Offshore wind turbines for Wolfe Island Shoals will be built in Hamilton—if government approves

Windstream Energy will build Ontario's first offshore wind power project in the Hamilton area, the company announced today. The 300 MW Wolfe Island Shoals project, to be installed in Lake Ontario near Kingston, will reportedly be worth $1.5 billion and will bring approximately 1,900 jobs to four Hamilton companies: Bermingham Foundation Solutions, Walters Group, McKeil Marine and the Hamilton Port Authority.  

These companies will bring their respective areas of expertise to the project, including securing the turbines to the lakebed, fabricating the structural steel, providing quayside facilities for assembly and shipping, and erecting the turbines by means of special barges at the site.

In spite of the excitement surrounding the announcement, the project as announced today does not have a timeline in place. This is because of a moratorium on windfarm development imposed by the Ontario government last year, bowing to pressure from opponents. The government has said it will conduct more scientific studies to determine whether wind farms pose any threat to humans. The ministry of energy is currently studying an offshore development in Sweden and another planned pilot project in Ohio. The government will not approve any projects in Ontario until the studies are complete.

At present there are no offshore wind projects being built in North America. The proposed wind turbine farm will consist of 100 three-megawatt turbines, about 16 kilometres off the southwest shore of Wolfe Island. It will take approximately five years to complete and will bring an estimated $700 million to Ontario’s economy. Proponents say the project would put Ontario in the forefront of the alternative energy movement and make Hamilton a hub of offshore wind expertise.