IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/enepol/v68y2014icp423-435.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Energy, economic and environmental discourses and their policy impact: The case of Ontario׳s Green Energy and Green Economy Act

Author

Listed:
  • Winfield, Mark
  • Dolter, Brett

Abstract

This paper examines the debates around the Ontario׳s Green Energy and Green Economy Act (GEGEA) as an energy and economic development strategy through comparative public policy and discourse analysis approaches. The evidence regarding the economic impacts of the GEGEA is found to be almost entirely based on the results of economic modeling exercises. Critics and supporters of the legislation have arrived at very different conclusions through such exercises. These outcomes are similar to those seen in other jurisdictions pursuing renewable energy initiatives, such as Feed In Tariffs (FITs), renewables obligations and portfolio standards. A discourse analysis approach is employed to examine the reasons for the different conclusions being reached over the impacts of renewable energy initiatives. Differences in modeling approaches and assumptions are found to reflect differences in ideational perspectives on the part of the modelers with respect to the appropriate roles of markets and the state and the relationship between economic development and environmental sustainability in public policy. The paper concludes with suggestions regarding the gathering and availability of information regarding economic development in the renewable energy sector, and a discussion of potential ways to strengthen future efforts to understand the economic and environmental impact of renewable energy initiatives.

Suggested Citation

  • Winfield, Mark & Dolter, Brett, 2014. "Energy, economic and environmental discourses and their policy impact: The case of Ontario׳s Green Energy and Green Economy Act," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 423-435.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:68:y:2014:i:c:p:423-435
    DOI: 10.1016/j.enpol.2014.01.039
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421514000767
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.enpol.2014.01.039?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Böhringer Christoph & Rivers Nicholas J. & Rutherford Thomas F. & Wigle Randall, 2012. "Green Jobs and Renewable Electricity Policies: Employment Impacts of Ontario's Feed-in Tariff," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 12(1), pages 1-40, June.
    2. Traber, Thure & Kemfert, Claudia, 2011. "Gone with the wind? -- Electricity market prices and incentives to invest in thermal power plants under increasing wind energy supply," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 249-256, March.
    3. Peter Mulvihill & Mark Winfield & Jose Etcheverry, 2013. "Strategic Environmental Assessment And Advanced Renewable Energy In Ontario: Moving Forward Or Blowing In The Wind?," Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 15(02), pages 1-19.
    4. Robert S. Pindyck, 2013. "Climate Change Policy: What Do the Models Tell Us?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 51(3), pages 860-872, September.
    5. Funtowicz, Silvio O. & Ravetz, Jerome R., 1994. "The worth of a songbird: ecological economics as a post-normal science," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 10(3), pages 197-207, August.
    6. Winfield, Mark & Gibson, Robert B. & Markvart, Tanya & Gaudreau, Kyrke & Taylor, Jennifer, 2010. "Implications of sustainability assessment for electricity system design: The case of the Ontario Power Authority's integrated power system plan," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(8), pages 4115-4126, August.
    7. Paul Lehmann & Felix Creutzig & Melf-Hinrich Ehlers & Nele Friedrichsen & Clemens Heuson & Lion Hirth & Robert Pietzcker, 2012. "Carbon Lock-Out: Advancing Renewable Energy Policy in Europe," Energies, MDPI, vol. 5(2), pages 1-32, February.
    8. Hillebrand, Bernhard & Buttermann, Hans Georg & Behringer, Jean Marc & Bleuel, Michaela, 2006. "The expansion of renewable energies and employment effects in Germany," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(18), pages 3484-3494, December.
    9. Wei, Max & Patadia, Shana & Kammen, Daniel M., 2010. "Putting renewables and energy efficiency to work: How many jobs can the clean energy industry generate in the US?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(2), pages 919-931, February.
    10. Joseph E. Stiglitz, 1991. "The Invisible Hand and Modern Welfare Economics," NBER Working Papers 3641, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Hoicka, Christina E. & Rowlands, Ian H., 2011. "Solar and wind resource complementarity: Advancing options for renewable electricity integration in Ontario, Canada," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 97-107.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bougette, Patrice & Charlier, Christophe, 2015. "Renewable energy, subsidies, and the WTO: Where has the ‘green’ gone?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 407-416.
    2. Sheng Gao & Huihui Sun & Jingyi Wang & Wei Liu, 2022. "Evaluation and Countermeasures of High-Quality Development of China’s Marine Economy Based on PSO-SVM," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-15, August.
    3. Hamisu Sadi Ali & Malayaranjan Sahoo & Md. Mahmudul Alam & Idris Isma’il Tijjani & Abul Quasem Al-Amin & Adeel Ahmed, 2023. "Structural transformations and conventional energy-based power utilization on carbon emissions: empirical evidence from Pakistan," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(3), pages 2419-2442, March.
    4. Xuezhen Xiong, 2022. "The Impact of Environmental Protection Requirements on the Development of Green Animal Husbandry: An Evolutionary Game between Local Governments and Breeding Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-20, November.
    5. Emmanuel Songsore & Michael Buzzelli & Jamie Baxter, 2018. "Understanding developer perspectives and experiences of wind energy development in Ontario," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 36(4), pages 649-668, June.
    6. Hannum, Christopher & Cutler, Harvey & Iverson, Terrence & Keyser, David, 2017. "Estimating the implied cost of carbon in future scenarios using a CGE model: The Case of Colorado," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 500-511.
    7. Stewart Fast, 2017. "Assessing public participation tools during wind energy siting," Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Springer;Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, vol. 7(3), pages 386-393, September.
    8. Mordue, Greig, 2017. "Electricity prices and industrial competitiveness: A case study of final assembly automobile manufacturing in the United States and Canada," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 32-40.
    9. Pejman Bahramian & Glenn Jenkins & Frank Milne, 2020. "A stakeholder analysis of investments for wind power electricity generation in Ontario," Working Paper 1442, Economics Department, Queen's University.
    10. Bahramian, Pejman & Jenkins, Glenn P. & Milne, Frank, 2021. "A stakeholder analysis of investments in wind power electricity generation in Ontario," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    11. Winfield, Mark & Shokrzadeh, Shahab & Jones, Adam, 2018. "Energy policy regime change and advanced energy storage: A comparative analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C), pages 572-583.
    12. Witold Chmielarz & Marek Zborowski & Mesut Atasever & Jin Xuetao & Justyna Szpakowska, 2023. "The Role of ICT in Creating the Conscious Development of Green Energy Applications in Times of Crisis: Comparison of Poland, Türkiye and People's Republic of China," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(1), pages 492-519.
    13. Fast, Stewart & Mabee, Warren, 2015. "Place-making and trust-building: The influence of policy on host community responses to wind farms," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 27-37.
    14. Rosenbloom, Daniel & Berton, Harris & Meadowcroft, James, 2016. "Framing the sun: A discursive approach to understanding multi-dimensional interactions within socio-technical transitions through the case of solar electricity in Ontario, Canada," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(6), pages 1275-1290.
    15. Bryant, Scott T. & Straker, Karla & Wrigley, Cara, 2019. "The discourses of power – governmental approaches to business models in the renewable energy transition," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 41-59.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wiser, Ryan & Bolinger, Mark & Heath, Garvin & Keyser, David & Lantz, Eric & Macknick, Jordan & Mai, Trieu & Millstein, Dev, 2016. "Long-term implications of sustained wind power growth in the United States: Potential benefits and secondary impacts," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 179(C), pages 146-158.
    2. Sijm, Jos & Lehmann, Paul & Chewpreecha, Unnada & Gawel, Erik & Mercure, Jean-Francois & Pollitt, Hector & Strunz, Sebastian, 2014. "EU climate and energy policy beyond 2020: Are additional targets and instruments for renewables economically reasonable?," UFZ Discussion Papers 3/2014, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), Division of Social Sciences (ÖKUS).
    3. Lehmann, Paul & Gawel, Erik, 2013. "Why should support schemes for renewable electricity complement the EU emissions trading scheme?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 597-607.
    4. Creutzig, Felix & Goldschmidt, Jan Christoph & Lehmann, Paul & Schmid, Eva & von Blücher, Felix & Breyer, Christian & Fernandez, Blanca & Jakob, Michael & Knopf, Brigitte & Lohrey, Steffen & Susca, Ti, 2014. "Catching two European birds with one renewable stone: Mitigating climate change and Eurozone crisis by an energy transition," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 38(C), pages 1015-1028.
    5. Duscha, Vicki & Fougeyrollas, Arnaud & Nathani, Carsten & Pfaff, Matthias & Ragwitz, Mario & Resch, Gustav & Schade, Wolfgang & Breitschopf, Barbara & Walz, Rainer, 2016. "Renewable energy deployment in Europe up to 2030 and the aim of a triple dividend," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 314-323.
    6. Lehr, Ulrike & Lutz, Christian & Edler, Dietmar, 2012. "Green jobs? Economic impacts of renewable energy in Germany," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 358-364.
    7. Jinwon Bae & Sandy Dall'erba, 2016. "The economic impact of a new solar power plant in Arizona: Comparing the input-output results generated by JEDI vs. IMPLAN," Regional Science Policy & Practice, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 8(1-2), pages 61-73, March.
    8. van der Zwaan, Bob & Cameron, Lachlan & Kober, Tom, 2013. "Potential for renewable energy jobs in the Middle East," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 296-304.
    9. Simas, Moana & Pacca, Sergio, 2014. "Assessing employment in renewable energy technologies: A case study for wind power in Brazil," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 83-90.
    10. Zerrahn, Alexander, 2017. "Wind Power and Externalities," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 245-260.
    11. Michele Raitano & Eleonora Romano & Pietro Zoppoli, 2016. "The sectorial intensity of production of renewable energy sources in Italy:measurement and effects on earnings," Working Papers 1, Department of the Treasury, Ministry of the Economy and of Finance.
    12. Jenniches, Simon, 2018. "Assessing the regional economic impacts of renewable energy sources – A literature review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 35-51.
    13. Blazejczak, Jürgen & Braun, Frauke G. & Edler, Dietmar & Schill, Wolf-Peter, 2014. "Economic effects of renewable energy expansion: A model-based analysis for Germany," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 1070-1080.
    14. repec:ipg:wpaper:2014-475 is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Cameron, Lachlan & van der Zwaan, Bob, 2015. "Employment factors for wind and solar energy technologies: A literature review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 45(C), pages 160-172.
    16. repec:dui:wpaper:1318 is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Dvořák, Petr & Martinát, Stanislav & der Horst, Dan Van & Frantál, Bohumil & Turečková, Kamila, 2017. "Renewable energy investment and job creation; a cross-sectoral assessment for the Czech Republic with reference to EU benchmarks," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 360-368.
    18. Sooriyaarachchi, Thilanka M. & Tsai, I-Tsung & El Khatib, Sameh & Farid, Amro M. & Mezher, Toufic, 2015. "Job creation potentials and skill requirements in, PV, CSP, wind, water-to-energy and energy efficiency value chains," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 653-668.
    19. Christian Lutz & Lisa Becker & Andreas Kemmler, 2021. "Socioeconomic Effects of Ambitious Climate Mitigation Policies in Germany," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-20, June.
    20. Omri, Emna & Chtourou, Nouri & Bazin, Damien, 2015. "Solar thermal energy for sustainable development in Tunisia: The case of the PROSOL project," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 1312-1323.
    21. Sanya Carley & Sara Lawrence, 2014. "Energy-Based Economic Development," Springer Books, Springer, edition 127, number 978-1-4471-6341-1, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:enepol:v:68:y:2014:i:c:p:423-435. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/enpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.