Rolling blackout risk persists, alternative energy celebration in TO

Three days after the biggest power failure in North American history started on Thursday, August 14, Eastern North America returned to work today. Experts are still unable to explain why a few tripped-out transmission lines near Cleveland, Ohio brought down electric grids serving 50 million people. According to the analysis so far, Ohio-based FirstEnergy experienced unusual electric conditions about four hours before the blackout hit but the warning system failed. In early August, a U.S. federal judge ruled that the company violated pollution control laws.

Ontario Premier Ernie Eves called on the manufacturing and industrial sectors to conserve power by determining what their needs are, and using only 50 per cent of what they would normally consume. Ontario uses between 22,000 and 24,000 megawatts of electricity on a normal weekday but today only about 20,500 megawatts are available today.

The province relies heavily on nuclear plants and imported energy. The blackout has prompted the Premier, who was already under attack for the government’s energy policies, to encourage conservation. Energy experts are also calling to accelerate initiatives for alternative, made in Ontario energy solutions.

In related news, on August 19, Enwave District Energy Limited will celebrate preparations to deploy the third and final intake pipe to complete marine works for its Deep Lake Water Cooling (DLWC) Project in Toronto, Ontario. The Enwave DLWC project will be the largest water-cooling system of its kind in the world and the first of its kind in Canada.

Through this innovative cooling system Enwave will:

 Provide cooling for 20 million square feet of Toronto building space
 Displace 35 megawatts of capacity from the electrical grid
 Eliminate 40, 000 tonnes of carbon dioxide C02 emissions each year
 Reduce energy use by 75 per cent compared with conventional chiller equipment
 Provide new, deep intakes for the City of Toronto’s Water Supply Division

When the switch is turned on in spring 2004, a portion of the coldness from the city’s potable water supply will be transferred to Enwave’s separate chilled water distribution system. Enwave will then use the chilled water to supply environmentally-friendly air-conditioning to customers.

For further information, contact Claire Steele-Drew at 416-591-7783 ext. 106 or steeledrew@dbapr.com