maxwell

Sunbathing at Sugar Beach could soon take a look at the power plant.

A power company based in Toronto proposed the construction of a cogeneration plant gas Redpath sugar in his 4.25 hectares of industrial land in the heart of the city's waterfront recently revitalized.

The installation of 45 megawatts they generate enough energy to supply 36,000 homes with electricity when operating at full capacity, equivalent to about 5 percent of the 700,000 customers of Toronto Hydro.

“This is truly a neighbourhood-sized facility,” said Scott Stevens of Northland Power Inc. He says the emissions will be a fraction of those produced by large electricity generators such as the 550-megawatt Portlands Energy Centre.

The $100-million proposed facility — a two-storey rectangular building with an emissions stack — would replace an unused warehouse at the Redpath refinery, which is on the water at the foot of Jarvis St.

Northland would sell the electricity to the grid and Redpath would purchase steam generated by the heat — the by-product of electricity generation — to process its sugar.

“It is a classic application for cogeneration,” says Stevens. “It’s a big steam consumer in an area where you need power.” Redpath uses about 60,000 kilograms of steam an hour.

Ontario Power Authority wants to add 500 megawatts of the combined heat and electricity plants in Ontario. OPA put out requests for submissions with a registration deadline of June 28.

But the government agency wouldn’t say how many registrations for cogeneration plants were received. “Somewhere between one and 100,” said Kevin Dick, the agency’s director of clean energy procurement, who said releasing the number could hurt the competitive process. The deadline for formal submissions is Sept. 1.

Opponents of nuclear power believe cogeneration is a less risky and more effective way to produce power. “It’s by far the most efficient way to use natural gas for electric power generation,” says Jack Gibbons, chair of the Ontario Clean Air Alliance. Gibbons believes this type of neighbourhood facility is the wave of the future.

“Portlands is a huge natural gas power plant, but there’s never been much political opposition to small-scale gas-fired power plants in Ontario,” says Gibbons. “It means we can help keep the lights on in Toronto if there’s a North American blackout — and keep good high-paying jobs at Redpath,” he says.

Waterfront Toronto, the government agency at the heart of revitalizing the East Bayfront and West Don Lands, is interested in talking to the company about potential power uses for the waterfront community, says Michelle Noble, the agency’s director of communications and marketing. The city has typically backed cogeneration and has put zoning in place in both waterfront communities to allow the use.