Toronto Environmental Alliance

TEA has been communicating with Toronto residents interested in this
issue over the past couple of weeks. Below is a letter we’ve
distributed to them:

October 27, 2008
Dear Torontonians,

For 20 years the Toronto Environmental Alliance (TEA) has been advocating for, and helping build a green Toronto.

Today, I’m asking you to help us continue this important work by
supporting Toronto Hydro’s proposal to test wind speeds in Lake
Ontario, near the Scarborough Bluffs. If Toronto is to benefit from the
renewable power revolution taking place across the planet, we at least
have to know whether Lake Ontario is a possible site for wind turbines.

To be clear, we are asking you to support Toronto Hydro testing wind
speeds, not installing wind turbines. The Toronto Hydro proposal is for
a 15 metre tall structure, 4 metres of it would be above the water, the
remainder below the water line. This structure would simply test wind
speed.

This is part of a larger effort by Toronto Hydro to determine whether
there is sufficient wind off the eastern shores of Toronto to possibly
install wind turbines in the future. Should Toronto Hydro determine
that the wind and economic potential is there, Toronto Hydro would then
develop a project proposal. This proposal would have to go through an
environmental assessment to determine whether the proposed project and
location are appropriate. The public would play a key role in this
assessment.

Some residents in the area are opposing this proposal to test the wind.
While we appreciate that some people have concerns with where the wind
turbines should be located, we strongly believe these concerns should
not stop Toronto Hydro from gaining valuable information about wind
speeds.

Put simply, we very much encourage a public discussion about whether
wind turbines should be off the shores of Toronto. But let’s have it
when we have a proposal in front of us.

To ensure Toronto Hydro gets a chance to test wind speeds, please call
or mail or fax a letter of support to: Mark Patterson, Ministry of
Natural Resources 50 Bloomington Road West Aurora, ON L4G 3G8 Phone:
905-713-7386; Fax: 905-713-7361.

If you have any questions about this issue, do not hesitate calling me
at the TEA office or email me at [email protected].

Thanks for helping us support local renewable power here in Toronto and taking a step closer to curbing climate change and smog.

All the best,

Franz Hartmann
Executive Director