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| LAKEVIEW NEW GENERATION |
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| Update |
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| Lakeview NEW GENERATION, is a consortium of four of Canada’s leading energy companies. As you may have heard, we are pursuing the development of a new natural gas fired power plant at the Lakeview Generating Station in Mississauga. Our Lakeview NEW GENERATION project, announced in December, is a joint venture among CU Power, Hydro Mississauga, Ontario Hydro and Toronto Hydro. Although the new plant’s single 550-megawatt unit would be located at Ontario Hydro’s Lakeview Generating Station, and use some of the infrastructure at the station, it would be run as an independent power plant. The target date for operation of the gas-fired plant is the latter half of 2002. Initially, the combined cycle gas-fired plant would operate alongside the four in-service coal-fired units at the Lakeview Generating Station. These four generating units were extensively rehabilitated in the early ‘90s, achieving a significant improvement in both their environmental and operating performance. The remaining four generating units at Lakeview are shut down and there are no plans to rehabilitate or restart them. Who are the Lakeview NEW GENERATION partners? We are: CU Power International Limited – of Calgary, Alta., part of the ATCO/Canadian Utilities Group of Companies. CU Power has extensive experience in the development, construction and operation of power plants in Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia. Hydro Mississauga – the second largest municipally owned distribution and retail electric utility in Ontario, with approximately 150,000 customers. Ontario Hydro – one of the largest electrical utilities in North America. As part of the changes announced in the Energy Competition Act, Ontario Hydro is being split into two successor companies, one of which — Ontario Power Generation Inc. — will partner in this project. Toronto Hydro – the largest electricity retailer in Ontario and second largest municipal electric utility in North America. It serves 25 per cent of Ontario’s electricity marketplace. What is a combined cycle power plant? Recent technological advances have made gas-fired, combined cycle plants among the most economic and environmentally friendly methods of producing electricity. In a combined cycle plant, natural gas is burned in a gas turbine that turns an electrical generator. The hot exhaust gas from the turbine is then used to produce steam, which turns a steam turbine and another electricity generator. As a result, the plant generates electricity by combining a gas turbine and a steam turbine - hence the name, combined cycle. Combined cycle plants operate at an average energy efficiency of 55 per cent, compared to about 35 per cent efficiency for traditional coal-fired generation. What is the impact on the environment? All major methods of electricity production affect the environment — hydroelectric stations, nuclear generation, and oil, coal, and gas-fired plants. Because the new plant would use natural gas to power highly efficient combined cycle gas turbines, it would contribute considerably less to local and global air pollution than conventional coal or oil-fired generation. Why locate the new plant at Lakeview? Locating the new plant at the Lakeview Generating site location makes sense because: Lakeview is strategically located on the Ontario transmission system, enabling the new plant to be connected to the system without building new transmission lines. The site is centrally located in the large Greater Toronto Area and close to the direct purchasers of the power –Toronto Hydro and Hydro Mississauga. The new plant can make use of the site’s existing infrastructure, such as the cooling water system and the transformers, reducing the cost, potential disruption to the local community and environmental impacts. Using the Lakeview site would also enable the plant to begin delivering needed electricity sooner than if it was necessary to conduct site election studies, and build new transmission lines and other facilities. How would the new project benefit the community? The new plant would help strengthen the electricity supply system in Toronto, Mississauga and surrounding areas, while creating new jobs in the community. Early estimates suggest the $400 million project would create approximately 350 jobs at the peak of construction. While there are still a number of details to be worked out with respect to the operation of the plant, experience with similar projects indicates the facility would require 35 to 40 operating staff. Will the existing Lakeview plant continue to operate? Ontario Hydro has already announced that it plans to phase out the coal-fired generating units at the station as they come to the end of their service lives over the next decade, and to phase in high-efficiency gas generation. No decision has been made about when or how this phase out would occur. Options and timing for phase out of the four existing units will be studied in parallel with development work on the new project. In the meantime, the four operating units will continue to generate electricity as needed to help meet the demand for power in the province, particularly during peak customer demand periods. Is the additional power needed? The population in the Greater Toronto Area is continuing to grow, and that means increased demand for electricity. The partners believe that electricity generated at this new plant will be cost competitive with imported power and with other new power sources likely to be developed in Ontario as the electricity market opens to competition beginning in 2000. What has been done so far? A number of teams have been formed within the partnership to analyze the key economic, technical and legal aspects of the Lakeview NEW GENERATION project to determine whether, and on what basis, it will proceed. This work, and preliminary environmental studies, should be completed by late spring of 1999. Should the phase one studies produce promising results, and the partners agree to proceed, the next step would include detailed design and engineering and environmental impact studies leading to regulatory approval. How will the community be kept informed? Throughout the Lakeview NEW GENERATION project, communications with local communities, community leaders and interest groups will be given a high priority. This will include a community open house or information centre in the coming months, as well as ongoing discussion with community leaders and interest groups. In the meantime, if you would like more information on the project, please contact: Liaison Co-ordinator, Lakeview NEW GENERATION, 2 Civic Centre Court, 4th Floor. Etobicoke, ON M9C 2B4. Telephone: 416 620-1992 Fax: 416 620-1882. e-mail: lakeviewNG@on.aibn.com |
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