The Portlands Energy Centre is a 550-

megawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

. It is located in the

Port Lands The Port Lands (also known as Portlands) of Toronto, Ontario, Canada are an industrial and recreational neighbourhood located about 5 kilometres south-east of downtown, located on the former Don River delta and most of Ashbridge's Bay. Approxi ...

area of the

Toronto waterfront The Toronto waterfront is the lakeshore of Lake Ontario in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It spans 46 kilometres between the mouth of Etobicoke Creek in the west and the Rouge River in the east. History Lake Ontario is a recent lake. ...

at 470 Unwin Avenue, adjacent to the site of the decommissioned

Hearn Generating Station The Richard L. Hearn Generating Station (named after Richard Lankaster Hearn) is a decommissioned electrical generating station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The plant was originally fired by coal, but later converted to burn natural gas. The pl ...

Ownership

The Portlands Energy Centre was originally owned and operated as a 50/50 joint partnership between

Ontario Power Generation Ontario Power Generation Inc. (OPG) is a Crown corporation and "government business enterprise" that is responsible for approximately half of the electricity generation in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is wholly owned by the governmen ...

(OPG) and TransCanada Corporation (now TC Energy). OPG acquired full ownership of the facility in 2020, and it is currently operated by OPG's subsidiary Atura Power.

Technical specifications of the plant

The technical specifications of the plant in the original submission of the environmental review report (a less rigorous form of a full environmental assessment) to the Ministry of the Environment in November 2003 have been significantly altered. This was due to the government instructing Ontario Power Generation to stop participating in projects which use more environmentally acceptable generations systems, such as co-generation. Originally, the plant was described as two identical 275 MW power train systems, each comprising a 175 MW GE 7FA

gas turbine A gas turbine, also called a combustion turbine, is a type of continuous flow internal combustion engine. The main parts common to all gas turbine engines form the power-producing part (known as the gas generator or core) and are, in the directio ...

generator, and other equipment. This proposed configuration was capable of producing over 272,000 per hour of steam for district heating. This design would, according to a PEC newsletter, allow for the efficiency of the plant to be “about 55% compared to 35% for a typical fossil power plant” There were also plans to include “Canada’s largest

solar array A photovoltaic system, also PV system or solar power system, is an electric power system designed to supply usable solar power by means of photovoltaics. It consists of an arrangement of several components, including solar panels to absorb and ...

” capable of producing “hundreds of kilowatts” though no actual specification seems to have ever been given.

Local opposition

Environmental issues

The original design met with some community resistance and many local residents, all local politicians and a number of significant City of Toronto departments including the Works Department and the Board of Health. These groups called for a full Environmental Assessment (EA) as a way to resolve some of the technical and health related issues with the plant. The Ontario Liberal Government denied a full EA. Over time, the plan was altered significantly in a way that reduced the efficiency and aesthetic virtues of the plant. In November 2004, the proponents hosted a meeting to tell the community that the generation of steam for district heating was no longer going to happen and that the solar panels were no longer going to be included. It was also noted that the attempts to make the exterior of the plant aesthetically pleasing had been dropped in favour of a shed type design.

Location issues

The plant was met with considerable local opposition, since it was to be sited on the Waterfront, which is currently undergoing a revitalization process, and has been striving to be a “world leader in sustainable design” (according to the Corporation Chair, Robert Fung). The Ontario Liberal Government decided that, despite significant opposition, the project would be allowed to move forward without a full Environmental Assessment. The Toronto Waterfront Revitalization Corporation played a more neutral role, offering criticism of the plant but falling short of calling for a change of plans.

Power purchase agreement, timing and capital costs

On September 18, 2006, TransCanada issued a press release announcing that Portlands Energy Centre L.P. had signed a 20-year Accelerated Clean Energy Supply (ACES) contract with the Ontario Power Authority for the power output of the PEC. The plant started delivering 340 MW of power to the City of Toronto in June 2008 in single-cycle operation and was fully operational with an output of 550 MW by the second-quarter 2009. TransCanada Corp.br>2007 Annual Report
Total capital costs are expected to reach $730MM.

References

External links

Portlands Energy Centre

Top Plants: Portlands Energy Centre, Ontario, Canada

Portlands Energy Centre Photos - 2007
{{Fossil fuel power ON Ontario Power Generation Buildings and structures in Toronto Natural gas-fired power stations in Ontario Joint ventures TC Energy 2008 establishments in Ontario