Ontario halts offshore wind in Great Lakes

Until further scientific study is done, the Ontario government has called a stop to any offshore wind power projects in the province’s section of the Great Lakes. All of the offshore wind projects had yet to receive full approval, but many were in the planning stages and one had already accepted a contract to sell electricity to Ontario under the feed in tariff program. That contract will be revoked, applications will be suspended and the government will not accept any more. The government wants to ensure that any offshore wind projects are protective of the environment. Offshore wind on freshwater lakes is a fairly new concept and the science of environmental impact is not yet clear whereas the science concerning land based wind is extensive. While this decision created uncertainty for the industry Ontario currently generates about 1500MWs of power from land based wind farms. The province halted offshore wind projects in 2006 to examine environmental issues, but it was removed in early 2008.

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