About 1,000 people came out to a meeting in the east end Monday night to discuss a controversial plan to build wind turbines on the lakeshore.
The plan involves placing a number of turbines from Ajax to the Leslie Spit in Toronto's Beaches neighbourhood. Toronto Hydro says it still need to do research and so it is proposing building a test platform just two kilometres off the Scarborough Bluffs.
The platform would be there for two years.
If the tests show the conditions are favourable to wind power, Toronto Hydro would build about 60 turbines over the 25-kilometre stretch. They will stand about 30 metres high.
Local residents say the turbines are noisy and an eyesore. They're concerned the turbines will drive down the value of homes in the area.
Meanwhile, environmental groups say it's time the government invest in renewable energy sources, especially since the province is trying to phase out coal burning plants by 2014. They argued that turbines provide a clean, green way of producing energy.
The turbines could provide Ontario with up to 200 megawatts of power during windy conditions. One megawatt is said to power about 250 homes.
"How could anyone oppose this? It's a wonderful thing," said one man.
Angry residents also pointed to the cost of the project as a reason for their objections. It will cost at least a million dollars to research the viability of the project and almost a billion dollars to implement it, critics say.
At the meeting, many residents also complained the debate was "hijacked" by environmental lobbyists who arrived by the busload at Sir Wilfrid Laurier Collegiate to voice their support for the Toronto Hydro plan.
"I'm really upset that so many environmental groups have bussed people in when this was an opportunity for this community to address what's going to affect them," one local resident told CTV Toronto Monday night.
Another resident took the microphone at the meeting and asked for a second smaller debate.
"Would you consider having a community meeting where questions can be answered without all the lobbyists and the paid people?" he asked to resounding cheers from the crowd.
With a report from CTV Toronto's Zuraidah Alman
