That does sound like good news. Has there been the NIMBY/they're an eyesore protests from local homeowners/cottage owners, as has been the case in Cape Cod recently?

Some breakout of the implied numbers here:
http://blog.davidjanes.com/mtarchives/2004_04.html#002501

Note that 112,000 is about the population of St. Lucia, which has constant wind and has to import and burn oil to generate electricity. Plus I'm sure their per/person energy consumption is much smaller than Kingston.

Note that Kingston has solid wind from a predictable direction (270, I believe) which makes it ideal for wind power generation. I believe that the towers have to be spaced downwind at least 3x their heights. I would guess this means at most 4 per mile along the wind axis.

David, I noticed that PEI has about 140,000 and draws about 180 megawatts while Kingston has 116,000 and is said to use 300 megawatts. Wolfe Island has supported the program - a fair number of "back to the landers" I'd guess. Also, the paper reports that the land use issues were cleared back in 2000.

I wonder if the size of the power draw is because of industry around Kingston?

Also, from here:
http://www.nuclearfaq.ca/cnf_sectionC.htm

The 4 CANDUs at Darlington generate 3524 MW at roughly $20 billion Candian (2004 dollars, as a guess), plus all the recent pissing away of cash. That seems to make the window power option pretty damned good.

wind power, except for very modest agricultural and other light operations, is a complete and total bust, a complete menace to non-terrestrial species (such as rare birds) and will cost consumers far more than any source of electricity... they are total bust and no one (including `wind power’ activist R. Kennedy, Jr.) wants one anywhere near them...

That is intereting, roundhead, as this appears to be a company that is not subsidized and is going to sell power into the grid at cost. If it works or does not work it will be on at their financial risk. I at least hope that is the case and will post if there are any subsidy announcements on the project.

I agree that there is some issue with birds (being a lapsed birder myself) but would wonder what the relative risk a wind turbine poses on Wolfe Island in particular as opposed to, say, a high rise office tower complex (which attracts birds flying during migration by its lights at night) or even a set of draped listening antennae as already exist at Wolfe Island, similar to the Radio Canada International set up at Sackville New Brusnwick. It could be that adding these turbines does not cause additional risk. Also, is Wolfe Island on a migratory flight path? I know that hawkes and eagles do not travel over water so the east edge of Lake Ontario could very well be a highway. The environmental assessments would have to include the particular facts of this particular location.

If these two questions, market cost and environmental friendliness, are settled I am in favour.

Count me as a wind power skeptic. $400,000,000 is a lot of money for an experiment. Nonetheless we need power and Nuclear Power is a complete bust -- it's the communism of the energy sector: it "works" on paper, it's always nightmare in implementation. So, let a thousand solutions bloom and let's see what comes of it.

I suspect that wind power will work better in isolated communities and on islands that need to import hydrocarbons (particularly oil) to generate community power.

I think it is telling that the announcement ocurred on the day that Ontario hydro rates had the cap lifted. If there is a cost of any development, including it in the fees. If we have learned anything from Ontario Hydros financial problems is that we pay one way or another. If you add the billions in deficit of the corporation, what has been the real kilowatt cost of power? Compare that cost to wind for a real apples to apples comparison. Add to the nuclear side of the equation the real economic costs of disposal as well.

further to the comment above that "no one wants one near them" refer I guess to wind farms. I think windmills have a very asthetic appeal- rather majestic in comparison to high voltage electrical grids and substations which are already in my back yard!

Good point, Helen. A sub-station is rarely lovely.

re:subsidies for Wind Power(WOLFE IS.) Ilive in area with a Sister project!
Melancthon W.p. and Wolfe Is.are currently being developed by Canadian
Hydro Developers Inc.In OUR COMMUNITY C.H.D is getting $20,000,000 in Gov.
subsidies.Now Ontario Municipalities will subsidize these developers and the
Province as we were not allowed to collect the industrial tax on the
constructed value of the turbines,all tax on turbines is capped at $40,000
assessment.Therefore a large percentage of tax needed locally lost!