Feb 132009
The Muskoka Lakes Association has formed a sub-committee to gather information on the control of the water levels in Lake Muskoka, as a result of the proposed power station.
- On January 9, 2009 a meeting was held with representatives of the Ministry of Natural Resources, and some notes are here.
- On January 12, 2009 a meeting was held with representatives of Swift River Energy Limited and some notes are here.
Some comments are as follows:
- Some details of Ontario’s Standing Offer Program are here. It notes that while it pays 11.08¢ per kilowatt-hour for electricity (with increases due to inflation), it also pays a premium of 3.52¢ per kW•h (that is a 32% premium) for electricity reliably produced (that is, at least 80% of the time) during peak hours (which are 11:00 am to 7:00 pm). So while SREL make a big point that they will be staying within the requirements of the water management plan, they neglect to note that the plan allows a huge variation in water levels (18.5") and that SREL would receive a huge bonus for operating the plant in a “peaking operation”, where they will store the water every night and run the plant at full capacity every afternoon – using Lake Muskoka as a water reservoir.
- SREL notes that they will “ask for public consultation” on the scenic flow over the north dam. Of course, the public will want more, and SREL will want less. Water over the dam is lost money to them. The important point is that they will only begin this public consultation AFTER the Environmental Screening Report public comment period is completed, which doesn’t leave the public any negotiating strength for this.
- A related point is that the Township of Muskoka Lakes is planning on asking SREL for incentives for allowing this project to proceed, but only doing this after the project is approved. Again, this is too late to be asking for anything.