Summary
Unless the provincial government acts to stop the risk of drowning tourists who could not be adequately warned of the extreme dangers the proposed hydro-electric generating station at the Bala falls would create, for the next 40 years, Ontarians and their children would be forced to pay more than double the renewable energy costs paid in other states and provinces – even when Ontario does not need the energy.
Detail
As noted here, the proposed hydro-electric generating station at the Bala falls would produce the least power when Ontario needs it the most (in the summer), and it would produce the most power when Ontario needs it the least (in the spring). So it would be useless.
And for this useless power, Ontarians would pay more than 17 ¢/kW•h even when that power isn’t needed, and even though the two Ontario Power Generation station’s down the river produce power for about 4 ¢/kW•h.
We know that in ye old’en days renewable energy costed more to produce, but here are the current facts:
- This Globe and Mail story is about a recent Alberta-based wind farm that will produce power for 3.9 ¢/kW•h, and this Globe and Mail story states that Hydro-Québec provides new generation for between 2.9 and 6.5 ¢/kW•h.
- And this story (local copy here) is about a US-based offshore wind farm that will produce power for US 6.5 ¢/kW•h, which is about Cdn 7.8 ¢/kW•h.
That is, it would be stupid for Ontario to pay double for power that isn’t needed.
But wait, it gets worse.
The proponent could not post warning signs where they need to be, and they don’t have permission to locate the safety booms where they would need to be. As stated in this story (local copy here), the proponent thinks:
- That a few warning buoys would protect the public. Buoys won’t help someone in a stalled motor boat that will quickly be drawn to the upstream safety boom. Buoys won’t help someone falling out a a canoe at the municipal docks or at the boat rental docks which are downstream of the buoys.
- That their proposed project is “just like” hundreds of other hydro-electric generating stations. It would not be. It would be unprecedented to build a generating station as close to docks and swimming, canoeing, and Scuba diving areas.
- Hydro-electric generating stations really do drown people, as noted here, drownings were both upstream and downstream of these dangerous industrial facilities which should not be located near recreational areas, and two of the drownings were at much smaller stations than is planned for Bala.
So the proposed project would be stupid expensive, and stupid dangerous. Doug Ford had a plan and a promise, but now he’s part of the stupid problem.