Ontario has opened the door to new wind and solar power farms in the coming years, days after announcing two massive nuclear projects as the province prepares for electricity demand to potentially double over the next three decades.

The return to renewable energy projects appears in the government’s Powering Ontario plan, released on Monday, which says that the province will look to another round of electricity generation procurement in 2025-26 that will include “non-emitting energy technologies such as wind, solar, hydroelectric, and biogas.”

However, the report also says any new projects will need to have resolutions in support passed by local municipal councils and that Indigenous “participation and support” will be a “key feature.”

The Progressive Conservative government cancelled hundreds of wind and solar energy contracts when it was first elected in 2018, landing it in court and costing it more than $200-million, saying the previous Liberal government was wrong to lock in inflated rates for greener power. Plus, windmill farms in particular had also faced vehement local opposition in some areas.

Since then, environmentalists and opposition politicians have painted the government as anti-green power, noting that as the province’s nuclear reactors go offline for phased, multibillion-dollar refurbishments, Ontario will increasingly rely on polluting gas plants for electricity.

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