June 12, 2008

Trillium Power and St. Lawrence College sign “green-collar” training deal

VINCE VERSACE

staff writer

Ontario offshore and onshore wind-power development received a large gust of support with a recently minted agreement between Trillium Power Wind Corporation and St. Lawrence College.

“We have been working for over two years to develop this unique program in Ontario,” said Don Young, Dean of Applied Sciences at St. Lawrence College. “Our strategic partnership with our European training partners will provide Ontario with cutting-edge skills for the development of green-collar enterprises and manufacturing in Ontario to meet the exacting requirements of offshore wind development.”

Once the training programs are developed and in place, the partnership will position St. Lawrence College as the only North American educational institution to offer a comprehensive series of courses for maintaining offshore, near-shore and onshore wind developments. The partnership with Trillium is an important founding block for this distinction, said Young.

“Trillium Power’s support for our programs is very important because they are strategically committed to working together to implement clean energy and sustainable economic development solutions here in Ontario, and elsewhere in Canada,” added Young.

Trillium intends to build a 140-turbine offshore wind farm between 20 to 25 kilometres from the Prince Edward County shoreline in Eastern Ontario. The wind farm would generate 710 megawatts of power, enough to power 250,000 homes in Ontario.

The provincial government lifted a moratorium on offshore development earlier this year after studying the potential environmental impacts on wildlife, aquatic species and bird migration routes. Offshore wind farms have been built or are on the books for Denmark, the United Kingdom and British Columbia.

“Offshore wind in The Great Lakes is far more powerful and consistent, due to its inherent characteristics and therefore able to reliably meet the energy demands of Ontario residents and businesses,” said John Kourtoff, president and CEO of Trillium.

“Offshore wind is highly cost-effective when compared to similar sized onshore wind projects, and more so when compared to non-renewable energy projects such as natural gas and others on a lifecycle basis.”

The partnership with St. Lawrence College ties into Trillium’s belief that the North American steel and manufacturing sectors have the capacity to meet wind power needs. Kourtoff has stated before that there are companies in Ontario that can provide various wind-power production elements and that the market can grow here.

“Trillium Power Wind 1, planned for mid-Lake Ontario south-east of Prince Edward County, is an important green-collar enterprise that can assist in shifting Ontario’s highly-skilled workforce to well-paying, sustainable, ‘green tech’ manufacturing and services jobs that are highly sought by all jurisdictions around the world,” said Kourtoff.

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