The Stel Salaried
Pensioners Organization wishes to thank The Hamilton Spectator for permission
to post the following article by Reporter Steve Arnold published in the
February 22, 2005 edition
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Feb. 22, 2005. 12:51 AM |
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Harnessing the Wind |
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Stelco joins Ottawa company in $140-million plan to
generate electricity via wind power |
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By Steve Arnold |
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Stelco and an Ottawa company are teaming up on a $140- million plan to harness Lake Erie's breezes to generate electricity. The venture, which could produce enough power to supply all the needs of Stelco's electricity-intensive Nanticoke steel plant, is also being sold as a way of creating up to 10,500 jobs in Ontario. Joining the Hamilton-based steelmaker is Georgian Windpower Corporation of Ottawa. "This project will demonstrate the transition from coal-fired power to renewable power and serve as a significant showcase to Ontario, Canada and the world," the company said in a recent pitch for support from Haldimand County. Georgian Windpower has already set up a weather station on the shore and is testing the wind potential of the area. Stelco, which holds 2,200 acres of property in Nanticoke, is also looking at using the wind farm to lure a foreign wind-turbine manufacturer to an adjacent industrial park. The ultimate goal would be the establishment of a heavy industry needing a steady supply of Stelco steel. Michael Monette, president of Georgian Windpower, said the 20-year plan would contribute to a number of public policy objectives, including the federal government's Kyoto commitments and Ontario's plan to wean itself from coal-generated electricity. It's also meant to spark the beginnings of a wind-manufacturing industry in the province, creating thousands of jobs. Monette, a professional engineer and expert in thermodynamics, has spent the past two years assembling an industry consortium -- including Stelco -- that could bring credibility and financial resources to the project. "The commitment is deep and strong," said Monette. "It's about how you make sure those jobs come into place not just for construction, but for a long-term infrastructure where we start building these turbines locally." Finding new and cheaper sources of electricity is a major concern for Stelco because its Hamilton and Lake Erie mills have a combined power bill of $100 million a year. For the last 13 months the company has been operating under bankruptcy protection. The project has been dubbed Nanticoke 80WP -- 80 refers to the number of megawatts Stelco would need to power the Lake Erie plant. Later phases of the project include plans for offshore turbines in Lake Erie would could generate up to 2,200 megawatts within seven years. (One megawatt is enough electricity to power 390 homes for one year.) Even at 80 megawatts, said Robert Hornung, president of the Canadian Wind Energy Association, the Stelco project would be the largest wind power generation initiative in Canada -- at least until a 200-megawatt project in Quebec goes into service. The largest such project currently operating is a 75-kilowatt facility in Alberta. Hornung said the Stelco-Georgian project has the potential to ignite further developments in Ontario, especially if the provincial government follows through on its promises of encouraging renewable energy projects. "The Stelco project is a big one. It's at a different level of scale compared to some of the others in Ontario," he said. "It sounds like there's a lot of positives to this project." One of those positives, he said, is its location. "Ontario has good wind resources in a number of areas, but the best spots are along the shores of the lakes." At the end of 2004 Ontario had wind power plants capable of generating 444 megawatts of electricity and could have as much as 5,600 by 2012. Up to 2,000 megawatts of capacity is under construction or in some phase of the approvals process. The electricity generated at the Stelco wind farm wouldn't be fed directly into the plant, but would go into the grid and offset Stelco's consumption from Ontario Power Generation's coal-burning station, located a few kilometres down the road. The plan also includes training and hiring programs in collaboration with community colleges and universities in the region, with the emphasis on developing a skilled workforce that can support the local industry. With files from Torstar New Service sarnold@thespec.com 905-526-3496 |