Plans to build two large-scale clean energy projects in southern Ontario remain under consideration, after the provincial government asked project proponents to provide more specific costing estimates.
Last week, Ontario Energy Todd Smith wrote a letter to Lesley Gallinger, the CEO of the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), a crown corporation that oversees the province's grid, outlining next steps for two pumped storage hydropower projects in Meaford, Ont., and Marmora, Ont.
In the letter, Smith acknowledged IESO analysis that found "neither PS (pumped storage) project is able to provide net benefits to Ontario’s electricity system or ratepayers," but that he is seeking additional assessment of "the broader societal and economic benefits of these projects," and therefore is not prepared to make a final decision on either project.