TOPIC
#1:
A STUDY OF THE ONTARIO WIND POWER
SECTOR: REGULATORY RISK AND PRIVATE
INVESTMENT
Panelist:
Guy Holburn, Professor, Richard
Ivey School of Business, the University
of Western Ontario
PRESENTATION OVERVIEW
I present the results of four new
surveys of renewable energy developers
and technology manufacturers that assess
the policy environment for renewable
energy investors in Ontario. During late
2008 we surveyed 63 wind power firms and
12 solar power firms active in Canadian
energy markets, and more than a dozen
component manufacturing firms. The
survey asked two questions that provide
the basis for our analysis. First, what
are the most important criteria that
make a jurisdiction attractive for
renewable energy firms? Second, how does
Ontario rate on these criteria? The
results show that firms rate the
stability of public policy for renewable
energy among the most important features
of a jurisdiction in assessing its
attractiveness for potential investment.
However, the firms surveyed also rated
policy stability as one of the weakest
aspects of the environment in Ontario.
Subsequent interviews revealed that
renewable energy firms have responded to
policy instability by investing in other
jurisdictions instead of, or before,
Ontario; by increasing project price
bids in competitive procurement auctions
to account for regulatory risks; and by
undertaking more lobbying and government
relations activities. We argue that
reforms in regulatory governance –
specifically structural changes that
insulate agency decisions from
short-term political pressures – would
improve long term policy stability and
attract greater levels of private sector
investment in renewable energy.
Download:
Presentation PDF
TOPIC #2:
ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE POLICY IN THE
NETHERLANDS - THE GOAL OF THE
HORTICULTURE SECTOR TO BE A NET ENERGY
PRODUCER IN 2020
Panelist:
Nico Van Ruiten, Chairman of
Horticulture, Dutch Farmers' Union
PRESENTATION OVERVIEW
The Dutch horticultural sector has been
a trailblazer in energy efficiency
programmes. Reduction of production
costs has been the traditional driver.
In a concerted effort with the Dutch
Government the sector has already made
significant investments in research and
development and in practical
implementation of the results of the
research in operational applications.
But the sense of urgency surrounding the
climate change problem has underpinned
the drive for sustainable production in
the Dutch horticultural sector.
In a new
programme in which the Dutch Government
and the horticultural sector cooperate
entitled "The Greenhouse as a Source of
Energy" the sector has formulated
challenging and ambitious goals for the
year 2020: from then on, only
climate-neutral greenhouses will be
built; the horticultural sector will
lower its CO2-emissions by 48 percent
(reference year 1990); the horticultural
sector will be a producer of sustainable
warmth and energy, and the use of fossil
fuels will be reduced significantly.
There are 7 tracks on which substantial
effort will be put forth to realize
these goals: the use of energy from the
sun, the use of warmth from inside the
earth, a more efficient use of light,
new strategies for the growth of
produce, plants and flowers and
development of varieties which can be
grown efficiently with less energy-use,
more use of renewable energy sources;
intensification of the production of
electricity (present capacity of Dutch
greenhouses is already 2,300 MW) and
intensification of the use of CO2 from
third parties.
In the
programme "The Greenhouse as a Source of
Energy" the sector, the Dutch Government
and relevant (agricultural)
research-institutes work together to
reach these goals through basic and
applied research and application/testing
of innovation in day-to-day practice.
Download:
Presentation PDF
TOPIC #3:
DRIVING CONSERVATION AND EFFICIENCY
AHEAD OF GREEN ENERGY INVESTMENT
A) THE
MOLSON CASE STUDY
Panelist:
Doug Dittburner, Chief Engineer
and Energy Team Leader, Molson Canada
PRESENTATION OVERVIEW
Corporate environmental responsibility
can be linked to the bottom line where
win-win solutions like energy and water
efficiency have an impact on a company's
environmental performance. At Molson's
in Toronto, Doug Dittburner, the Chief
Engineer, has been tasked with water and
energy efficiency targets that are
second to none in Canada's brewing
industry.
Doug
will touch on the dozens of large and
small efficiencies that, combined with
preparations for a bio-digester project,
will reshape the environmental footprint
of Canada's largest brewery. Achieving a
greener footprint takes time, training,
awareness and buy-in from the corner
office to the shop floor. Doug talks
about meeting these requirements and
some of the challenges associated with
getting greener in a regulatory system
that resists change.
The
Molson project is a highly visible
participant in Partners in Project Green
(PPG), the largest industrial ecology
initiative ever begun in Canada. PPG
covers 12,000 hectares of industrial and
commercially zoned land around Toronto's
Pearson Airport.
Download:
Presentation PDF
B)
ENERGY EFFICIENCY & ENVIRONMENTAL
STEWARDSHIP— FROM BUSINESS CONCEPTS TO
ACTION!
Panelist:
Chris Hanlon, Director Energy
Services, Ag Energy Co-operative
PRESENTATION OVERVIEW
AgEnergy's "Energy Productivity" Program
and targets for conservation and
efficiency in agriculture take an
economic approach to this challenging
subject area. Conservation is good
business as it provides a quicker
payback than other technology solutions
and focuses on making the business more
viable, leading to sustainability. When
conservation is combined with new
technology applications for generation
and solid business management, it moves
agriculture towards becoming a net
producer of energy. Sustainability also
demands that environmental attributes
are held in high regard and carefully
managed.
To bring
these elements together through an
energy investment vehicle, called Agri-Fund,
provides an ethical manner for the
agricultural community to help each
other to generate revenue while ensuring
improved energy security.
Download:
Presentation PDF
SESSION FOUR BIOGRAPHIES
Session
Chair- Phil Dick, Investment Development
Officer, OMAFRA
Phil
is a Business Resource Specialist in the
Strategic Marketing and Analysis Unit of
the Business Development Branch at
OMAFRA where he works with
infrastructure, energy and environmental
connectivity to Ontario's food industry.
He is active across ministries on
various files from the Great Lakes Water
Accord to Green Energy, Energy
Efficiency, Transportation Issues and
Industry Attraction and Retention. He is
regularly part of the government food
industry attraction teams for
investments that include Kellogg's
(Belleville), Ferrero Roche (Brantford),
the Cakery (London) and StormFisher
Biogas.
The
ministry lead on food industry energy
efficiency, Phil works with groups like
Partners in Project Green, Natural
Resources Canada and the Guelph Food
Technology Centre.
Phil has
spent 17 years with the ministry in a
market development and industry
development role. Prior to that he spent
a dozen years in the food processing
industry in progressive management
positions from sales, marketing,
distribution, quality assurance and
plant management.
Panelist- Guy Holburn, Professor,
Richard Ivey School of Business, The
University of Western Ontario
Dr.
Holburn is an Associate Professor at the
Richard Ivey School of Business,
University of Western Ontario, where he
has taught economics, public policy and
strategy since 2001. His research
concentrates on strategy and policy
issues in energy and infrastructure
industries. In addition to publishing
his research in leading management
journals, he has won a number of major
government funding awards for his
infrastructure research, including
awards from the Social Sciences and
Humanities Research Council of Canada,
Ontario Centers for Excellence, the Olin
Foundation, and the University of
California Energy Institute. In 2008 he
won the Haynes Prize for Most Promising
Scholar from the Academy of
International Business. He is currently
leading a multi-year research program on
renewable energy policy in Ontario and
is also a faculty member associated with
the Lawrence National Center for Policy
and Management.
Dr.
Holburn has extensive experience in both
the private and public sectors in energy
and infrastructure projects. Prior to
his doctorate, he worked for several
years as a management consultant with
Bain & Company in London, England where
he specialized in the utilities
practice. Subsequently he became a
founding member of the Bain South Africa
office. In the United States, Dr.
Holburn has worked for the California
Public Utilities Commission, advising on
consumer advocacy policy. Dr. Holburn
has a Ph.D. in Business and Public
Policy and M.A. in Economics from the
University of California, Berkeley. His
undergraduate degree (First Class,
Economics) is from Cambridge University.
Panelist- Nico van Ruiten, Chairman of
Horticulture, Dutch Farmers' Union
Mr.
Nico van Ruiten has served as chairman
of the board of the Greenhouse Growers
Association (LTO Glaskracht) in the
Netherlands since January 1st 2007.
Before that time Mr. van Ruiten was
director and shareholder in an
international breeding and propagating
company of chrysanthemum for 25 years.
This company has its production
facilities in three African countries
and the Netherlands and worldwide sales
of cuttings and varieties.
In his
current position Mr. van Ruiten is the
spokesman for over 5,000 greenhouse
growers in the Netherlands . His
organization works on policies for the
greenhouse sector in the future and
looking after the interest of the sector
in current politics. The most important
policy issues for the greenhouse growers
in the Netherlands are labor, energy,
innovation and environmental protection.
On these subjects Mr. van Ruiten, on
behalf of his organization, is
participating on several steering
committees and in networks of
governmental and private organizations.
LTO Glaskracht keeps an offensive and
pro-active course in its policies,
taking into account the demands and
needs of society. On issues as
environmental protection and renewable
energy LTO Glaskracht cooperates with
existing NGOs.
Panelist- Doug Dittburner, Chief
Engineer and Energy Team Leader, Molson
Canada
Douglas Dittburner is the Chief Engineer
and Energy Team Leader for Molson
Canada's Toronto Brewery. Since
graduating with honours from the
Cambrian College Institute of
Technology's Power Engineering
Technologist program in 1984, Mr.
Dittburner has accumulated over 26 years
of experience in industrial energy
efficiency. Prior to joining Molson Doug
worked as Energy Conservation Specialist
Unilever Americas. Doug has worked at
many Unilever plants completing Audits,
energy reduction projects, starting up
sustainable energy teams and the like.
As Chair of the CIPEC Food and Beverage
Sector Task Force, Mr. Dittburner
represents Canada's food and beverage
sector on the CIPEC Task force Council.
His drive towards greater energy
efficiency also extends to his role in
Molson's global Energy reduction program
and Energy teams, which focus on
increasing employee awareness and
involvement, in addition to investing in
energy management measures such as
information systems, equipment,
operational and maintenance practices,
new technology, and energy-related
training.
Panelist- Chris Hanlon, Director, Energy
Services, Ag Energy Co-operative
Chris heads the Energy Services Division
of Ag Energy Co-operative Ltd which is
responsible for turn-key energy and
environmental management programs for
the agricultural and agri-food
industries. This role includes program
development and delivery to customers so
they can improve energy conservation and
efficiency, utilize technology to manage
their costs and lead their sectors in
environmental sustainability.
Prior to
joining Ag Energy Chris was Director of
Marketing at Shell Energy, where he had
responsibility for the management of
client needs on electricity and gas
services and for the development of
services, systems and products to enable
Shell Energy's business development in
Ontario. Previous positions included
Director of Electricity Services at ECNG
Inc. where he developed electricity
services for ECNG clients, for commodity
management and buying options, as well
as ancillary services for load
management, meter data acquisition,
engineering and consulting. He was the
Vice President of Marketing & Sales for
a commodity settlement software company
and also worked for 17 years covering
all aspects of utility operations and
management with Toronto Hydro and B.C.
Hydro. |
