Portlands Energy Centre

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The Portlands Energy Centre is a proposed 550-megawatt natural gas electrical generating station that is planned for the Toronto waterfront at 440 Unwin Avenue – the site of the decommissioned Hearn Generating Station .

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[edit] Corporate Support

The Portlands Energy Centre is joint partnership between Ontario Power Generation and TransCanada Energy.

[edit] Technical Specificans of the Proposed Plant

The technical specifications of the plant in the original submission of the environmental review report (a less rigorous form of a full environmental assessment) to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment in November 2003 have been significantly altered. This was due to the government instructing Ontario Power Generation to stop participating in projects which use more environmentally acceptable generations systems, such as co-generation. Originally, the plant was described as two identical 275 MW power train systems, each comprising a 175 MW GE 7FA gas turbine generator, and other equipment. This proposed configuration was capable of producing over 272,000 kilograms per hour of steam for district heating. This design would, according to a PEC newsletter, allow for the efficiency of the plant to be “about 55% compared to 35% for a typical fossil power plant” There was also plans to include “Canada’s largest solar array” capable of producing “hundreds of kilowatts” though no actual specification seems to have ever been given.[citation needed]

[edit] Local Opposition

[edit] Environmental Issues

The original design met with some community resistance and many local residents, all local politicians and a number of significant City of Toronto departments including the Works Department and the Board of Health. These groups called for a full Environmental Assessment (EA) as a way to resolve some of the technical and health related issues with the plant. The Ontario Liberal Government denied a full EA. Over time, the plan was altered significantly in a way that reduced the efficiency and aesthetic virtues of the plant. In November 2004, the proponents hosted a meeting to tell the community that the generation of steam for district heating was no longer going to happen and that the solar panels were no longer going to be included. It was also noted that the attempts to make the exterior of the plant aesthetically pleasing had been dropped in favour of a shed type of design.[citation needed]

[edit] Location Issues

This was met with increased local opposition, since the plant was to be sited on the Waterfront which is currently undergoing a revitalisation process, and has been striving to be a “world leader in sustainable design” (according to the Corporation Chair, Robert Fung). The Ontario Liberal Government decided that, despite the opposition of local citizens, their elected representatives and the City of Toronto, the project would be allowed move forward without a full Environmental Assessment. The Toronto Waterfront Revitalisation Corporation played a more neutral role offering criticism of the plant but falling short of calling on one of its political masters to change plans.

The project is currently in regulatory limbo. It was not able to win a contract to sell electricity under the recent bidding process to supply power in Ontario. There is still some opportunity for the Portlands Energy Centre to win a contract under this round, but many feel that the project will not succeed at this time.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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