WindShare

TREC initiated the wind turbine project on Toronto’s waterfront and in partnership with Toronto Hydro put in place the large wind turbine at Exhibition Place, the first urban-based commercial scale wind turbine in North America and the first large-scale wind energy co-operative in Canada.

The turbine was erected in December 2002 and started generating power in January 2003. It was built by a Dutch company, Lagerwey Windmaster B.V, and is the first of its kind in North America. The turbine stands thirty stories tall and has the capacity to power up to 250 homes. Electricity from the wind yields no emissions and no waste.

Specifications:

• This unit is a 750 kW, direct drive, model LW 52 wind turbine
• It is located at the west end of Exhibition Place
• The wind turbine is 94 metres high, or roughly 30 storeys It weighs approximately 121,000 kilograms
• Each of its three blades measure 24 metres in length
• The blades rotate at approximately 27 rpm, or 11 metres per second
• It cost aproximately $1.6 million

Benefits - the wind turbine at the Exhibition Place will:

• generate an average of 1,400 megawatt hours of power per year, equivalent to the electricity needs of about 250 homes;
• The turbine will help displace some of the harmful chemicals that are responsible for smog and acid rain and will displace up to 380 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide annually.

For more information visit: www.windshare.ca