The Sustainable Energy Initiative Studies in Ontario Electricity Policy series presents new research by SEI Faculty and Graduate Students on current issues in energy and electricity policy in Ontario. The studies provide much greater detail and depth of analysis than is possible in traditional academic journal articles, although they have provided the basis for such articles, and are intended to inform and encourage debates about the future of the province's energy strategies.
Post-Consumer Management of End-of-Life Electric Vehicle Batteries: A Comparative Study of Regulatory Regimes in Canada, the U.S. and European Union by Mark Winfield, Jonathan Myers and Sumeet Sooch. This report examines the EoL EV battery management regimes in Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia, California, and the European Union through a sustainability assessment lens. It finds that regulatory frameworks for EoL EV battery management are essentially non-existent in North America. In contrast, EoL EV batteries have been managed under a European Union (EU) Battery Directive since 2006. The EU adopted an updated regulatory framework in June 2023 that will be binding on all member states. The report recommends the development of a comparable regulatory regime for Canada.
Unpacking the Climate Potential of Energy Efficiency: Effective and Resilient Governance for Energy Efficiency in Low-Carbon Sustainable Energy Transitions by Mark Winfield, Peter Love, James Gaede, and Scott Harbinson. Drawing on a comparative analysis of approaches to energy efficiency program administration in five provinces and three US states, this paper presents a set of five guiding yet non-prescriptive principles for effective and resilient governance of energy efficiency strategies as core elements of a low-carbon sustainable energy transition in Canada.
Ontario, Québec, Electricity and Climate Change Advancing the Dialogue by James Gaede. This report summarizes the findings from two workshops convened in early 2015 to explore these opportunities, as well as the barriers, risks and uncertainties, associated with collaborations over electricity and climate change policy between Ontario and Québec. The workshops were supported through a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council’ Connection Grant, and organized by Dr. Mark Winfield of York University and Dr. Pierre-Olivier Pineau of HEC Montréal.
Understanding the Economic Impact of Renewable Energy Initiatives: Assessing Ontario's Experience in a Comparative Context by SEI Co-Chair Mark Winfield with contributions from Nageen Rehman, Mariana Eret, Dawn Striffler and Paul CockburnThe paper finds that the empirical data on the employment impacts of the Ontario legislation is extremely limited. Rather, the evidence regarding the economic impacts of the GEGEA is found to be almost entirely based on the results of economic modelling exercises.
Electricity Conservation Policy in Ontario by Rebecca Mallinson with SEI Co-Chair Mark Winfield. This paper assesses the effectiveness of Ontario’s electricity conservation policy framework according to six criteria developed through examining best practices and successful strategies employed in leading North American jurisdictions. After identifying problem areas and cross-cutting themes, the paper contributes twenty recommendations to the conversation about how to best move forward with electricity conservation policy in Ontario.
Ontario's Road Map to Prosperity: Developing Renewable Energy to its Full Potential by Jose Etcheverry with MES students Lynda O'Malley and Jennifer Taylor. The report summarizes a viable strategy, a roadmap, to achieve prosperity, energy security and ecological protection in Ontario. It highlights specific collaborative areas in which agencies such as the Toronto Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) can lead the province’s adoption of renewable energy.
An Analysis of the Ontario Power Authority's Consideration of Environmental Sustainability in Electricity System Planning with University of Waterloo's Faculty of Environment. The study examines the existing institutional, policy and regulatory framework for Conservation and Demand Management (CDM) activities in Ontario, the current role of the Total Resource Cost (TRC) test in CDM decision making, the structure of Ontario’s approach to the regulation and funding of utility CDM activities, and the impact of the TRC test as currently applied in Ontario by the Ontario Energy Board and Ontario Power Authority on Local Electricity Distribution Companies (LDC)-led CDM initiatives.
Applying the Total Resource Cost Test to Conservation and Demand Management Initiatives of Local Electricity Distribution Companies in Ontario by Mark Winfield with PhD student Tatiana Koveshnikova. This report focuses on the Ontario Power Authority’s (OPA) consideration of environmental sustainability in the development of the proposed Integrated Power System Plan (IPSP). The research assessed the adequacy of the OPA’s consideration of environmental sustainability in the development of the IPSP.
