Offshore Toronto wind farm stirs debate

TORONTO, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- A public hearing on building a 60-turbine wind farm offshore of Toronto in Lake Ontario drew an overflow and divided crowd of 1,000 people.

The Toronto Hydro power utility had the meeting to outline the proposal that would see 100-foot windmills spread over a 15-mile range about 2 miles offshore where there is a natural reef, the Toronto Star reported.

The wind farm could generate up to 200 megawatts of electricity, sufficient for 50,000 homes, without creating greenhouse gas emissions, Hydro officials said.

Some residents voiced fears their view of the lake would be spoiled and their property values will suffer, while others said migratory birds would be killed or disrupted by the spinning blades.

Similar arguments have been heard in rural southwestern Ontario this year, where a developer is seeking approval from villages and towns to erect a $600 million wind farm beginning next year.

Monday, the province of Manitoba approved an $800 million project that will use 130 turbines to generate 300 megawatts of power outside the rural southern town of St. Joseph.