Save Georgian Bay
Why We’re Opposed
Learn more about why TC Energy’s plans for a pumped storage facility on Niagara Escarpment shores of Georgian Bay in Meaford is bad for Ontarians.
Risks to the Environment
- Threaten the fresh waters and pristine beauty of Georgian Bay Kill fish and harm the aquatic ecosystem of Georgian Bay by pumping 23 billion litres of bay water, along with creatures in it, up and down the escarpment every day for at least 50 years
- Excavate a 375-acre reservoir on top of the Niagara Escarpment – a UNESCO World Biosphere
- Reservoir – to be contained by a “high hazard” 4.8-kilometer perimeter dam, 20 metres in height
- Excavate massive tunnels deep into the Niagara Escarpment and beneath the lakebed of Georgian Bay
- Require 50 kilometres of high-voltage underwater cables stretching to Wasaga Beach which will introduce substantial magnetic fields in the water with unknown effects on marine life
- Be built on an active Defence Department training base strewn with unexploded munitions and toxic pollutants accumulated over 80 years that, once disturbed, can be washed down into Georgian Bay
Increase greenhouse gases during construction and operation - Put at risk as many as 30 endangered species
- Endanger residents of 300 existing homes, farms and cottages below the reservoir and dam who will be unable to obtain flood insurance.
No Economic Value
- Cost more than $7 billion but create only 20 permanent long-term jobs ($350 million per job)
- Provide no net economic value to Ontario electricity customers, according to reports in 2021 and 2023 from the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO)
- Hand TC Energy a binding long-term contract that ALL Ontario taxpayers and electricity customers will pay for, despite the IESO reports saying it making no economic sense
- Benefit from a highly irregular understanding with the Ontario government to have its pre-construction costs paid by Ontario taxpayers
- Employ outdated technology. Long-duration Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) are cheaper, more efficient, need a fraction of the land, not require a body of water and can be installed quickly where actually needed
- Consume 30 per cent more electricity overnight than it can release during the day
- Operate on an unsolicited and untendered long-term contract, contrary to normal procedures, eliminating the benefit of free market competitive bidding
- Take almost a decade to begin operation
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Voices From Around the Bay
“Georgian Bay Association is concerned about the risks posed by this proposed project to water quality throughout Georgian Bay, aquatic biota, and the habitat of species-at-risk – plus the irreversible harm to the Niagara Escarpment. Given that the project does not have the support of the regulator, the Independent Electricity System Operator (who view it as a bad financial deal for Ontario and question whether it will even be needed by the time it is finished), and given the far less costly alternatives that can be put in place in 2-3 years rather than a decade, we believe that it is imperative that the Minister of Energy put this long-term energy storage requirement out to a public, competitive tender.”
“TCE is proposing to construct a huge reservoir with pipelines into pristine Georgian Bay. The site proposed is likely one of the most contaminated locations in Ontario and construction will spread that contamination into the air and water. The project will disrupt the military mission, put Georgian Bay water at risk, damage many species at risk on the 4CDTC property and burden utility ratepayers with high costs for decades.”
Save Georgian Bay acknowledges that we live and work on the traditional lands and treaty territory of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation, which includes the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation and the Chippewas of Saugeen First Nation. We also recognize the Métis whose ancestors shared this land and these waters. We extend our gratitude to all Anishinaabe and Métis peoples and their descendants, past, present and future, who continue to care for and inhabit these lands and tend these waters.