Wind turbines in the Great Lakes have the potential to produce huge amounts of clean energy in one of the most populated regions in North America.
But offshore wind has been banned by a moratorium in Ontario since 2011 and faces headwinds in the U.S.
Still, the Ontario Clean Air Alliance thinks it’s time to reconsider, arguing offshore wind could end the province’s reliance on natural gas imports from the U.S. for its gas-powered generators at a time when the U.S. threatens Canada with punishing tariffs and talk of annexation.
“Given that we’re in a sovereignty crisis and affordability crisis and a climate crisis,” said Jack Gibbons, the group’s chair, “this is a solution that can address all three of those crises and we should just be moving forward as quickly as possible.”
Here’s what’s been standing in the way, and what some advocates are proposing now.
Ontario started getting into renewables after the election of Dalton McGuinty’s Liberal government in 2003.
By 2011, five offshore wind projects had applied for energy contracts with the renewable government, and one from Windstream Energy was already successful, although it had not yet received other necessary approvals.
Mark Winfield is a York University professor who has been following renewable energy in Ontario for years. As the proposals progressed, “a lot of opposition began to emerge,” he recalled. Opponents told environmental hearings they worried the turbines would disrupt their sleep and cause health problems.
In February 2011, ahead of a provincial election, the Ontario government imposed what was described in the media as a “surprise” moratorium, saying there wasn’t enough evidence on how offshore would would affect people’s health.
Scott Keating is CEO of Trillium Wind Power, one of the companies that had projects in development. “That moratorium basically set offshore wind on the shelf, where it still sits, since 2011,” he said.
In the U.S., more recently, a project called Icebreaker Wind had been proposed on Lake Erie, off Cleveland. But it was halted in 2023, citing “considerable challenges and increased costs resulting from years of delays and obstacles,” many of them due to opposition from local residents.
And now U.S. President Donald Trump has called for “a policy where no windmills are being built,” halting even approved offshore wind projects on the ocean.
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The Ontario Clean Air Alliance is one environmental group that has been lobbying hard to lift the moratorium, and says now is the time.
Beyond reducing reliance on U.S. natural gas, Gibbons said the cost of wind turbines has come down due to technology improvements since 2011, and they would certainly be more affordable than the new nuclear power plants that the province is building, including four that would be imported from the U.S. and fuelled on enriched uranium imported from the U.S.
He said wind power in the Great Lakes could provide Ontario with more than 100 per cent of its total electricity needs. (Peak electricity demand in Ontario is close to 24 GW, according to the province’s Independent Electricity Sysetm Operator.)
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Meanwhile, Keating says Trillium Wind Power has ended its long fight in court with the Ontario government over its cancelled project, and “with that behind us now … we really just want to be able to have the opportunity to participate again.”
Trillium is proposing a new version of its project, called TPW 1. It would be 17 kilometres offshore — beyond sight and hearing — anchored to a shoal in relatively shallow water. The turbines would generate up to 500 megawatts of electricity, similar to the Portlands gas plant in Toronto.
It’s true that almost all offshore wind installations are in the ocean. A notable exception is Windpark Fryslân, a hexagonal array of 89 turbines in Lake IJssel in the Netherlands, billed as the largest freshwater wind farm in the world.
While most lakes are small and not very windy, the Great Lakes are unique — holding 20 per cent of the world’s surface fresh water and having typical mean wind speeds of 8.5 per second. “They are a fantastic wind resource, if you look at the wind maps,” said Keating.
Great Lakes wind speeds are comparable to those in Europe’s North Sea, host to 25 gigawatts of wind turbines.
A 2023 U.S. government report found there is the potential for 150 GW of fixed and 415 GW of floating turbines in the Great Lakes. Of that, 35 GW are in Lake Ontario – mostly far from shore, where floating turbines would be most suitable.
Keating said the Great Lakes have no tides, no salt and minimal waves — avoiding factors that complicate construction and maintenance at offshore wind sites in the ocean.
He added that the middle of Lake Ontario also has no ice in winter, avoiding another problem.
The biggest technical challenge is that the huge barges typically used to install offshore wind at sea can’t fit through the St. Lawrence Seaway.
However, Keating says Trillium has already commissioned a design for a smaller barge that could overcome this.
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In 2011, while imposing a moratorium, Energy Minister Brad Duguid said, “Fresh water wind turbines are something that’s relatively new, and the Ministry of the Environment needs a level of comfort on the science before they can approve any further consideration of them.”
The Ontario government told CBC News it has since undertaken “several research studies to improve the understanding of offshore wind project.” They include a study on noise – a concern from opponents at the time of the moratorium – and decommissioning requirements.
Both Gibbons and Keating say a lot more science has been done on both sides of the border since 2011. Gibbons added, “The official rationale for the moratorium has long expired.”
A big obstacle is the fact that offshore wind is still banned in Ontario.
When CBC News asked the Ontario government if it was considering lifting the ban, it did not answer. Instead, it sent a statement confirming that Ontario is not currently approving the development of offshore wind projects, as the province declared a moratorium on offshore wind projects in 2011.
Gibbons argues the original moratorium isn’t a law — “just a press release” — and could be reversed the same way it was put in place.
But Winfield says it’s not that simple – the first step would be for the government to lift the moratorium, say it would consider offshore wind projects, and ensure the electricity would have a market. But it would also need to say what the process would be for approving the projects.
He suggested there remains public opposition to offshore wind.
“There’s a reluctance still to go there,” he said. “And that seems to be the single biggest problem.”
Gibbons disagrees, given the current political and climate situation. If the wind turbines are required to be too far from shore to be seen or heard, he said, “I think when you combine all those factors, the public would support lifting the moratorium.”
There are hints things could changing.
The government announced recently it will be considering renewables for electricity procurement of 5,000 megawatts by February 2026, although offshore wind wasn’t mentioned. The Independent Electricity System Operator included offshore wind in a 2022 modelling study on how it could decarbonize Ontario’s electricity system.
If the moratorium were theoretically lifted today, Keating acknowledged that given the 15 years that has passed since the moratorium was imposed, some environmental studies would need to be redone. But given that Trillium has already done much of the work, he thinks the project could begin construction within the next five or six years and be operational as early as 2032.
