Hearn Generating Station

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Richard L Hearn Generating Station

The Richard L Hearn Generating Station (named after Richard L Hearn) is an out of service electrical generating station in Toronto. It is still owned by the publicly owned electricity company who initially planned to use the site to locate the Portlands Energy Centre. Many area residents and elected representatives of the area opposed their plans.

The site is located at 440 Unwin Avenue in Toronto's Portlands area. The approximate latitude and longitude of the site are: 43°38.730′N 79°20.105′W. It is directly south of the foot of Carlaw Ave, across the shipping channel.

The Richard L Hearn Generating Station, together with the Ashbridges Bay sewage sludge incinerator stack and the Commissioners Street waste incinerator stack stand as towering landmarks of a bygone industrial era in Portlands area of Toronto (All 3 facilities are no longer in operation).

[edit] Plant History

According to the Canadian Electrical Association the RL Hearn station was Canada's first 100 MW steam turbo-generator set. It was commissioned in 1951. The plant originally burned coal which was transported on ships through the St Lawrence Seaway.

The plant has a single smokestack that stands 215 meters (705 feet) tall. This stack was once the tallest in that world when constructed in the 1950's. It was also the tallest structure in Toronto for many years until the construction of the Toronto-Dominion Bank Tower in 1967 (223 m /731 ft).

In 1971, the plant was converted to burn natural gas, with some units retaining the option to burn coal. In full operation the plant's four units could supply up to approximately 1,000 MW of power to the grid. This plant was phased out of operation in July 1983, due to concerns about air pollution in Toronto and an abundant energy supply in the province.

In June 1987, elected members of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party were pushing to have the Hearn re-opened as a natural gas power plant. [1]

In 1988, the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party were calling for the addition of scrubbers to the Hearn to stop it from contributing to acid rain in Toronto. [2]

The site was designated as protected for future electricity development by the Mike Harris and Ernie Eves led Ontario Progressive Conservative Party. This was also done with all other exiting publicly owned electrical generating stations during the deregulation of the Ontario electrical power system .

Former premier, Mike Harris later mentioned his plans to build the Portlands Energy Centre on the site of the Hearn, but the actual proposed site sits next to Hearn.

In 2002, the OPG announced that Studios of America would be leasing the property of the former generating station and had plans to construct a 300,000 sq. foot multipurpose film production studio on the site. This project is due for completion in 20??.

[edit] Recent Changes

The Ontario government announced in April 2005 that the Portlands Energy Centre would not be part of the approved 2,500MW of new power production in Ontario coming online in the next few years.

However, in February 2006 this decision was reversed, and there is a new plan emerging that would see a new plant built next to the Hearn plant. Toronto mayor David Miller is attempting to have Hearn restored in some capacity to provide that power rather than build a second plant, while nearby residents appear to be opposing any power generation in the area. The Independent Electricity System Operator is threatening rolling black-outs in Toronto if 250MW are not added by 2008, with an additional 250MW required by 2010.

On September 18, 2006 an agreement was signed between the Provincial government and TransCanada Corp. to construct a 340MW gas-fired plant next to Hearn. The plant will eventually be co-generation, producing steam heat as well as electricity. Construction is set to begin in the summer of 2007 with completion scheduled for June 1, 2008.