Minister Smitherman Helps Celebrate Milestone in Renewable Generation for Ontario
Kincardine, Ontario, April 3, 2009 – Today, Enbridge Inc. officially opened the 115-turbine Enbridge Ontario Wind Power project in the Kincardine area, which is capable of producing up to 190 megawatts (MW) of renewable electricity. A ceremony held in Kincardine to mark this milestone was attended by The Honourable George Smitherman, Ontario’s Deputy Premier and Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, Carol Mitchell, MPP for Huron-Bruce, Kincardine Mayor Larry Kraemer and other dignitaries.
“The Kincardine community and the province of Ontario are leading the way in their support of wind and emerging clean energy technologies and Enbridge is pleased to contribute to advancing our shared goals through our own green and renewable investment program,” said Jim Schultz, Senior Vice President, New Ventures, Enbridge Inc. “Wind power projects like our wind farm in Kincardine further position Enbridge to become a significant player in developing one of the fastest growing sectors of electricity generation in North America.”
Enbridge began construction in July of 2007 and the wind farm began supplying green energy to the province’s electricity grid in August 2008. The final turbine came online in mid-February 2009. When operating at peak capacity, the 115 turbines can provide enough electricity to power between 50,000 and 60,000 homes.
Minister Smitherman helped mark the occasion held at the electrical substation by switching on one of the 115 Vestas V82 turbines that are located on the 20,000-hectare project site. Each turbine is 80 metres high and includes a three-blade rotor 82 metres in diameter.
“I’m delighted to join Enbridge and the community of Kincardine to celebrate this significant milestone,” said Minister Smitherman. “Today at more than 950 megawatts online, Ontario leads the rest of Canada in wind power capacity. With the added impetus of the province’s proposed Green Energy Act, the McGuinty government will continue to transform Ontario’s electricity generation system into one of the cleanest, greenest energy supply mixes in the world.”
“Bringing on new, clean sources of renewable supply provides valuable spinoff benefits to our community while helping to clean up our air,” said Carol Mitchell, MPP for Huron-Bruce. “We’re proud of our role as an energy powerhouse. Keeping the lights on keeps Ontario competitive and benefits families and businesses across the province.”
“Kincardine is already the leader in providing Ontario with clean electricity,” said Kincardine Mayor Larry Kraemer. “Our community slogan is ‘great energy, balanced life.’ We are proud of our role in producing clean, sustainable energy for all Ontarians and in helping to build the province’s swiftly emerging green economy.”
“Today the Province of Ontario moved towards a cleaner energy economy,” said Janet Holder, President of Enbridge Gas Distribution. “With the official opening of the Enbridge Ontario Wind Power facility, the second largest wind farm in Canada, Ontario is well on its way to meeting its targets for renewable energy. We thank all levels of government, our business partners, the landowners who host the turbines and the people in this community for helping make green energy a priority.”
Enbridge and clean energy
Enbridge companies are leaders in the development of clean energy technologies:
– Including the Enbridge Ontario Wind Power facility, Enbridge has interests in four wind farms with a combined capacity of more than 260 megawatts, or enough electricity to meet the energy requirements for about 90,000 homes. The Company also has interests in four waste heat recovery facilities in Saskatchewan that are capable of generating approximately 20 megawatts of greenhouse-gas free electricity.
– Enbridge, EPCOR Utilities Inc. and the Enbridge-led Alberta Saline Aquifer Project (ASAP) are developing two carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects that each have the potential to meet nearly one-quarter of the Alberta government’s carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction target. The two projects are designed to provide cleaner electricity from both existing and new electricity plants, with captured CO2 piped offsite and used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR) or stored underground in saline aquifers.
– Enbridge Gas Distribution’s Toronto headquarters is the site of the world’s first hybrid fuel cell power plant which harvests pipeline energy that would otherwise be wasted and combines it with fuel cell technology to generate 2.2 megawatts of ultra-clean electricity – enough to serve up to 1,700 Ontario homes.
– Between 1995 and 2007, Enbridge Gas Distribution’s energy efficiency programs allowed customers to avoid the use of natural gas by 3.6 billion cubic metres and avoided 6.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. The savings provide enough natural gas to serve more than 1.1 million homes for one year or are equivalent to removing 1.5 million cars from the road for a year.
About Enbridge
Enbridge Inc., a Canadian company, is a leader in energy transportation and distribution in North America and internationally. As a transporter of energy, Enbridge operates, in Canada and the U.S., the world’s longest crude oil and liquids transportation system. The Company also has international operations and a growing involvement in the natural gas transmission and midstream businesses. As a distributor of energy, Enbridge owns and operates Canada’s largest natural gas distribution company, and provides distribution services in Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and New York State. Enbridge employs approximately 6,000 people, primarily in Canada and the U.S. Enbridge’s common shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada and on the New York Stock Exchange in the U.S. under the symbol ENB. Information about Enbridge is available on the Company’s web site at www.enbridge.com.
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Photo: The Honourable George Smitherman Minister of Energy and Infrastructure was on hand to celebrate the opening of Enbridge Ontario Wind Power near Kincardine, Friday, April 3, 2009. Joining him are Janet Holder; President Enbridge Gas Distribution (far right); Carol Mitchell, M.P.P. Huron-Bruce and Kincardine Mayor Larry Kraemer. (Photo by Dave Chidley)
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WIND TURBINES
NOTHING BUT A MYTH
No one should feel guilty about questioning industrial wind. Regardless how big the turbines get, the ability to produce a meaningful amount of energy for consumers is extremely limited and almost nonexistent.
To understand the limits of industrial wind power we must understand how our grid works. Energy must be balanced at all times. Drops or increases of voltage can cause the grid to fail.
The amount of electricity that is used by consumers at any given time must be pre-estimated by grid managers. The grid operators must have access to a power source ready to meet what they know will be the demand for that time frame. They can not depend on power from winds as there is no way to know if and when it will be available.
It would seam that if wind power goes on line there would be a reduced use of energy from other sources. If grid operators could just shut off other sources that might work, but it is much more complicated than that.
To keep the grid stable, the grid operators must know they have power available to them. They must prearrange by buying a block of power to be delivered from a reliable source at a specific time. If this power gets used we get our money’s worth. If it is not used, due to wind power coming on line, we have just paid for reliable power that was not used. In other words, we pay for that power twice. Once for the less expensive prepaid reliable power and than again for the more expensive, after the fact, wind power. In the end not an ounce of CO2 was saved.
So the question we should be asking our selves is, “Why are we building huge industrial wind turbines?
Feel-good symbolism? Huge profits for developers?
Developers claim that they put out enough power for thousands of homes, which is just another myth.
For example: if a wind turbine’s efficiency is only 25% and produces that amount only 1/3 of the time there is no way that the wind turbine can supply power to nearly as many homes as the wind industry would like us to believe.
We all know that the wind turbine produces power only when there is wind. The wind industry proponents say that there is always wind someplace and if we had enough wind turbines we can have reliable clean energy.
Let’s see:
Bruce Nuclear Power Plant is capable of producing 4,960MW at its rated 80% efficacy. It would take approximately 29,700 2MW wind turbines (all 29,700 of them in several places because there is always wind someplace) including 1,485,000 acres of land for each place and a spider web of transmission lines and their giant towers in order to replace Bruce Power Plant.
New and most up to date Gorway (natural) Gas Fired Power Plant in Brampton On. has production capacity of 672MW at a rated 80% efficiency. It would take 4,023 2MW wind turbines someplace and 201,000 acres of land to replace that power plant.
One large turbine requires up to (depending on ground conditions) 1000 cubic meters of concrete. For every ton of cement produced there is a ton of CO2 sent in to the atmosphere. Every turbine requires having its own road constructed, it has to be transported to its site, and it has to be manufactured. With all that CO2 sent in to the atmosphere what do we gain?
Furthermore, what will happen to all those turbines after they outlive their estimated 20 year lifespan? Will they be left in the fields to decay as it is the case in parts of California and Hawaii? Will the wind companies be in business or will they declare bankruptcy within next 20 years? Should they declare bankruptcy, who will be responsible for dismantling those giants?
Once again, it is my belief that the wind power industry is nothing more than government subsidized fraud, scam and a hoax just as ENRON in the US was proven to be.