After more than a year of public meetings - and resident opposition - Toronto Hydro announced Friday, Oct. 23, it has approval to build a wind research platform in Lake Ontario.Toronto Hydro Energy Services officially received final approval from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources to build an anemometer 1.2 kilometres offshore in Lake Ontario to test the viability of wind energy.
The platform is to be built off the coast of the Scarborough Bluffs, just west of East Point Park. Construction is expected to begin next week, weather permitting, and will take approximately four weeks. It will stay in the lake for two years, or longer.
Toronto Hydro is testing for the viability of installing a wind farm with up to 60 turbines that would stretch from Ajax to the Leslie Street Spit.
"Once we have a good chunk of data and we look at other factors...then we'd be in a better position to determine if a wind project is viable," said Joyce McLean, director of strategic issues for Toronto Hydro.
John Laforet isn't surprised to hear the anemometer is going in, however it was news to him it would be going in next week. Laforet is a Guildwood resident and president of Wind Concerns Ontario.
"I don't think there was any surprise from Guildwood residents," he said Friday. "We're still resolved to fighting any turbines from going in the lake."
Laforet, many fellow Guildwood residents and Wind Concerns Ontario have been working for more than a year to fight the possibility of turbines ending up in the lake off the Scarborough Bluffs. There have been petitions, massive turnouts at public meetings, and protests.
Laforet said they'll be at Queen's Park on Thursday, Oct. 29 for a rally calling for a moratorium on all wind projects.
While the installation of the anemometer is being done to test for the viability of wind energy in the area to see if it's worth pursuing a wind farm, Laforet believes Toronto Hydro is set on a wind farm project regardless of the data the anemometer provides.
"I don't think anything is going to change," he said.
"They know it's not a viable option because modelling has been done."
Laforet is referring to a study done by Helimax for the Ontario Power Authority that used computer modelling to determine the best areas in the province for wind energy production.
The anemometer will provide factual information about the wind resource in this area - measuring wind speed and direction at heights between five metres to 150 metres using a LIDAR (light detection and ranging) device.
"It's going to be very interesting to start determining if this is a viable choice for wind energy," McLean said.
Once the installation is complete and the device is up and running, Toronto Hydro will provide updates on a quarterly basis on its website at www.torontohydroenergy.com/offshorewind