January 5 2006
In response to the Province’s proposal to site a large scale 500 to 650mega watt (MW) power plant in Toronto’s Port Lands our panel was commissioned by Deputy Mayor Sandra Bussin City Councillor for the Port Lands Paula Fletcher former Toronto-Danforth MPP Marilyn Churley and Jack Layton MP for Toronto-Danforth to assess the Province’s proposal and to develop alternatives to it.
We accept that Toronto does need some new generation and we believe that a number of practical steps can be taken to reduce the need for this specific proposal. At the same time we also see potential in developing generating capacity through a substantially reduced plant or plants that will provide a district energy system in the Port Lands. This would allow the shut down of existing boilers in the port area and reduce pollution. We believe that in order to protect our community interests that the City, through Toronto Hydro, should have a direct interest in his project.
We propose the following 10 ideas to produce new energy, create more jobs, reduce energy bills, cut energy waste and reduce pollution. Our 10-point Port Lands Green Energy Plan adds more than 750 mega watts of power produced or saved through a combination of new energy production and energy efficiency eliminating the need to site a single over sized 500 to 650 megawatt power plant in the Port Lands.
The Province’s persistence in trying to site a large, natural-gas fired energy plant in the Port Lands compels us to develop a new green energy plan for the city. This is an opportunity to make east end Toronto, Riverdale and the Beaches a showcase for clean energy.
The 10 Point Port Lands Green Energy Plan outlined below should be the basis for the City and community response to this Provincial project. The plan includes reducing demand for electricity, providing electricity through renewable sources and where electricity is produced using transitional fuel sources such as gas producing it as efficiently as possible.
10-Point Port Lands Green Energy Plan — More than 750 Mega Watts of Power
1) Cut energy use in existing government and non-government buildings in Toronto through energy efficiency programs delivered by governmental and non-governmental partnerships (170 MW).
2) Set much higher energy efficiency standards for new buildings to be built in Toronto and promote ground source heat pumps for new buildings (energy calculation unavailable).
3) Invest in cutting household energy use through large scale low income housing energy retrofits. Develop a Toronto Hydro loan program for renewable and high efficiency residential investments (energy calculation unavailable).
4) Utilize the “Cool Cities” program developed in the United States that cuts summer heat in the city through tree plantings, green roofs and light coloured paving (energy calculation unavailable).
5) Invest in renewable energy projects including community based projects to provide necessary power across the city including an appropriately-sited wind farm on Lake Ontario solar hot water solar heating and solar electricity (60 MW).
6) Expand use of the City’s current district energy system to provide cogeneration, trigeneration and more cooling from Deep Lake Water Cooling(300 MW).
7) Use gas burned at Ashbridges Bay Treatment Plant for drying sludge to also make electricity. Use methane from the sewage sludge to power it (energy calculation unavailable).
8) Expand Toronto Hydro program to convert stand-by generators in large buildings across the city from diesel to natural gas to become suppliers of peak energy and start to develop cogeneration in those buildings (220 MW).
9) Set up a number of district energy grids in the city including the Port Lands to provide heat cooling and power as efficiently as possible (energy calculation unavailable). The plant proposed by the Province of Ontario for the Port Lands must be restricted to a highly efficient, cogeneration plant no greater than 250 megawatts, half the size or less than the current proposal.
10) Provide substantial community investment in green energy and efficiency in the Beach and Riverdale to cut local emissions to balance out any impact from operation of the new plant (energy calculation unavailable). Provide other community benefits.
This document is meant to outline our thinking to date and to provoke debate about the direction we need to go in. We need to hear what people think of what we have proposed and to receive more suggestions.
BACKGROUND
The 10-point Port Lands Green Energy Plan plan above summarizes a number of initiatives that add up to more than 750 mega watts of power produced or saved through new energy production and energy efficiency measures. We have detailed the elements of the plan below.
1) Energy Efficiency for Existing Buildings — 170 MW
Cut energy use in existing government and non-government buildings in Toronto through energy efficiency programs delivered in partnership by Toronto Hydro, the Energy Efficiency Office the Better Buildings Partnership Enwave and the Toronto Atmospheric Fund. In addition build partnerships with non-governmental organizations, sectoral organizations and the private sector. The City of Toronto alone has 40 MW of power reductions it can implement. The calculation for non-government buildings immediate potential was recently reported at 130 MW in demand reductions.
2) Energy Efficiency for new buildings
Set much higher energy efficiency standards for new buildings to be built in Toronto and promote ground source heat pumps for new buildings outside areasserved by district energy (energy calculation unavailable).
3) Existing Residential Housing Energy Efficiency Programs
Invest in cutting household energy use through large scale low income housing energy retrofits. Develop a Toronto Hydro residential loan program for solar panels, solar hot water and for high efficiency residential investments like upgrading air conditioning systems and purchasing appliances to Energy Star standards (energy calculation unavailable).
4) City Cooling Initiatives
Utilize the “Cool Cities” program developed in the United States that cuts summer heat in the city through tree plantings, green roofs and light coloured paving. Studies in Florida show heavily treed neighbourhoods have summer electric bills 8% or more lower than less green neighbourhoods (energy calculation unavailable).
5) Renewable Energy — 60 MW
Invest in renewable energy projects, including community based ones, to provide necessary power across the city including an appropriately-sited wind farm on Lake Ontario, solar hot water solar heating and solar electricity. Recent assessments by Toronto Hydro envision potential for a 60MW wind farm to serve Toronto.
6) Use the City’s Existing District Energy Systems — 300 MW
Expand use of the City’s current district energy systems. Convert Enwave’s Walton Street steam plant in the downtown to make steam and electricity at the same time (cogeneration) and use summer steam to power air conditioning (trigeneration). Substantially expand existing Deep Lake Water Cooling system capacity and provide new DLWC for new developments on the waterfront.DLWC potential in the range of 150 MW. Cogeneration and trigeneration for Enwave potential in the 150 MW range.
7) Cogeneration at Ashbridges Bay
Use gas burned at Ashbridges Bay Treatment Plant for drying sludge to also make electricity and use methane from the sludge to power it. The City of Ottawa ROP Environment Centre a sewage treatment plant installed a cogeneration system in 1996 for net annual savings of $750 000 annually on initial annual electricity bill of $2.6 million annually (energy calculation unavailable).
8) Invest in Peaking Generation and Cogeneration in Large Buildings — 220 MW
Expand Toronto Hydro program to convert stand-by generators in large buildings across the city from diesel to natural gas to become suppliers of peak energy and start to develop cogeneration in those buildings. Invest in demand control in these same buildings. Large office buildings and institutions like community colleges could have their boiler plants converted to cogeneration. Mohawk College in Hamilton has its own cogeneration system, as does University of Toronto and York University.Calculated initial reduction in demand from such measures approximately 220MW.
9) Modular District Energy Systems utilizing smaller Cogeneration Power Plants
Set up a number of district energy grids in the city including the Port Lands to provide heat, cooling and power as efficiently as possible. One such plant proposed by the Province of Ontario for the Port Lands must behalf the size or less of the current proposal. Thus it would be restricted to a highly efficient cogeneration plant no greater than 250 megawatts. Any such cogeneration plant built at the Hearn could provide heat and power to the existing and future industries in the port that are burning or will burn gas. This would allow local industries to shut down their boilers and reduce local pollution. The West Don Lands and the Regent Park Redevelopment will benefit from having central district heating plants which could be operated on a cogeneration basis (energy calculation unavailable).
10) Community Benefits
Provide substantial community investment in green energy and efficiency in the communities around the port lands to cut local emissions to balance out any impact from operation of the new plant (For example –provide solar hot water heating for all city and school board swimming pools). Provide improvements to the Port Area itself (for example – board walk along the shipping channel or an Alternative Energy Research Centre). Assist in the development of an energy plan for the future of the east end (energy calculation unavailable).
SUMMARY
We believe that our approach will provide the community with environmental and economic benefits superior to those proposed by the Province. We were able to identify potential alternatives to the Port Lands energy plant that exceeded 750 MW. While there may be challenges to bringing all of the suggested alternatives to fruition within the required time frame we believe that there is enough potential to substantially reduce the size of the proposed plant and still provide energy security to the city and the community. A plant in the port that resulted in the closure of a number of existing boilers has the potential to avoid any net increase in emissions in our community. When we have heard back from the community we will provide a final report for consideration.
Expert Panel on Green Alternatives:
Peter Tabuns, Chair Keith Stewart, Melinda Zytaruk and Brent Kopperson