The Facts

• The world needs more green power. We strongly support well-considered initiatives to this end.


• The Province of Ontario has a green power initiative but has no guidelines and does not regulate where wind farms are located.


• The Ontario Power Authority (OPA) was established through the Electricity Restructuring Act. It operates independently and as a non-profit corporation. Licensed by the Ontario Energy Board, it reports to the legislature through the Ministry of Energy.




• The OPA is responsible for:
  

  
  
  • Assessing the long-term adequacy of electricity resources
  
  
  • Forecasting future demand and the potential for conservation and renewable energy
  
  
  • Preparing an integrated system plan for conservation, generation, and transmission
  
  
  • Procuring new supply, transmission and demand management either by competition or by contract, when necessary
  
  
  • Achieving the targets set by government for conservation and renewable energy


• The OPA has commissioned a number of studies on the topic of wind farms in Ontario. At least two of these studies were completed by Helimax Consulting Inc. The most recent is a study of the opportunities for off-shore wind farms in Ontario published in April , 2008, only 8 months ago.


• This study determined the 64 best locations for offshore wind farms in Ontario, including seven sites on Lake Ontario. The 64 sites, when developed, would potentially provide 35,000 MW of power. The Ontario goal for 2025 is 5,000 MW.


• The study also provided some guidelines for offshore sites, the least favourable being near an area with a population density of 64 people per sq. km. or greater, a less favourable site is 1-3 km from shore, most favourable is 9 or more KM from shore.


• The Scarborough Bluffs site selected by Toronto Hydro is not one of the 64 sites recommended in the Helimax study; it is also located beside a residential area with a population density over 1,000 per sq. km.; and it is located 2 km from shore.


• According to the data in the Helimax study and the Canadian Wind Atlas there does not appear to be sufficient wind at the Scarborough Bluffs site to support a wind farm. This is true for the whole year, but particularly true in the critical summer period. The Pickering Wind Station, located at the shore of Lake Ontario and at the eastern extreme of the proposed wind farm, has been in operation since August 2001. According to the Ontario Power Generation Backgrounder on this installation: "This 18% "capacity factor" is low compared to other forms of generation and results mainly from the lack of constant strong winds. Other areas in Ontario have been found to have much stronger 'wind regimes'."


• Toronto Hydro is proposing to spend $1m in taxpayers' funds to study the winds at one specific point in the proposed wind farm area and has leased the land for the wind farm from the MNR. The proposed study site is 1.8 km from land, therefore not actually within the defined boundaries of their proposed wind farm.


• The Scarborough Bluffs site will be the closest-to-shore offshore wind farm in the world and the only one built in close proximity to a major residential area.


• The wind turbines are more than 120 meters tall with a substantial underwater base to support the structure. As an example of the size of the base, the on-shore Pickering Wind Generation Station required 318 tonnes of steel-reinforced concrete for its foundation. This base will need to be tied to the lake bottom in some fashion. These turbines will be topped by navigational and aviation warning lights that will be flashing all day and all night.


• Although it is Toronto Hydro who is doing the preliminary study, it will not be funding, building or operating the wind farm. A private company will be doing this after a tendering process run by one of the Provincial Power Authorities or Toronto Hydro. An example of a private company is Canadian Renewable Energy Corporation, a subsidiary of Canadian Hydro Developers. They run the Wolfe Island project among a number of others. There are other companies operating in Canada.


• These private companies can take on these projects because there is a standing offer from the OPA to purchase the power for the next 20 years at $110 per megawatt generated. We understand that this price is adjusted periodically for inflation. There is also a Federal initiative that provides $10 per megawatt generated for the first 10 years of production. This is extremely expensive power: Ontario Power Generation sells its power generated at $33.00 per MWH for hydro and $49.50 per MWH for nuclear.


• The Scarborough Bluffs are an environmentally sensitive area. The Toronto Conservation Authority has spent millions of dollars to reduce the rate of erosion of the bluffs. This work is only partially completed. This erosion directly impacts the houses located along the top of the Bluffs.


• Toronto Hydro has stated "Any further projects (i.e. an offshore wind farm) are subject to a separate environmental assessment process with full agency and public participation". John Gerretsen, the Environment Minister in Ontario, has publicly stated there are currently 19 projects on the go in the province. Full environmental assessments were requested in 17 of these projects; not one was granted. According to Mr. Gerretsen, "We have enough information regarding the major issues involved. There is no need to do these assessments."


• Wind power is not a steady source of power. The existing wind turbines in Ontario reached a high output of 617 Megawatts in early December. On July 19th the wind turbines reached a low output of 2 Megawatts. Wind power does not replace the need for existing power generation sources. Nowhere in the world has an existing power plant been shut down and replaced by wind generation.


• The Scarborough Bluffs are part of the Atlantic Flyway, a major spring and fall migratory route for many species of birds. It is also the migratory route for Monarch Butterflies.


• All of Ontario's industrial wind turbine installations have been in rural or wilderness Ontario. For rural sites, there is a very strong economic reason to support the turbines - each land owner who hosts a wind turbine receives a lease payment of $9,000 - $13,000 per year plus a break on their hydro bill. Not surprisingly, the hosts are very strong proponents of the turbines.


• The Scarborough Bluffs are as high as 65 metres above the lake level at their highest point. The wind turbines are over 100 metres high, possibly creating a very different sound issue than experienced with the land-based turbines. With the likelihood of no environmental assessment before proceeding, this issue will not be addressed but should be. The well being of the hundreds of affected homeowners along the bluffs should be of concern to the proponents of the turbines.