Ontario is expected to become an important jurisdiction in the development of North American offshore wind industry. John Kourtoff, president and chief administrative officer, Trillium Power, reviews the region’s project approval process.

By Tom Evans

A couple of months ago Ontario’s Legislature had passed the historic Green Energy Act, intended to attract renewable energy investment.

The government has been taking initiatives to develop the regulations and other tools needed to fully implement the legislation. The Green Energy Act is designed to build on the McGuinty government’s earlier initiatives around the province’s power supply, including a plan to eliminate coal-fired power by 2014, the single largest climate change initiative in Canada.

The legislation came as a result of consultation with stakeholders, including public comment on its provisions through both legislative hearings and posting on Ontario’s environmental registry.

Key elements of the legislation and related policy include streamlined approvals for renewable energy projects, spurring renewable energy investment while working with municipalities and ensuring strong protection for health, safety and community consultation, and developing a feed-in-tariff system to provide guaranteed prices for renewable energy projects.

John Kourtoff, president and chief administrative officer, Trillium Power, describes the regulatory and approval process once proposed, and now enacted in Ontario’s Green Energy Act as a “truly visionary” one.

Kourtoff, who is scheduled to speak at the Offshore Wind Energy in Coastal North America and The Great Lakes Conference to be held in Toronto (October 21-22) this year , spoke to Wind Energy Update about The Green Energy Act in Ontario and offshore wind opportunities in the Great Lakes region. //www.windenergyupdate.com/offshore/index.shtml>

What according to you are the key drivers for offshore wind power from a regulatory perspective?

Kourtoff: We all know that investors eschew risk and will charge all developments more (in terms of equity or interest charges), the greater the perceived risk profile of any development. We believe that substantial regulatory and permitting risk is really unnecessary in this day and age.

All overseeing jurisdictions have the authority, and ability, to clarify their regulatory and permitting approval processes to the benefit of all stakeholders. Naturally, there must be the genuine will to do so. All potential stakeholders must understand that a science and fact based process will provide certainty and protection from frivolous claims that can become very costly (in both time and money) to renewable energy development proponents while making sure that all development proposals meet the same equitable requirements.

So what do you make of Ontario’s Green Energy Act?

Kourtoff: I believe that the regulatory and approval process enacted in Ontario’s Green Energy Act is truly visionary. There is no question that it is the present-day “Best Practice” that should be emulated by all jurisdictions on a global basis. I know of no location in the world where there is a 6-month service guarantee for regulatory and permitting approvals, other than in Ontario.

Can you provide an insight into offshore wind opportunities coming on line specifically in the Great Lakes region?

Kourtoff: There has been a lot of buzz recently regarding the development potential of offshore wind resources in The Great Lakes region. There are eight US States that border The Great Lakes and only one province - Ontario.

As stated in a 2008 report prepared for the Ontario Government, Ontario has at least 34,500MW of shallow water offshore wind development potential spread out over 64 different identified sites in The Great Lakes. To put that amount of offshore wind in context, it is more offshore wind power potential than all of the offshore wind planned for development around the entire UK. The world needs all of the renewable energy possible so it is great that offshore wind is being developed around the world.

Interestingly, even more potential offshore wind development will be possible once new turbine technologies and foundations become available in the future. We believe that Ontario will be a very, very important jurisdiction in the development of North American Offshore Wind industry and associated Innovation Chain that will supply the necessary products and services to offshore wind developers. Correspondingly, we see great potential in the activities by New York State, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Trillium Power was the first group to obtain the rights to explore and develop offshore wind in The Great Lakes. To-date, Trillium Power has announced one announced site, Trillium Power Wind 1 with a size of 710MW. In addition, we have three other as of yet un-announced sites. Taken together, Trillium Power’s sites on the Ontario side of The Great Lakes represent approximately 3,700MW of Offshore Wind energy. We have over 36 years of wind data at our TPW1 site in addition to both side-by-side MetMast and LiDAR testing which provides further data corroboration. We have conducted, are continuing, very unique and extensive avian, aquatic and other important studies.

We have been very impressed that many US Great Lake States are quickly beginning to ramp up their offshore wind activities for wind measurement and associated resource studies. These studies are necessary to undertake so that the appropriate resource assessments will be available that can then be used in comprehensive economic models by potential offshore wind developers. I believe that it will take some time, but that in the end they will all be successful in developing their offshore wind assets.

Any concerns or hurdles at this stage?

Kourtoff: What is still not clear is if Great Lakes’ offshore wind assets will be developed in an organised, integrated and long-lasting sustainable manner, or if development will be ad hoc. I believe that a coordinated, and regional, approach - possibly using the auspices of an existing organisation such as The Great Lakes Commission - could provide an important coordination vehicle for US Great Lake States and Ontario to develop a long-term coherent and optimised plan for Offshore Wind developments in The Great Lakes.

 
Offshore Wind Energy in Coastal North America and The Great Lakes Conference

Wind Energy Update is scheduled to conduct Offshore Wind Energy in Coastal North America and The Great Lakes Conference in Toronto (October 21-22) this year . //www.windenergyupdate.com/offshore/index.shtml>

For more information, click here: http://www.windenergyupdate.com/offshore/index.shtml //www.windenergyupdate.com/offshore/index.shtml>

Or contact: Tom Evans by email tom@windenergyupdate.com