Comments on: Toronto Hydro Windfarms off Scarbourough Bluffs

By: lp

lp — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 13:34:59 +0000

I should mention that Reid’s calculations above for how large the windmills would appear is way off. We were off on the height of the windmills by 3 orders of magnitude! (They’ll be about 150m at the tip)

By: Jeff K

Jeff K — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 06:28:20 +0000

I suppose you do know there are 2 rather large wind-farms in Ontario already? “Why do people like western Art?” you could equivalently ask when it comes to windmills vs. dirt covered garbage dumps, I mean “Bluffer’s Park”, er Humber Bay park, er, Queen’s Quay, er, well I’m sure there’s a purely natural park in the city somewhere. Hm, Centennial park.. oh actually, that’s the biggest garbage dump that’s a park. Well anyway, I think they’re beautiful. Then there’s that unspoiled wilderness by the Reesor Road wrecking yard, I mean Beare road landfill, I mean The Zoo. Toronto is quite beautiful. Did I ever mention I *liked* things like Blade Runner, I mean Shinjuku, I mean Shibuya, I mean Dundas Square?

Anyway art and beauty are a curious topic. If you’re wondering what my point was, don’t worry, I didn’t get it either.

By: Tim Reynolds

Tim Reynolds — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 21:39:54 +0000

Nice post. Thank you for the info. Keep it up.

By: Peter Cook

Peter Cook — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 22:25:04 +0000

Compare this to the natural gas plant that the provincial govt just put up within two kilometres of our front door, with its carbon and stray chemical emissions and architecture inspired by the refinery you see in the opening seconds of “Blade Runner”. It is visible now any time we walk south from the Danforth, and yet not terribly noticeable. I’d gladly trade you for the non-emitting, poetic (to my mind) turbines.

By: Tony

Tony — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 14:50:59 +0000

Sounds like a fun meeting. Don’t like the busing either. Can’t remember any windy days when I visit the area, unless the bluffs deflect them way over the houses in your neighbourhood. Like Reid’s finger calculations - he does have big hands and funny eyes though.

Really surprised that Toronto Hydro would not do an economic study to evaluate the feasibility, and admit it, but then it’s only taxpayers money - even for the anemometer portion if they don’t continue with the project. Finally for your information, something most may not realize, the Province/taxpayer pays 11 cents per kilowatt for power from windfarms (see http://www.powerauthority.on.ca/sop/ - under “Wind Energy” check out “Standard Offer Program for Wind Energy” ) then collects in the 5.5 cents range from the consumers (check your electric bill for cost of power consumed) . The difference still has to be paid by someone (i.e. taxpayers). Guess we can consider it an environmental cost. As mom says - our job is to pay and shut up.

Looking at you and Ronnie on the bluffs - what about a huge solar farm facing that great unblocked sun? Kidding aside, what about solar cells on everbody’s roof? Per link above, they pay 42 cents/kWh for solar energy.

By: lp

lp — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:51:16 +0000

Finger width, eh? Or perhaps a bit bigger than the moon? That doesn’t seem too big. Still, wish we had an artist rendition.

By: Reid

Reid — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:33:25 +0000

Using tan(x)=opposite/adjacent we get tan(x)=30m/2000m=0.015

arctan(0.015) = 0.86 degrees

Found on http://optics.kulgun.net/Observing –

“From the tip of your little finger to thumb is roughly 20 degrees and the width of you finger at arms length is about 1 degrees. The width of the sun and moon is about 0.5 degrees”

So standing on the bluffs, the height of the windmills would be about the width of your finger held at arm’s length.

The next thing to figure out is how close together would they be? We have 60 turbines, 3 deep over 24km. Each column of windmills being 3 deep, there are 20 columns over 24km, or one column every 1.2km.

That’s pretty spaced out.

But how far apart are the windmills inside each column? Or are they really columns? Maybe they are — it would make maintenance a bit easier I guess.