A group called Save Georgian Bay is concerned about a plan by TC Energy to create a massive pumped storage facility at the 4th Canadian Division Training Centre(4CDTC) Meaford property.
Environmental engineer and property owner Bruce Rodgers said the construction would result in a man-made reservoir holding millions of cubic meters of water on a hill directly above hundreds of residents.
He adds the design is based on the Ludington Pumped Storage Facility in Michigan which kills millions of fish each year.
He suggests the $3.3 billion plant is not a good fit with the natural beauty of the Niagara Escarpment and Georgian Bay. He says the Department of National Defence will make an initial decision likely by late spring of 2020, so residents should submit comments before March.
“The four-year construction period and daily operation of the facility will create pollution and turbidity that will jeopardize the clarity and natural beauty of the bay. It also involves significant earth-moving to construct the offshore break walls, plant, and reservoir. On-going operations will create noise and light pollution as well as be detrimental to the water quality and clarity, while the number of fish killed each year can destabilize a habitat,” said Rodgers.
"It will be lit up all night long. It will produce noise. On a calm night, you can hear two fishermen halfway across the bay. This facility will be heard throughout the bay on a calm night," he explained.
"With a great big intake right at the shoreline, it's like a vacuum cleaner that's just gonna suck everything up, and it'll have a massive effect on the environment," said Rodgers.
"And it actually consumes power. So to produce 1000 megawatts of power during the day, its consumes 1300 p megawatts of power at night," he continued.
So you still need nuclear, gas-powered or wind power energy to fuel it.
“A pumped storage power plant is used during peak electrical demand periods as a secondary power generator but consumes power in order to store it in the holding lake. These plants are only about 70% efficient and do not replace nuclear or petroleum-based power plants, so it's not entirely clean energy. With many contemporary and more environmentally friendly options available, including smart peak electrical demand abatement technology, it's surprising that this obsolete technology is even considered in such a pristine and populated area,” added Rick Martinson, Electrical Engineer.
The group hosted a public information night recently attended by over 250 concerned citizens and government officials. TC Energy declined to attend. "Save Georgian Bay" says TC Energy claims that the plant is needed to balance power demand in Ontario. TC Energy has not provided a publicly available pro-forma to display the impact of costs and revenues, rate-payer total costs (including delivery charges), and its corporate recovery from this proposed investment. TC Energy claims the project will create 800 temporary construction jobs, but initially reported only 15 full-time positions will remain locally upon completion.
The proposed location of the project is in close proximity to residences and recreation areas. The concerns about impacts on health resulting from possible high voltage wires were also raised.
A Save Georgian Bay petition is available at Change.org/SaveGeorgianBay and has generated over 7500 signatures in one month.
