69 replies to this topic

[G-Man]

Whatever happened to the Ogden Point Windmill plan...

[Holden West]

Roping the Wind: 30-storey wind turbine touted for Ogden Point

Malcolm Curtis
Times - Colonist
Apr 15, 2005

Testing for a wind turbine as tall as 30 storeys could be in the offing for Ogden Point, home to Victoria's cruise ship docks.

At the urging of Coun. Rob Fleming, city council voted Thursday to give an "indication of support" for a temporary-use permit for wind energy testing there.

"What an incredible thing it would be for Victoria," said Fleming, referring to it as a potential icon that would convey a "green city" image to the hundreds of thousands of cruise ship passengers who visit the capital each year.

Wind turbines and solar panels on the roofs of warehouses at Ogden Point could generate enough electricity to power cruise ships that dock there, he said. Fleming added that it would reduce local air pollution by eliminating the need for ships to burn bunker oil for their electrical needs while tied up.

The idea, he said, is modelled on Canada's first urban wind turbine built in 2002 at Toronto's Canadian National Exhibition site. The 94-metre (30-storey) high structure, a joint venture between Toronto Hydro and a co-op, uses three 29-metre-long blades to harness wind power.

A similar structure would be taller than any office or condo tower in Victoria or the capital region.

Fleming said he didn't want to get hung up on the size of the turbine. Testing, which would take 12 months, may suggest a different kind of generator altogether, he said.

Other councillors sounded supportive of the proposal which is just one of several ideas being considered for redevelopment of the Ogden Point site. Council referred it to planning staff for a report.

Coun. Pamela Madoff said she thought of wind turbines as "public art," while Coun. Helen Hughes said they can be "visually pleasing."

Tim Van Alstine, chairman of the James Bay Neighbourhood Environment Association, also welcomed the idea. A wind turbine would fit into the sustainable redevelopment of Ogden Point, he said.

"Obviously there's an esthetic concern," he said, but a wind turbine could be a city symbol, "a way of saying welcome to Victoria."

TJ Schur, of Sidney-based Aeolis Wind Power, cautioned that extensive testing remains to be done.

Wind speed, wind direction and temperature -- "cooler air is denser and holds more energy" -- are the key factors in determining feasibility of the Ogden Point site, Schur said. She did not know enough about the requirements of cruise ships to say whether a wind turbine could power cruise ships.

Ogden Point is owned and managed by the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority, whose chairman Stewart Johnston is supportive of the wind testing.

"It's something that we intend to go ahead with," Johnston said. He wasn't previously aware of the potential size of the turbine but added it's "early on" in the process.

The idea initially emerged from a meeting held last November on the future of Ogden Point, transferred to the authority by Transport Canada in 2002.

"We've got 26 acres of fallow blacktop," said Johnston, referring to the mostly paved area next to the docks. "We always want to use it as a port but we also want to put it to other uses too."

The authority has hired a consultant to develop options that could be explored in a future meeting with developers from outside Victoria, including some from outside the country, Johnston said.

Ideas under consideration include a shopping complex, an attraction such as a federal marine observatory, a possible new location for the Maritime Museum of B.C., expanded marine repair facilities and some kind of presence for First Nations.

[amor de cosmos]

uhh... no thanks...

maybe we could be the city famous for not caving to "peer pressure" & building a ferris wheel...

[Mike K.]

Malcolm Curtis. *shudder*

[Caramia]

The wind turbine plan for Ogden Point is beautiful. I would love to see that. And never have I heard of so many factions agreeing to a plan for that area.

[G-Man]

Yeah but that was 2 years ago...

[Caramia]

Consensus cannot exist in two spots in the space/time continuum?
/sigh
You are probably right.

[aastra]

What I really like about this concept is the way it turns Wharf Street into a city street again. The only section of Wharf Street that really works is the section with buildings on both sides.

[Nparker]

What I really like about this concept is the way it turns Wharf Street into a city street again. The only section of Wharf Street that really works is the section with buildings on both sides.

Where did you see these images aastra?

[aastra]

Page 1.

I should add that I'm not really a fan of that concept, but one of the things I DO like about it is the way it turns Wharf Street back into a downtown street.

[Ms. B. Havin]

...one of the things I DO like about it is the way it turns Wharf Street back into a downtown street.

Which is probably why it would get shot down. Really, aastra: a downtown street downtown? Whatever were you thinking?

[gumgum]

I'd prefer to see the views along Wharf remain. Development can still happen here without impeded views.

[Holden West]

There'd still be views--you'd just be one block closer!

[aastra]

That's pretty much my take on it. Also, I'm all for preserving views, but I don't accept for one second the idea that the view must remain uninterrupted for the entire length of Wharf Street between the tourism info centre and the steps of Bastion Square. It's interrupted by the Customs House to nobody's detriment, so allowing buildings to stick up a story or two above the street in certain places simply shouldn't be a big deal (those certain places being 1) directly in front of Harbour Square and 2) at the foot of Fort Street).

[amor de cosmos]

In their blurb about the design, Bing Thom recognised that sightlines to the legislature & the harbour had to be preserved. I think they managed to do that.

[Rob Randall]

Legislature debate from June 29, 1976:

MR. WALLACE: "Strachan said he was optimistic a solution would be found to the Blanshard street problem, known as the freeway that ends nowhere." Then, under the brilliant leadership of the NDP, the next headline, in July, 1973, reads: "Blanshard Goes Underground." (Laughter.) No further comment on that one, Mr. Chairman.

To be fair, I have to quote: "An 800-ft. tunnel . . ." (Laughter.)

AN HON. MEMBER: Hartley Dent.

MR. WALLACE: ". . . beneath the parking lot at Town and Country (laughter) will be built by the provincial government to link the Trans-Canada Highway with an extended Blanshard Street, Highways minister Graham Lea said today." (Laughter.)

Interjections.

MR. CHABOT: Resign! Resign!

[amor de cosmos]

how on earth did you find out about that???

[Rob Randall]

It came from a commenter on Gordon Price's blog who initially doubted the seriousness of the Blanshard Freeway plan. I knew about the loop freeway and the bridge from Songhees to James Bay but a Town and Country tunnel was new to me. Like many other projects, the intention was serious but they never got to the final planning stages.

[aastra]

This fellow suggests it would have been a good idea to put Blanshard Street (and I presume Vernon Avenue also) underground as part of the Town & Country renovation:

http://victoriavisio...nd-country.html

It's fascinating to consider the degree to which some people regarded Victoria's distinctive urban character as "blight." Old Cormorant Street, Chinatown, lower Johnson Street, Fernwood...these are the very areas that distinguish(ed) Victoria from every other anonymous, crappy city. And yet some people wanted to pave them over so they could race through them as quickly as possible.

Flash forward to 2008 and people are racing along Blanshard Street and Vernon Avenue as quickly as possible. Visionaries call the highways blight now, and dream of covering them over.

[UrbanRail]

This fellow suggests it would have been a good idea to put Blanshard Street (and I presume Vernon Avenue also) underground as part of the Town & Country renovation:

Actually there were plans in the early to mid 70s to do that, and have LRT go in the tunnel as well. Refer to my LRT Study 1973 Thread. I wonder if those plans still exist.