Nearly all presenters to date have opposed the transmission expansion and the way it was approved – and that trend is expected to continue when the hearings move to Edmonton today. So far only TransAlta, which owns coal-fired plants west of Edmonton, has supported the project at the hearings, saying investment in new coal-fired power generation may not come if the lines aren’t built.
Health Canada is drafting national guidelines for electricity-generating wind turbines that will establish a recommended minimum safe distance between the structures and homes. Across Canada many are concerned about “wind turbine syndrome,” a suite of symptoms suffered by some living in close proximity to wind turbines. Anxiety, sleeping problems and headaches are among the negative health effects some think are caused by the low frequency hum emitted by wind turbines. The voluntary draft guidelines are health-based, and focus on minimizing potential impacts such as sleep disturbance by recommending noise limits, sound measurement standards and minimum setback distances from homes and occupied dwellings.
Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited reports that power has been restored to the building at 33 Princess Street as of 4:05 p.m. this afternoon. The outage was a result of a vault fire in the downtown area yesterday at 1:45 p.m. that interrupted power to customers in the area bounded by North – Queen Street E; East – Sumach/Cherry; South – Front Street East and West – Sherbourne Street.
Starting in 2013, Nanaimo Forest Products Ltd. will be generating and selling clean power to BC Hydro. Under its Integrated Power Offer, BC Hydro has signed a 15-year electricity purchase agreement with Nanaimo Forest Products Ltd. to purchase clean energy from a new 25 megawatt turbo-generation unit that is being constructed at the Harmac Pacific pulp mill located just south of Nanaimo, B.C.