The Ontario government has called a stop to any offshore wind power projects in the province's portion of the Great Lakes, until further scientific study is done.

In an announcement that stunned both wind power supporters and opponents, the province, which has strongly supported a shift to renewable sources of power, said that it will not proceed with any offshore wind projects while further research is conducted.

No offshore wind projects had yet received full approvals, but several were in the planning stages and one had already received a contract to sell electricity to the province under the feed in tariff program that pays high prices for renewable power. That contract will be cancelled, applications will be suspended and no more will be accepted.

Mr John Wilkinson environment minister of Ontario said in a statement that "We will be working with our US neighbors to ensure that any offshore wind projects are protective of the environment. Offshore wind on freshwater lakes is a recent concept that requires a cautious approach until the science of environmental impact is clear. In contrast, the science concerning land based wind is extensive."

Mr Robert Hornung president of the Canadian Wind Energy Association said that "It is an unfortunate decision because Ontario has been working to position itself as a leader in this sector." He added that the decision obviously creates uncertainty for the industry, although he expressed hope that it represents merely a pause in development. CANWEA will try to help the government conduct its research.

Mr John Laforet president of the lobby group Wind Concerns Ontario said that "It is a victory and it validates our position. Government officials in the past characterized his group's opposition to offshore turbines as absurd. This demonstrates they don't know what they are doing and they are scared of the political fallout, which they should be. They understand they have a political problem and the science is not on their side."

Ontario currently generates about 1,500 MWs of power from land based wind farms. The province halted offshore wind projects once in the past. In 2006 it put a moratorium on any offshore development while it examined environmental issues, but it was removed early in 2008. There are already hundreds of offshore wind farms in place in ocean waters, mainly off the coasts of European countries

(Sourced from www.theglobeandmail.com)