Renewable Energy Alternatives for Remote Communities in Northern Ontario, Canada

The paper investigates renewable energy alternatives to reduce diesel fuel dependency on electricity generation in Ontario´s remote northern communities; currently, these communities use diesel fuel as the sole energy source to produce electricity. The current operation is complex, involving several stakeholders, high operating costs, and a considerable CO₂ footprint. Several of these communities have electric load restrictions that limit further building construction and economic growth. This preliminary work discusses the barriers for renewable energy (RE) projects in northern Ontario communities by analyzing the current economic structure, the high capital costs, the available natural resources, and the installation and operation complexity. Also, a detailed analysis of six scenarios is presented; three scenarios consider a solar and/or wind-diesel system with a low RE penetration of 7% without any excess energy, whereas other three scenarios increase the RE penetration to 18%, requiring a dump load, an additional small diesel engine, or a battery storage system. The proposed systems reduce fuel consumption, operating costs and CO₂ emissions, considering the investment, operation and maintenance costs and constraints in remote regions.