Background

In January 2008, the Minister of Energy for Ontario issued a Directive to the Ontario Power Authority to procure a site for a private 350 to 400 megawatt simple-cycle gas generator in northern York Region. The rationale was that it would serve the need for peak electricity demand in York Region, which has witnessed steady energy reduction and increasing conservation in spite of the region's rapid growth.

On December 11, 2008 the Ontario Power Authority announced the winning 20-year contract was awarded for a 393 megawatt gas plant to the York Energy Centre, to be owned jointly by Alberta-based Pristine Power and its partner, U.S. Harbert Power LLC. The plant is expected to cost $365 million to construct and will be financed by increased rates for Ontario consumers.

The site is located at 18781 Dufferin Street in King Township. The location chosen in the famous Holland Marsh, the most productive farmland in Canada, came as a surprise to many who felt that its location under the Greenbelt Plan, and its designation as Protected Countryside would serve to shield it from industrial infrastructure to service Ontario's electricity needs on hot summer days. 

Since 2005 , the peak demand for electricity has steadily dropped because of conservation efforts. The overall demand dropped again through the recession of 2009-2010.  The IESO's Reliability Outlook for December 2009 predicts that Ontario's peak demand will be 3,000 megawatts lower than it was in 2005. This is almost as big in capacity as the Nanticoke coal generating station!

 

 

 

Time to next Ontario Municipal Election (October 25, 2010):
  October 6, 2011
Next  Ontario Provincial Election:
*HOT BOX*
RIGHT HAND, LEFT HAND:
In an unprecedented move, while the OMB Hearing was still underway in King Township for the peaker plant, the Ontario government issued an Order-In-Council on May 28, 2010 to exempt the project from the Planning Act. It approved the regulation. The OMB still intends to issue a decision whether the development is in conformity with the Greenbelt Act;
ironically, the OMB renders its decisions to the very same Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing that is directed by the Planning Act at the OMB is asking to bypass the Act using the draconian Order-in-Council.
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AUDIO FILES

Kingbridge Public Meeting 10/02/09
Pristine Power's Jeff Myers' talk (5 min)

Kingbridge Public Meeting 10/02/09
Minister of Energy & Infrastructure George Smitherman's speech (13 min)
A 393 megawatt single-cycle "peaking" gas generator will emit almost 3 tonnes (3,000 kgs) of greenhouse gases -- every minute.

It takes a year for two or three cars to produce this amount of CO2.
At left is a view of the Holland Marsh from the north. The 393 MW gas generator will be located at the York Energy Centre on the left. The blue numbers indicate the Mean Elevation Above Sea Level (MASL).  Both the Holland Marsh, Lake Simcoe and the plant are located approximately at 219 MASL.

The area has one of the few unique micro-climates in North America.  Its rich organic- based soils warm up faster in the Spring than most mineral-based soils.

Note the shallow "bowl-like" valley.  In 1954 Hurricane Hazel inundated the area, leaving most of the Marsh under 3 to 30 feet of water. The Highway 400 on the west side was under 3 to15 feet of water. Thousands of residents were left homeless and many were housed in nearby Bradford.



Preliminary damage estimates were $10 million (adjusted to $28 million 2010 dollars).The Hamlet of Ansnorveldt, near where the York Energy Centre is to be located, was inundated. Some survivors report that they floated down Dufferin Street to safety on wooden doors that they used as makeshift rafts.

The Holland Marsh is prone to dust storms.  In 1985 the severe weather storm that created the F4 tornado in Barrie ripped through the Marsh causing severe damage, particularly on Fraser Road, which was renamed Tornado Road.  It downed power lines in the Marsh.