Four Green Bug projects cancelled
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Green Bug’s plan was to establish several clean hydro-electric generators across Ontario and then use the province as a showroom for international clients.
However, it’s back to the drawing board for Green Bug CEO Tony Bouk now that the Ford government has cancelled hundreds of green energy projects. Of the 758 projects cancelled earlier this month, four belonged to Green Bug and were at various stages of development.
“I have a stack of quote requests in front of me from outside North America,” Bouk said last week.
“But it’s hard to develop export markets when you can’t develop projects locally. We were trying to establish a showroom of local projects.”
Among the casualties is the 60-kilowatt project at Quance Dam in Delhi. This was a joint undertaking with Norfolk County. When finished, the dynamo would’ve generated enough electricity to power 39 homes.
The threat to the Quance project was raised at the July 10 meeting of Norfolk council. Council directed Mayor Charlie Luke to write a letter to the province stating that this project made sense and did not require a large degree of subsidization like wind and solar projects elsewhere.
“I’m sending a letter to (Haldimand-Norfolk) MPP Toby Barrett as well as the Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines asking them to reconsider,” Luke said.
“This is a project that has been in the works for four years and we’d really like to be able to move forward. We’ve been working away on this under the rules and suddenly the game and the rules have changed.”
The cancellations included 12 projects in Norfolk County and two projects near Cayuga.
In his announcement, Energy Minister Greg Rickford said he was delivering on a promise Premier Doug Ford made during this spring’s provincial election. Rickford said savings to Ontario ratepayers will total $790 million.
“We clearly promised we would cancel these unnecessary and wasteful energy projects as part of our plan to cut hydro rates by 12 per cent for families, farmers and small businesses,” Rickford said.
“In the past few weeks we have taken significant steps toward keeping that promise. All of the cancelled projects have not reached project development milestones. Terminating them at this early stage will maximize benefits for ratepayers.”
All projects had received preliminary approval to feed renewable energy into the provincial grid.
Bouk estimates he has invested thousands of hours into his projects and now has nothing to show for it. There are clauses in the contracts to retrieve base costs in case of cancellation but it remains to be seen whether the Ford government honours them.
“I’ve probably devoted 90 per cent of my time over the last nine years to this business,” says Bouk. “And it really does take that much time because it is a complicated business.
“It’s just an unfortunate situation. I knew there was political risk in this. But I had no idea how volatile this situation could be.”
Green Bug is pioneering the generation of hydro-electric power using the ancient Archimedes screw. The giant screw turns when laid in the path of rushing water. This in turn rotates a turbine that generates electricity.
Green Bug installed a small Archimedes turbine at Fletcher’s Horse World in Townsend in 2013. This is the only project the company has completed to date. The installation was the first of its kind in North America.
On Friday, the Ford government also pulled the plug on a 247-kilowatt Green Bug project at the Cargill Dam in Brockton, a 60-kilowatt project at the Dobson Dam in Chatworth, and a 36-kilowatt project at Beatty Mill in Wellington County.
Also cancelled in Norfolk County were four solar installations London Hydro had planned for the Delhi area, three renewable biomass projects planned for Port Dover, two solar installations in the Waterford area, a solar installation on Wellington Street in Simcoe, and two solar installations planned for the Cayuga area.
– with files from Postmedia
MSonnenberg@postmedia.com
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