Frank Klees

Press Release

 

For Immediate Release                                             October 20, 2008

 

KLEES Calls on Province to Fix Approvals Process for Clean Energy

(Queen’s Park) Newmarket-Aurora MPP Frank Klees cited a bureaucratic and costly approvals process as the reason for the cancellation of a $300 million wind farm project that was being counted on to provide 160 megawatts of clean electricity by EPCOR Utilities Inc. scheduled to be in service October 31, 2008. 

"Proponents are required to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in the application process for clean energy projects, and then millions more to navigate through a maze of approvals that lacks coordination and timelines," said Klees. “At a time when we need the private sector to step up and make these important investments in clean energy, governments are putting up barriers.”

"We support the commitment to clean energy, but it's becoming increasingly obvious that many projects will never come on stream because of the government's apparent inability to manage the implementation process.”

During today's Question Period, Klees called on the Minister of Energy to take specific steps to fix what he referred to as "a costly and frustrating planning and approvals process that is driving critical energy-related investment away.

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References:

Frank Klees, MPP

Newmarket-Aurora                                                                          

416 509 8999                                                                                                           

 

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