Posts Tagged ‘Wind Turbines in Ontario’
Does Premier McGuinty Really Support Spending $660 Million to Create 200 Temporary Construction Jobs?
Let’s face it, on a project that no wind expert to date thinks is going to be economically viable. And to think, a few days ago $24 Million spent on lawyers looked bad. Based on reasonable calculations, it can be expected that the proposed offshore wind turbines in Scarborough will lose a collective $310 million bucks over 20 years.
Want to challenge my facts? Call me names? Just read this first.
“He’s counting on the (Green Energy) act, of which few details have been released, to help create 50,000 jobs over the next three years and boost the amount of renewable energy feeding into the electricity grid to fight climate change.” McGuinty Vows to Stop Wind-Farm NIMBYists – Toronto Star February 11th 2009.
“Taking a swipe at those who oppose wind turbines off the Scarborough Bluffs, Premier Dalton McGuinty is signalling he won’t hesitate to foist “green” energy projects on communities across Ontario.” McGuinty Vows to Stop Wind-Farm NIMBYists – Toronto Star February 11th 2009.
OK – So the Premier took a shot at Scarborough, an area with six Liberal MPPS and three who represent the Scarborough Bluffs area.He forgets that Scarborough is the City’s pioneer in waste diversion and has fought harder to preserve the environment than anywhere else in the City. The Premier suggests his Green Energy Act will create 50 000 jobs by ending our democratic right to oppose bad government decisions and by stripping already non existent environmental controls.
Basically the Toronto Hydro Energy Services project team, led by Joyce McLean, did such a horrible job at responding to community concerns they lost control of the project and needed McGuinty to step in and use his position to dismantle well established democratic freedoms for force the project through to create these 50 000 jobs so called ‘NIMBYists’ were holding up.
Let’s look at the economics of the Toronto Hydro Energy Services plan and use facts from the Premier’s mouth, PACE Global Energy Services – an independent consultant on the proposed cancelled Long Island offshore wind farm, and Toronto Hydro Energy Services to figure out the economic impact.
First though some background. PACE was hired to look at the economic feasibility of an offshore wind farm off of Long Island. They ultimately concluded it was an economic no go, but in the process provided a methodology for determining the cost of offshore wind in North America. They pointed out a few interesting facts like “GE is the likely supplier of these off-shore wind turbines, but no turbine supplier is well mobilized to provide offshore turbines to the North American market.” (Page 7, Assessment of Offshore Power Resources, August 2007)
“Pace Global reviewed the cost estimates provided by FPLE. The cost of the wind farm alone is $5,231 per kW, while LIPA’s underwater cable and on-shore substation upgrade costs elevate the project’s costs to $5,634 per kW.” (Page 1, Assessment of Offshore Power Resources, August 2007)
Although the higher figure is probably more accurate, let’s use the lower figure to limit the room for folks who trash talk me to criticize me. — And let’s not forget the exchange rate.
“On 18 Feb 2009, 5231 U.S. dollar(s) = 6,588.97 Canadian dollar(s), at an exchange rate of 1.2596″ Bank of Canada Exchange Rate Calculator
“The goal, says Toronto Hydro chief executive Dave O’Brien, is to establish a 60-turbine offshore wind farm capable of generating 100 megawatts.” Hydro eyes new wind farm on Bluffs – Toronto Star June 25th 2008
There are 1000 kilowatts in a megawatt. There are 100 megawatts of capacity being proposed for this project putting the cost, conservatively at $658 897 000. That’s right. $660 Million dollars.
How many jobs does Toronto Hydro Energy Services think this will create? 200 short term jobs.
“Short-term employment of an estimated 200 construction jobs and long-term employment of skilled operators and maintainers.” Research Anemometer In Lake Ontario: Toronto Hydro Energy Services Oct 2008
Thats nearly $3.3 million per short term job created.
To create 50 000 jobs as the Premier would like to by ‘forcing’ communities to install poorly thought out wind projects like this, the Premier would have to spend $164 724 250 000. Yup. Over a $164 billion dollars.
So now someone is going to say ‘but the pay back, but the pay back’. Let’s pretend for a minute that the same folks who messed up with the Exhibition turbine (and who are running this project) don’t fail as badly as last time. Let’s pretend that instead of their pathetic 12% five year average output capacity they can match the 18% output capacity of the Pickering turbine. We’ll not use this opportunity to mention that these projects are bookends to the proposed offshore site, and that virtually all research indicates there isn’t adequate wind to meet the minimum viability thresholds or that neither of these will even pay back the original investment over twenty years.
At a twenty year (the length turbines last before needing to be replaced) output average of 18% (remember this is the highest output data we have for a project near this site), even before we factored in the cost of interest or maintenance the project would lose $309 478 120. That’s right, $310 Million. (This is based on the 11.08 cents per kWh rate Ontario buy’s wind power at.)
Wouldn’t it be smarter to do a full environmental review, to follow international standards for nature conservation and turbine siting, to consider all available data and save ourselves $310 million that can probably be better used doing virtually anything else? Call me NIMBY all you want, but if you think blowing $310 million bucks and doing untold damage to the environment because you were in such a rush to install a project without scientific or economic merit is a good idea, you’re not an environmentalist, you’re an idiot.
Once Again, I gladly invite Joyce McLean or anyone else at the Toronto Hydro Energy Services team to respond to any of the claims I’ve made here. This is a standing offer that has been in place for weeks now.
Legislature Back In Session – Premier Absent and Plastic Surgery Issue Number One
Unbelievable. Yesterday, Ontario’s Legislature got back to work, after the Christmas break. For those of you who have been reading my posts regularly, you will have taken note of my strong opposition to Premier McGuinty and Minister Smitherman’s Harris-esque name calling and fabrication of their opponents arguments and intentions. Both McGuinty and Smitherman have promised to ‘force’ legislation through the House that will see communities and citizens lose their right to be part of the planning process for renewable energy in their communities. They said they’d introduce it this week.
Yesterday morning I was on AM 920 – a local radio station that serves Bruce, Grey Huron, Perth and Wellington counties speaking about the Green Energy Act and wind power in Ontario. I have to say there was not a single call during the 45 minute segment from anyone in favour of McGuinty’s legislation or the concept of forcing power projects on communities. Midwestern Ontario has seen more than it’s fair share of wind energy projects go through, some with great opposition locally. There are Liberal MPP’s who hold seats in these areas, who should feel uncomfortable with the proposed Green Energy Act as their constituents believe in their democratic rights and that local planning decisions are best left to local communities.
The ill-advised speech McGuinty gave in London over a week ago has dominated provincial news and kept the Province’s handling of the economy off the front burner for a while. Perhaps that is in large part the purpose of the fight McGuinty and Smitherman decided to pick. They’ve attacked a fundamental democratic principle – the right of dissent. We need to have a society where virtually anyone is free to question government and challenge corporations. That is how we ensure transparency between the two.
About two days after his attack on Ontarian’s democratic rights, Premier McGuinty instructed the Press Gallery that from now on he expects them to keep a distance of five feet from him. Political Scientists are musing this has to do with optics. It is thought that if the press are five feet back the cameras will not be catching him looking cornered by reporters asking economic questions that there just aren’t answers to (this part isn’t his fault).
Yesterday the legislature resumed and MPPs returned from the Christmas holidays for their first non emergency day of sitting since mid December. What was on the order paper? Bill 141 – an act respecting regulations for private cosmetic surgery clinics. The budget is going to be postponed until the second half (read end) of March, from it’s previously scheduled March 7th date and the Premier was no where to be found for Question Period.
He had conveniently scheduled a media event with the Prime Minister in Etobicoke Lakeshore to announce a joint investment in the Go Transit system. I’m all for Go Transit (you could even say I’m YIMBY on this topic) – in fact Guildwood has an excellent Go Transit/VIA station that I often make use of. But I also believe there is more at work here.
Consider this – a normally reasonable Premier, attacks Scarborough, while giving a speech in London and dismisses it’s legitimate concerns and promises to pass legislation that will ‘force’ communities to take renewable energy projects by stripping local municipalities of planning powers and denying residents a voice at the table. Then he asks reporters to observe an out-of-the-blue request for space that appears to have only become a problem after 12 years being scrummed as Opposition Leader and as Premier, then delays his budget by two weeks and skips the first Question Period since the legislature has returned from holidays.
I suspect all of this has more to do with the nearly 75 000 high paying jobs Ontario lost in the last month and considerably less to do with Renewable Energy, breathing space, Go Transit or legitimate budget delays. What the government needs to recognize though is – they can score a cheap shot off the backs of residents with valid concerns by trampling our democratic rights, but doing so will be a defining moment in Premier McGuinty’s Premiership. Not only is an attack on the fundamental rights of Ontarian’s a really bad idea at any point, but to do so during an economic crisis that seems to get worse with the day and when that should be the Premier’s only focus – is unforgiveable. Try convincing a laid off worker in Oshawa that picking a fight with the good people of Scarborough and ramming through anti-democratic legislation somehow helps them when they’re trying to pay their mortgage on the 55% of their former salary that EI benefits provide. Try convincing someone in Guildwood who needs to worry about the shape their pension fund or RRSP is in with all the hits the market has taken that attacking their right of dissent at a moment like this is the most important thing on your agenda. Good Luck.
Is there seriously a single person remotely involved in politics that believes the groups in place across Ontario the Premier and his Deputy are so intent on dismissing and attacking all at once – couldn’t or wouldn’t ‘re-tool’ for the next election and punish those who took away their rights? Perhaps there would not be a push in this direction had the Premier not lashed out at those who oppose his poorly thought out green energy strategy. Now – he risks galvanizing that anger and costing a number of good Liberal MPPs their day jobs. Is there a thinking person anywhere that thinks someone who sees the Premier to not be doing enough on the economy will understand why this side show fight he started was worth having?
The Premier needs to back away from this “NIMBY-ism” crap he made up.
If the Premier wants to get serious about Green Energy production in the province of Ontario and this current process isn’t just part of a dog and pony show designed to make the Premier look big and strong using Mike Harris’s playbook, than the Premier will get serious on the environment and develop some real standards for wind production in Ontario.
We need to follow international standards found virtually everywhere else in the world.
The British Columbia offshore wind project has to go through a Federal, Provincial and Haida environmental assessment – all of which are separate. European offshore projects go through full environmental assessments too, as do the offshore projects in the United States. Consider that none of these projects are in fresh water, and the proposed offshore project in Scarborough will stir up sediment and cause unknown impacts on Toronto’s drinking water (45% of which is collected down current and well within range of the project site). Here the best we get is a ‘proponent driven, self assessment’.
All projects of this size are a minimum of 5 kilometres offshore because half a dozen European countries recognize this is the minimum amount of space required for ‘nature conservation’ on shore. The average project is 12 kilometres offshore in recognition of this.
Ontario wind energy projects should also commit to following internationally recognized setbacks on land, and minimum wind viability thresholds to ensure future projects are properly sited and viable.
It is pretty clear to me that the Green Energy Act has literally nothing to do with the environment or energy production and very little to do with tangible job creation. It is part of a communications strategy that will give the Premier the opportunity to try to point to some ‘good news’ items as he moves forward into what will undoubtedly be a dark economic time for Ontario.
I strongly call on Premier McGuinty and Minister Smitherman to rethink stomping on democratic rights of Ontario’s municipalities and citizens simply as part of a communications strategy and instead use the opportunity presented by their mentioning of a green energy act to set some standards to ensure Ontario’s wind projects at least make sense on paper before we throw billions of dollars at them.
No Ontarian can seriously oppose a full environmental assessment on the impact of such a massive structure. If the Premier wanted to show leadership – he would demand we preserve nature and he would defend the democratic right to dissent from government. His inability to do so should send a chill through every activist’s spine – your cause could be the next one outlawed.
The Premier still has time to get is priorities straight and to walk away from the public policy disaster and aboutface to his well constructed image he is currently flirting with. Preserve nature, the environment and democratic principles – focus on the economy and leave this issue alone or vastly change your tact.
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