not bad news for the industrial sector of a recovering economy, in theory. To mandate renewable energy developers to source a percentage of their materials within Ontario. There's some great detail in the report from Jon Worren of Renewable Energy World and he offers this opinion on the rule:

While the political and economic motivation for attaching domestic content requirements to the FIT rules are obvious and understandable, there are concerns about the long-term implications that they may have on Ontario’s marketplace.

Fundamentally, I also believe that the domestic content rules might hinder necessary innovation in Ontario’s marketplace in the medium to long-term. In particular, there is a lot of innovation taking place in the solar industry, with new products that straddle the various domestic content categories entering the marketplace. A failure by the OPA to recognize the probable impact that rapid innovation will have on green energy products could resign Ontario to being a marketplace for less innovative products.

I agree with Jon and liken the policy to the CRTC regulation on Canadian content. There's an inherent risk of being mediocre (without competition) in manufacturing various renewable components. It's one thing to listen to the same weak song on the radio knowing why they keep playing it. It's another to have a windmill explode because of shoddy parts.

I've shared my thoughts on the Green Energy Act before and will continue to scoff at the developments as long as the McGuilty government is running the show. After all, it's our tax dollar. Speaking of scoffing at the Ontario government, have you heard the one about the Priest, the Premier and his deputy? Apparently it goes something like this...


Scathing audit paints picture of rogue Ontario provincial agency (Source: Ottawa Citizen)

 For Premier Dalton McGuinty, the eHealth spending controversy represents the biggest and most damaging scandal his government has faced since sweeping to power in 2003..

Shocking is hardly the word to use to describe the behavior of the Ontario government as it's borderline criminal if you consider what the eHealth scandal is uncovering.  Just another day at Queen's Park I guess. According to the report, his right-hand man George Smitherman got the ball rolling with the evil-doers @ eHealth and is rumored to have one foot out the door looking to become the next mayor of Toronto. No thanks George. Toronto already hada nobody in Mel.

(Unrelated but noteworthy)


Top US Green Companies (Source: Newsweek)

1.     Hewlett-Packard →  "Strong programs to reduce GHG emissions....
2.     Dell → "Ranks 4th among the top U.S....
3.     Johnson & Johnson → "Its commitment to climate change is...
4.     Intel → "Largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy...
5.     IBM → "Has had formal environmental policies since...
6.     State Street → "In an industry slow to acknowledge...
7.     Nike → "Leads its industry in environmental management...
8.     Bristol-Myers Squibb → "Announced goal to reduce direct and...
9.     Applied Materials → "Semiconductor manufacturer designs its products to...
10.   Starbucks → "Announced commitment in 2008 to source...

Data is collected by Trucost, a leading international environmental data firm, specializes in quantitative performance measurement and management. The Environmental Impact Score in the rankings is based on its global database. www.trucost.com

Interesting that 5 of the top 10 are technology companies being proactive as they make products (and a carbon footprint) for the information age. It's a good read for a blogger dependent on a computer, the internet and the environment.

That's it for today. Hope you had a happy Thanksgiving !