Trillium Power Wind 1
Location of Trillium Power Wind 1 in Ontario
Country	Canada
Location	Southwest of Main Duck Island Shoal, northeastern Lake Ontario
Coordinates	43°50′24″N 76°41′24″W / 43.84000°N 76.69000°W / 43.84000; -76.69000
Status	Under development
Owner(s)	Trillium Power Wind Corporation
Power generation
Nameplate capacity	500 MW
[edit on Wikidata]

Trillium Power Wind 1 (TPW1) is a proposed 450 to 500 megawatt (MW) far-offshore wind farm in the Canadian waters of northeastern Lake Ontario at least 17 to 28 km (11 to 17 mi) from the nearest mainland. This renewable energy project is being developed by Trillium Power Wind Corporation, a privately-held, Canadian-owned company headquartered in Toronto, Ontario.^[1] The project was placed in moratorium by the Ontario government on February 11, 2011 at exactly the same hour that Trillium Power was completing a $26 Million financing. A larger follow on equity investment of $400 Million was in discussion with two large global pension funds at the time. Had it not been placed in abeyance, TPW1 would have been the first offshore wind farm built in the Great Lakes.^[2] Recently, on January 19, 2023, the Ontario Court of Appeal heard an appeal by Trillium Power, focusing on evidence provided by Trillium Power of spoliation (destruction of evidence) in an ongoing litigation by the Ontario Government.

Project description

The TPW1 far-offshore wind site is acknowledged as the premier site in North America and especially The Great Lakes.^{[citation needed]} The TPW1 site will be located in northeastern Lake Ontario, approximately 38 km (24 mi) southwest of Kingston, Ontario on the shoals southwest of Main Duck Island.^[3] The project will consist of approximately 80 x 6.0MW turbines and two offshore substations linked to the Lennox Transmission Station by way of an underwater cable. The total project cost is estimated at $1.5 billion of private capital with no cost to taxpayers for the proposed construction.^[3]

The wind farm will produce between 450 and 500 megawatts (MW) of electricity with a net capacity factor of 43% (due to the quality of its power density), which is equivalent to the amount of power consumed by a minimum of 130,000 typical Ontario households.^[3] TPW1 will offset at least 1.5 million tonnes of CO₂ emissions from coal-fired generation and 931,745 tonnes of CO₂ emissions from natural gas generation every year.^[3]

On May 19, 2011 Trillium Power Wind Corporation gave notice to the McGuinty Government that if its action against Trillium Power was not corrected it would initiate litigation against the Government of Ontario for CDN$2.25 billion.^[4] No correction was made as requested. Therefore, on September 28, 2011, Trillium Power Wind Corporation filed its claim in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and was assigned the court file No. CV-11-436012. The legal claim was initiated against the government of Dalton McGuinty in 2011. In 2015 Trillium Power uncovered evidence that evidence that been in the possession of the Government of Ontario had been destroyed and mislabelled (to not be found in searches) and presented this information to the court. The court then allowed Trillium Power to amend its litigation claims to include the claim of spoliation. A decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal is presently pending from the January 19, 2023 hearing.

Key attributes

• Mean wind speed of 9.0 m/s at 100 m hub height based on data collected by both LIDAR and in-situ Meteorological Mast wind-measuring devices, along with 36 years of data collected on Main Duck Island;^[5]
• Water depth ranging from 2 to 40 m (6 to 130 ft);^[3]
• A unique Power density of 938 W/m³;^[3]
• Close proximity to major grid interconnection points (28 km);^[3]
• Average wave height of less than 1 m (3.2 feet) 94% of the time from April to November;^[3]
• Low/zero visibility from mainland shore or nearby major islands.^[6]
• Fresh water site that does not require expensive wind turbines for salt-water oceans or seas.
• The Great Lakes (and other lakes) do not have tides.

Approvals process and current status

Trillium Power followed Ontario's Renewable Energy Approval process.^[7] As of February 11, 2011, when the project was placed in a moratorium, Trillium Power had completed over 105 studies, reports and regulatory actions including, but not limited to: avian, aquatic, geophysical, ice, wave, navigation, noise, etc. The first round of public consultations were held in Napanee, Ontario, Picton, Ontario and Cape Vincent, New York in early July 2010.^[8]

The TPW1 site will be located on provincial Crown Land that was paid for and secured through Ontario's MNR Windpower Site Release and Development Program that included an embedded Land Use Permit (LUP)^[9] at the time of its registration.

All offshore wind power projects were placed in moratorium by the Ontario government, on February 11, 2011, at the exact time of Trillium Power's closing of a $26 million tranche of equity financing on February 11, 2011 at 3:00 pm.^[10]

The claim by Trillium Power vs. Ontario was initially struck down by a motions judge and was then appealed to Ontario's highest court, the Ontario Court of Appeal. The Appeal was heard on March 22, 2013. On November 12, 2013, the three judges of the Ontario Court of Appeal rendered their decision whereby they found Trillium Power's case could proceed on the claim of misfeasance in public office. On February 28, 2014, the Ontario Government filed a Statement of Defense.

On January 19, 2023 the Ontario Court of Appeal heard an appeal by Trillium Power on the issue of spoliation and the administration of justice in Ontario.

Additional projects

TPW1 is the first of Trillium Power's four unique offshore wind developments in the Great Lakes. Trillium Power's additional sites include: Trillium Power Wind 2 (TPW2), The Great Lakes Array and The Superior Array.