In a surprise move by Ottawa City Council today, Council voted to hear the actual Motion presented by Ward 21 Councillor Scott Moffatt in his required Notice of Motion … and passed it. The motion made note of the petition filed with the City on behalf of North Gower residents, declaring the community Not A Willing Host to a proposed 20-megawatt wind power project, and then asked the province for a substantive role in siting power projects.
Energy Minister (and former Ottawa Mayor) Bob Chiarelli, who was at Ottawa City Hall to talk pipeline, told The Ottawa Sun that Ottawa could not unilaterally veto a wind power project. Both Minister Chiarelli and Premier Wynne have been saying for weeks that the province will give municipalities more “say” in siting power projects.
One thousand, two hundred and twenty-eight area residents signed the petition in a two-week petition drive; over 800 Ottawa area residents also participated in an online poll with 94.56% saying “No” to the Ottawa area wind power project.
Here from today’s Ottawa Citizen. (Note that no comments are being allowed these days for wind power stories. If there were, we would have added that wind power projects also limit access by air ambulance services to the communities forced to “host” them.)
Wind farms creating ‘dead zones’ for military radar, report warns
By DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA CITIZEN November 12, 2013
Wind mills rise over Lake Erie on June 4, 2013 in Lackawanna, New York, near the U.S.-Canada border. Wind farms are sprouting up around the world, but aviation specialists are raising concerns that the giant turbines are creating blackout zones for air-traffic control radar.
Photograph by: John Moore , Getty Images
The construction of large wind farms could drive up the cost of air travel and cause delays in launching fighter aircraft on missions to protect Canada, Canadian Air Force officers are warning in a newly released report.
There are a number of proposals underway to build wind farms, including three near a military airbase in Bagotville, Que., five in Nova Scotia, two in Ontario and one in Saskatchewan, the report prepared in November 2012 for then-defence minister Peter MacKay pointed out.
Wind farms are sprouting up around the world, but aviation specialists are raising concerns that the giant turbines are creating blackout zones for air-traffic control radar. The spinning blades of the turbines are being detected by the radar, presenting false images or generating so much clutter on radar screens that controllers are losing track of airplanes as they fly near the wind farm sites.
The wind turbines can also interfere with weather radar, U.S. researchers have warned. The rotating blades can show up on radar as incoming weather, such as an area of precipitation.
“An entire farm will create areas where we cannot reliably observe or control military/civilian air traffic,” the briefing for MacKay, obtained through the Access to Information law, pointed out. “NORAD quick reaction aircraft would need to be rerouted or launch delayed if aircraft were known to be still flying through the dead zone.”
“Wind farms could be accepted if DND and NavCanada altered civilian and military air routes, airspace structure, and/or air traffic procedures, all of which will cause increases in fuel consumption, flight duration and cost of air travel,” it added.
Military officers say a proposed wind farm near North Gower isn’t an issue for the Royal Canadian Air Force. But a 175-turbine wind farm to be located in an area south of the Bagotville airport is a problem. The RCAF, which originally objected to the farm, is now trying to work with the developers to find ways around the issues.
RCAF spokesman Maj. Steve Neta said DND is supportive of the development of commercial wind farms and other sources of renewable energy that do not adversely impact military readiness or training.
“Commercial wind turbines in the vicinity of Canadian Forces bases and installations have the potential to pose a flight safety risk or otherwise impede flight operations and training,” he added in an email.
But Neta said the RCAF is confident it can deal with any effects on operations created by the proposed Bagotville wind farm. “Possible technical and operational mitigation measures are being assessed, and continue to be developed to alleviate the potential interference that wind farm projects may create,” he added.
The RCAF is looking at possible refinements to the current area surveillance radar facilities. “However we expect that new radars being developed will incorporate technologies that will enhance visibility around wind turbines,” Neta said.
In March, Canada awarded a contract to European defence firm Cassidian to equip RCAF airfields with latest-technology airport surveillance radar. The company noted that its radar system is equipped with specific data processing software so it is able to track air traffic even in wind farm shadows.
Last week the German Air Force announced it had completed successful testing of a new air defence radar installed at a site surrounded by a large wind farm.
Other federal departments have remained mostly silent on the Bagotville wind farm proposal, preferring that DND to take the lead, according to another 2012 briefing note for MacKay.
In late October, nearly 300 people came to a recreation centre in North Gower to oppose construction of eight to 10 wind turbines north and west of the village.
Opponents of wind farms say sound waves that are at too low a frequency for the human ear to hear can cause insomnia, dizziness, headaches and other health problems. The industry says there is no health impact. Construction could begin in the fall of 2014, but the proposal by Prowind Canada is on hold for now.
Our petition to the City of Ottawa, asking that North Gower be declared Not A Willing Host to a proposed wind power generation project, was delivered to the Clerk’s Office at the City of Ottawa at precisely 11 .am. today. The petition carried 1,228 signatures, which represents a clear majority of the voting population of the North Gower area.
We also carried out an online poll open to all residents of Ottawa; the results were that of 866 people responding, 94.56% said they do NOT support the wind power project.
Why are we doing this? Because the application process for large-scale power projects will be announced soon, and we expect that community support will be a key requirement for proponents of power projects. By expressing our deep concerns about the impact of this power project on our community with this petition, the City of Ottawa gets the message as to the level of support (none!) in the community that would actually have to live with it.
What’s next? Councillor Scott Moffatt intends to put forward a Notice of Motion at tomorrow’s Council meeting, for a motion to be heard November 27th, asking the province to give municipalities a greater/substantive role in determining the location for such power plants; the North Gower Not A Willing Host clause is included in the preamble to the motion. (The motion is not, however, a Not A Willing Host motion for the City of Ottawa.)
What you can do now: talk about this with your friends, family and co-workers. Ask them to vote FOR the motion that asks for a return of local land use planning powers, that were removed by the Green Energy Act. If people don’t know who their councillor is, send them to ottawa.ca for the list.
Let’s hope this trend comes to Ontario, too; Ontario has always said it was following the example of Germany in pursuing “renewable” sources of power. Can we hope the government will now see what has gone so very wrong?
Top News
German coalition draft agreement calls for wind energy cuts
Fri, Nov 08 09:10 AM EST
By Markus Wacket
BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and the Social Democrats have agreed to slash feed-in tariffs (FIT) for wind power in many regions where wind energy production is high, according to a draft agreement obtained by Reuters on Friday.
The draft agreement also says there will be no changes to the FIT support for photovoltaic power production. The changes in the FIT, the lifeblood for renewable energy until prices fall to market levels, will affect only new plants.
It said the new government that the conservatives and SPD hope to form later this month will also examine the exemptions that about 2,000 companies currently receive from the renewable energy surcharge that has been widely criticized.
Germany is a world leader in renewable energy, currently getting about 25 percent of its electricity from renewable sources such as wind and solar power. The new government wants to reform the Renewable Energy Act (EEG) fuelling the boom.
Even though the FIT has fallen sharply in recent years, consumers and many small companies pay a premium for renewable energy. That renewable surcharge has been rising in recent years, causing concern among consumers and the government.
(Reporting Markus Wacket; Writing by Erik Kirschbaum; Editing by Stephen Brown)
Apparently, there are some people (not many; very few in fact) who question working toward declaring North Gower and the parts of Richmond that would be affected by the proposed wind power project Not A Willing Host.
It is a valid question and here are some points.
Q:Is the Not A Willing Host action simply a symbol? There is nothing in the Green Energy Act that says it will do anything.
A: That’s right BUT if we all simply sit quietly by and do nothing, nothing will happen. The fact is, the 73 Not A Willing Host communities represent a significant portion of the Ontario communities that are vulnerable to wind power development. The changes to the government’s stance on how much “say” communities have is directly related to these actions by municipalities, in their resolutions and motions at Council, their meetings, work through the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, and more. The result of doing nothing is to get nothing.
Q: The North Gower project has been on the books for years and has never gotten anywhere; why think it will now?
A: We have written confirmation from Prowind that they fully intend to apply once the subsidy program application process reopens, if they are able to meet the requirements. The new process has not been revealed, but we believe that key components of it will be community support, and community ownership. To demonstrate as best we can the lack of community support can be effective.
To quote the lawyer for the couple in France whose legal action against a wind power project that caused noise and visual pollution,
“Today we are saying no: justice has been done and this shows all those who suffer wind farms with a sense of powerlessness that the fight is not in vain, that one can have one’s life respected–one’s right to peace.”
Democracy doesn’t just happen: we have to make it work.
In an interview with Ottawa-area radio station CFRA, Ontario Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli stated that it will now be very “difficult” for a wind power proponent to get approval, without “significant” support from the hosting municipality. Ottawa is where a 20-megawatt wind power project has been proposed for over five years, and where residents of the North Gower community have been working on a petition to be recognized as “Not A Willing Host,” as the potential “host” community within the City of Ottawa.
Speaking on CFRA this morning, Ottawa Wind Concerns chair and Wind Concerns Ontario president Jane Wilson said the community needs to see what the new application rules are, in black and white, and determine what “significant” support from a city would look like.
When told by the CFRA host Steve Madely that there is pushback on Council to a motion being put forward by the councillor for the area, she said, “I would hope that Ottawa City Councillors would do the right thing for all citizens of the city.”
The report on the interview with Minister Chiarelli is here.
Chiarelli: approval not likely for North Gower wind farm without city support
By: Alison Sandor
Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli says without the city’s consent, it’s unlikely Prowind Canada will be able to build a wind farm in North Gower.
Chiarelli told CFRA they’ve changed the regulations for companies applying to build wind turbines.
“We have set up a process for wind farm applications now that require the proponent, the energy proponent, to actually have an engagement with the municipality and have some level of consent or cooperation with the municipality before they can actually even submit an application for the approval,” said Chiarelli.
Several city councillors have expressed worry about wind farms being built within city limits.
Opponents of wind farms say the turbines have negative health effects.
Our volunteer canvassers are out EVERY NIGHT and we are delivering paper petitions daily to the citizens of the North Gower area who will be affected by the proposed wind power generation project, should it be approved and constructed.
STATUS of the project: all large wind power project applications are on hold until Energy Minister Chiarelli announces the new application process, expected to be January. Prowind has told us they plan to reapply, once they’ve seen the new requirements.
KEY: community ownership and approval will be a factor. That’s why our Not A Willing Host effort has meaning: we will show that this is NOT a “willing host” community for very good reasons. We must speak up and take action: doing nothing results in nothing.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
-attend the last public signing of the petition Saturday November 9, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Alfred Taylor Recreation Centre
The petition MUST have your signature on an actual paper document, and be witnessed; return it to us at PO Box 3 North Gower ON K0A 2TO or email us at ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com for pickup
-email us for a petition to be delivered to you
-plan to attend the Not A Willing Host event in Toronto at Queen’s Park later this month, details to follow
On this first day of the new electricity rates imposed by Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli on Ontario consumers, it is appropriate to quote PC Energy Critic Lisa MacLeod from yesterday at Queen’s Park:
“In the few seconds I have left, let me talk about North Gower. They’re a community that is living this hydro nightmare because they are going to be forced to deal with these wind turbines. They’re not a willing host, and they know that their neighbours down the road in Bells Corners…struggling to stay in business are going to have to pay for high hydro hikes as a result of the government’s disastrous green energy policy. That is, I think, a perfect example of the Green Energy Act assaulting rural communities, and just 15 minutes down the road, businesses going out of business. I couldn’t make that point more clearly.”
First posted: Wednesday, October 30, 2013 06:03 PM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, October 30, 2013 06:19 PM EDT
Wind turbines at the Erie Shores Wind Farm near Port Burwell generate power. Similar turbines may be popping up near Ottawa. (CRAIG GLOVER/QMI AGENCY)
For years, Gary Thomas has run a successful 50-acre Christmas tree farm in North Gower.
And he does it right, a family event with horse-drawn sleighs, tractor-drawn wagons and a warm fire with hot chocolate and cookies waiting for you upon your return from the bush.
Don’t forget the sweet smells of fresh Scotch Pine and Balsam fir.
Idyllic? Absolutely.
Now picture the same Norman Rockwell scene with a 600-foot high wind turbine less than 1 km away.
Sort of jars the senses, doesn’t it?
And then picture the massive turbine casting a shadow over the scene every few seconds.
Thomas says he can barely believe the possibility.
But indeed, there continues to be a looming threat of a wind turbine project as his next-door-neighbour.
A company called Prowind has applied more than once to the province for permission to build the wind turbine project in North Gower.
And when the province opens up for bids again, there’s every expectation Prowind will submit a proposal again.
“We’re not very pleased with it for a number of reasons. Health, there’s the psychological aspect, and the flicker effect, with every few second have a shadow come in front of our house, this is crazy,
“I’m not sure customers having the old fashioned experience will like the shadow,” he said.
Agreed.
Thomas doesn’t just worry about the immediate effects of the turbines, but he and his wife have counted on the farm for their retirement — and if the giant wind turbines are erected, doesn’t know how that will effect the resale value of their home.
“We’re hopeful Watson and council won’t put them in the municipality,” he says, in an interview with the Sun on Wednesday.
The threat of a giant wind turbine farm in their community has galvanized residents of North Gower in opposition of the project.
“We really don’t need these wind power projects,” said Jane Wilson, the chair of Ottawa Wind Concerns.
The group is circulating a petition — which now has about 400 names on it — advising the province North Gower doesn’t want to be home to a wind turbine project.
“It’s a pretty big power plant, I’m not sure people understand that. It’s huge, these are really large machines, they make noise and the vibrations can be upsetting,” she said.
The group has the support of their ward councillor Scott Moffatt, who’s working with them and city staff to craft a motion asking the province to give municipalities a say in where the wind power projects can and can’t be located.
“The majority are against it,” he added.
……………..
Read more at the Ottawa Sun website and take the poll!
Ottawa Wind Concerns 