Q&A
- Where exactly is the
Portlands?
- Why is a generating station
being built so close to the waterfront?
- Why not use the existing
Hearn Station?
- Why can't energy conservation
be the answer to meeting Toronto's growing electricity needs?
- Rather than build a big new
power station, shouldn't Toronto be pursuing new supply from renewables, such
as wind and solar?
- Is it true that PEC will use
the simple cycle technology, as opposed to the much more efficient,
environmentally cleaner combined cycle process?
- Will the station have any
co-generation capability, such as using steam for district heating?
- Will this development
interfere with current and planned recreational uses of the
waterfront?
- Will the station be operating
all of the time?
- How will this facility impact
the surrounding environment?
- Will the Portlands Centre
affect nearby residential communities?
- What's the construction and
operating schedule for the Portlands Centre?
- How often will PEC run?
I’ve heard it will run all the time just to make money.
- Why is PEC needed?
- Won’t this increase
smog?
- I’ve heard water coming
from the plant is “super chlorinated.”
- I keep hearing that PEC
didn’t do any environmental assessments.
- Is natural gas a clean
fuel?
1 -
Where exactly is the Portlands?
The Portlands area of Toronto's
waterfront is bounded by Commissioner Street on the north, Leslie Street on the
east, Unwin Avenue on the South and Cherry Street on the west. This area of the
waterfront has historically been, and remains to this day, the industrial and
public works section of Toronto's Portlands. This area has never been
designated by the Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation for
recreational and parkland uses, unlike other large stretches of the waterfront.
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2 -
Why is a generating station being built so close to the
waterfront?
Portlands Energy Centre is being constructed on the site of
the mothballed R.L. Hearn Generating Station in the portlands area. This is the
only site that can connect directly to the Hydro One substation located beside
the Hearn. This existing substation feeds directly into the grid at this point.
There is no comparable location with direct access to a substation within the
City of Toronto. The site also has rail access and is close to natural gas
pipelines, which will fuel the new plant.Three independent agencies that run
Ontario's electricity system are unanimous that generation be built in the
Portlands for this reason.
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3 -
Why not use the existing Hearn Station?
The cost of renovating and
retrofitting the existing Hearn station would be prohibitively expensive. That
aside, the Hearn plant is currently leased by Ontario Power Generation to
Studios of America, which plans to develop film production facilities on the
property - a use very consistent with the waterfront vision of the Toronto
Waterfront Revitalization Corporation.
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4 -
Why can't energy conservation be the answer to meeting Toronto's growing
electricity needs?
This Spring the Ministry of Energy launched an
aggressive program to conserve 300 megawatts within the GTA. If Torontonians
respond, these savings will dramatically improve Toronto's energy future.
However, experts agree that conservation alone cannot fill the rising gap in
demand resulting from a growing population and economic activity.
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5 -
Rather than build a big new power station, shouldn't Toronto be pursuing new
supply from renewables, such as wind and solar?
Renewable energy will
play an increasingly important role in supplying power to Ontarians. But
Toronto must have a reliable energy source not predicated on whether or not the
sun is shining or the wind is blowing. PEC is having discussions with two
community partners about the installation of a solar power research facility.
Contact us if you have suggestions on how the
site could promote and further our understanding about renewable
energy.
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6 - Is
it true that PEC will use the simple cycle technology, as opposed to the much
more efficient, environmentally cleaner combined cycle process?
Because
of the urgency to install generating capacity in Toronto not later than 2008,
Portlands will use the simple cycle technology during the first phase of its
operation from June to September, 2008. That will help ensure Toronto has the
power it needs during the high summer peak demand. The station will then be
temporarily removed from service over the winter so that work can be completed
on the combined cycle technology. The station will be back up and running in
the Spring, 2009 as a fully operating combined cycle system.
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7 -
Will the station have any co-generation capability, such as using steam for
district heating?
Yes. Contrary to some stories, Portlands will be
co-generation capable.
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8 -
Will this development interfere with current and planned recreational uses of
the waterfront?
No. This area of the waterfront has historically been,
and continues to this day, home to industries and public works facilities. The
Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation acknowledges that the Portlands
site was never designated for recreational uses. PEC will be helping to improve
existing recreational facilities, such as bike paths, south of the site. As
well, the site will be bermed and landscaped, which will include planting 3000
trees.
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9 -
Will the station be operating all of the time?
No. Portlands is designed
to be a "peaking" station, and will primarily operate at those times of the day
when power demands are highest, placing the greatest strain on the existing two
transmission lines feeding the city. Portlands will also provide a reliable
back-up power supply if the current generating stations supplying Toronto are
out of service.
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10 -
How will this facility impact the surrounding environment?
The Portlands
facility will have a minimal impact on the environment as a result of the
station's design and use of highly effective emission control technology. Click
HERE for more detailed
information.
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11 -
Will the Portlands Centre affect nearby residential communities?
The
Portlands facility is isolated from residential communities and is expected to
have no discernable impacts. The station will be equipped with state-of-the-art
emission controls, recognized by Environment Canada and the Toronto Board of
Health as being highly effective. Special noise abatement equipment and site
design will also ensure quiet operation, which is estimated to be no louder at
a few hundred metres away than the sound of rustling leaves in the wind.
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12 -
What's the construction and operating schedule for the Portlands
Centre?
Site clearing began this spring, following government approval
to proceed with the project. Construction will begin in earnest this Fall, and
completed by the Spring of 2008, with a schedule in-service of the first 250
megawatts on June 1, 2008. The remaining 300 megawatts of capacity will be
in-service in 2009.
PEC is on target to provide 340 megawatts of
electricity in June 2008. The plant will operate for four months and then shut
down to allow completion as a combined cycle facility.
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13 -
How often will PEC run? I’ve heard it will run all the time just to make
money.
PEC will run about 40 per cent of the time. Typically during peak
hours on regular business days.
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14 -
Why is PEC needed?
PEC will increase the reliability and security of
Toronto’s electricity supply. Toronto uses the most power in the province,
and with increased population and new buildings, that demand will grow. In the
1970s Toronto was half its present size and was capable of supplying much of
its own power. Today it is totally reliant on external power sources
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15 -
Won’t this increase smog?
Our studies were based on worst case
scenarios, where PEC emitted twice the rate of emissions and ran 24 hours a day
all year. Even then, PEC will be well below regulated emissions standards. At
the closest residence, again, under worst case scenario, smog may increase 0.2
per cent.
A recent study by The City of Toronto shows that most of the
smog that’s produced in Toronto comes from cars and home sources such as
water heaters or furnaces in the winter.
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16 -
I’ve heard water coming from the plant is “super
chlorinated.”
Another myth busted. During operation we will inject
chlorine into our systems a few times a week to control such things as zebra
mussels. The cooling water is “dechlorinated” before it is returned
to the lake.
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17 -
I keep hearing that PEC didn’t do any environmental
assessments.
This simply isn’t true. PEC followed all of the
environmental processes required under Ontario law. We conducted an exhaustive
study which was submitted to many agencies for review before they gave their
approval. These studies are posted on our web site.
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18 -
Is natural gas a clean fuel?
Natural gas is a fossil fuel that does have
some emissions, but Portlands Energy Centre will produce about half the
greenhouse gases, less than a third of the smog causing nitrogen oxides, and
about one per cent of the sulphur dioxide of an average coal fired generating
station.
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