Village Squire, 1978-04, Page 26the idea of such a project couldn't quite swallow Mr.
MacGregor's statement that the study being commissioned by
the provincial government into the project was not a political
move. Their doubts were- helped by the fact that the
announcement came in Toronto with Mr. MacGregor flanked b�
several cabinet ministers and Premier Bill Davis.
But Mr. MacGregor, though he may not have been above
using the project to influence the voters, had a strong belief in
the possibilities of using the waste heat. He had travelled to
Romania to study similar projects there and had urged local
officials to take a look at the possibilities. The hot waste water
from the plant was presently being pumped into Lake Huron
meaning the equivalent of three million barrels of oil a year was
literally eoine down the drain.
Mr. MacGregor's idea was to use the heat for greenhouses
and also for aquaculture, raising fish for the commercial market
in huge freshwater tanks heated by the waste water.
The election came and went and MacGregor followed the
example of his predecessors who had challenged the incumbent
Liberal Murray Gaunt: he was swamped. But the
government -financed feasibility study didn't go with him. There
was considerable debate locally about whether the project was a
good idea in the first place, where it should be built, whether the
local council (Kincardine) should be involved and whether or not
there was enough communications with other affected areas such
as Kincardine township where the project would be built if the
town fathers had their way.
Conestoga Rovers went ahead however with their job studying
the economic feasibility of the project, asking the Atomic Energy
Control Board the effect on the generating station itself,
studying the environmental impact of the project and generally
asking about all the facets of the impact of such a project.
Finally in late December the report was released. James
Taylor, then Minister of Energy for the provincial government,
said he was making the repart available to existing operators of
greenhouses and aquaculture industries to get their response,
and also to banks and energy companies that might want to
invest in the project.
The project, if it is built, could mean a major economic benefit
to the area. Greenhouse growers require a labour force of six to
eight persons per acre and if the industry did take root it would
come at a crucial time for Kincardine and Bruce County in
general, when employment in construction of the Bruce project is
dropping off.
There is also the possibility of spin-off business such as
companies to process the fruit or vegetables raised in the
greenhouses.
Of course the project is of such large scope that it is a long way
from reality. Present greenhouse operators would have to move
their operations at considerable expense to take advantage of the
excess heat. It's also a project that can't be started piecemeal
because of the high expense in converting the generating station
and building the pipeline so elaborate plans will have to be laid
out and there will have to be assurance of enough growers
interested in locating.
There also, of course. is no certainty that Kincardine would bet
the major benefit from the plan, even if it was a Kincardine idea
in the first place. There are probably many places closer to the
plant that could be used to the site of such a development that
would be less expensive because of the need for a shorter
pipeline.
In fact there's no assurance that the project would be built in
Bruce at all. A similar generating plant is located at Pickering,
for instance, for which such plans could be adapted and
Pickering is closer to the major metropolitan Toronto market.
So there are many stumbling blocks yet between you and your
atomic powered tomato but if the plans to proceed, the day may
come with winter -weary Western Ontario residents will be able
to go to the store to buy locally -grown tomatoes, cucumbers and
other vegetables, fresh from the plant not flown thousands of
miles from Mexico. It's a warming thought anyway.
PG. 24. VILLAGE SQUIRE/APRIL 1978.
. c14
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