Sparks fly over proposed hydro plant
Big plant in port lands is `reacting in a crisis way,' says Miller
But need for electricity immediate, Ontario energy minister says
Feb. 2, 2006. 01:00 AM
JOHN SPEARS AND RICHARD BRENNAN
STAFF REPORTERS
Mayor David Miller and Ontario Energy Minister Donna Cansfield appear to be on a collision course over the need for what Miller calls a "mega-power" plant in the city's port lands.
Miller said yesterday he opposes a proposal by Ontario Power Generation and TransCanada Corp. to build a 550-megawatt power plant on the eastern side of Toronto's waterfront, beside the old Hearn generating station.
Miller said building a big plant is "reacting in a crisis way" to a problem that needs long-term thinking.
That's not how Cansfield sees it.
"It is a crisis situation," she told the Star, noting there is an immediate need for 250 megawatts of electricity in the city.
The Independent Electricity System Operator has said that central Toronto risks rolling blackouts in the summer of 2008 unless 250 megawatts of generating capacity is built in the city core. Another 250 megawatts is needed by 2010.
Cansfield said it's better to build the new capacity all at once.
"I am not going to say you only need 300 (megawatts) now, knowing that they need 550 (megawatts) in 2010. To me, that's misleading people," she said.
"What we will do is build the plant that ultimately will be the 550 (megawatts), but we will start with phase one at 250," she said.
The plant, likely to be built on the site of the Hearn plant rather than inside the existing mothballed coal-fired plant, will provide steam or heat as saleable byproduct.
But Miller said he's been talking to city-owned Toronto Hydro, which is interested in building a 350-megawatt plant in the city core and has plans to cut 200 megawatts of demand through conservation measures.
Blair Peberdy, vice president of Toronto Hydro, said in an interview that hydro has had informal talks with partners who might build a downtown generator. He wouldn't name them, but industry sources say Toronto Hydro has talked with Baltimore-based Constellation NewEnergy.
Peberdy said there has been no formal call for proposals to provide the supply, outlining the conditions under which a plant would operate. Companies need to know some financial and technical ground rules before they can prepare a proposal.
But Cansfield questioned the wisdom of building a small plant when ultimately the city needs a larger one.
She noted that Toronto used to have the Hearn plant on the waterfront, and the Lakeview plant — closed last year — on the edge of the city in Mississauga.
"Now we have double the population and no power being generated," she said.
Miller argued that conservation needs to be stressed ahead of generation.
"To respond to a crisis in the peak availability of electricity in the summer time by building an enormous plant in the port lands would be reacting in a crisis way," he told reporters.
"We have to deal with this with a long-term view. Electricity use will increase, but we need to start taking conservation measures now."
Miller said a smaller generating station than the 550-megawatt port lands proposal would fit inside the old Hearn station, while the large plant would have to be built on its own site, taking up valuable waterfront land.
He also said the city wants any new station to be a co-generation plant, one that produces steam as well as electricity.
Steam can be used by local industries, or to heat buildings in the surrounding area in winter. |
