02 Monday Sep 2013
Posted in Uncategorized
For those who think Europe is the haven for wind power generation done well, and where citizens are happy with the beautiful turbines spinning happily in the breeze, this will be a shock: people are sick, the landscape is ruined, and property values (and lives) devastated.
This short video comes from Russia Today via Facebook; thanks to Esther Wrightman and the Middlesex-Lambton group for calling attention to it.
31 Saturday Aug 2013
Posted in Uncategorized
In spite of the fact that properties near wind power projects remain unsold, or take a long time to sell, and sell at reduced prices, the Ontario government, MPAC, and of course the wind power lobby organization all insist there is no effect on property values. On the one hand, we have the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) including wind power plants as a negative to be disclosed on the Sellers Property Information Sheet, and we have Realtors telling us buyers don’t even want to SEE the turbines, let alone live next to them, and on the other we have these industry-supported opinions that say, everything is just fine.
Ben Hoen has released yet another study on property values (the last one was roundly trashed, in particular by Sunak and Madelener of Aachen University) which this time seems to answer criticisms that past studies did not look at property…
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24 Saturday Aug 2013
Posted in Uncategorized
The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) is responsible for setting Ontario’s time-of use (TOU) and regulated price plan (RPP) electricity rates, and it does this twice annually, in April and October. The announcements are made slightly in advance of the effective dates of May 1st and November 1st and reflect what the OEB anticipates will occur in the upcoming six months. The reset rates are based on what the OEB feels will be required to pay the generators over that period of time.
The OEB preface their announcement by saying that “the increase will add [insert amount] to the average ratepayer’s bill per month or [insert percentage] of the total monthly bill.” They never specify that it is only the cost of electricity and that other items on your bill will/or may have already gone up! Their last announcement on TOU and RPP rates indicated an increase of…
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21 Wednesday Aug 2013
Posted in Uncategorized
Representatives of the now 64 communities in Ontario who have declared themselves Not a Willing Host to giant wind power developments, made their voices heard yesterday at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario convention, in Ottawa. Questions were raised during the afternoon “bearpit” session, during which Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli appeared to contradict himself, by saying that preserving valuable Ontario farmland and the quality of rural communities was a priority and then later saying that wind power was necessary for the province. He also said that there is no chance of giving municipalities a “veto” on wind power projects.
Enniskillen Mayor Kevin Marriott remarked later that he was appalled by the Minister’s “doublespeak.”
The municipal representatives held a meeting later in the day, and discussed what the effects of wind power had been on their communities to date, and what options were…
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20 Tuesday Aug 2013
Posted in Health, Ottawa, Renewable energy, Wind power
Tags
April Jeffs, Bob Chiarelli, cost-benefit analysis wind power, Feed In Tariff Ontario, Green Energy Act, health effects wind turbine noise, infrasound wind turbines, Kathleen Wynne, Kevin Marriott, Not a Willing host, wind farms Ontario, wind power Ontario
Coalition of ‘Unwilling Host’ Municipalities
Press Advisory August 20, 2013, Ottawa
Representatives of the 62 municipalities that have declared themselves ‘unwilling hosts’ to wind turbines are coming together during the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) meeting currently underway in Ottawa to discuss ways to bring their concerns more forcefully to the government.
According to Kevin Marriott, Mayor of Enniskillen, ‘the government has not addressed the concerns of these communities’. In the Throne Speech and other statements by the Premier, they talked about wanting to locate projects in willing host communities, but there has been no substance to these announcements in terms of municipal input will be incorporated in the process. Meanwhile, the government continues to approve wind turbine projects without consideration of municipal concerns according to Marriott.
Some municipal officials represented at AMO have already experienced the impact of wind turbines on their communities. Complaints start once when they become operational with people being forced from their homes by noise and low frequency noise vibrations. These municipalities are looking for the MOE to actually start enforcing the noise standards that they have set and to follow up on the health complaints being filed with Medical Officers of Health.
Mayor April Jeffs of Wainfleet wants the government to start applying learning from these early projects and apply increased set-backs from people’s homes to new projects before they are approved. Wainfleet adopted a 2 kilometer set-back by-law that was challenged in court by the wind developer.
Municipalities are looking for the government to return real local planning authority for wind turbines to local municipalities. These powers were taken away by the Green Energy Act. Municipalities are better placed that a Queen’s Park civil servants to identify local issues that need to be addressed in reviewing wind turbine projects. They also have processes in place to review and approve other complex or controversial projects building projects that take place in their municipalities.
The municipal representatives at AMO will be meeting Tuesday August 20 at 4:30 pm. in the Governor-General 1 on the 4th floor of the Westin Hotel in Ottawa.
For further details contact, Kevin Marriott at 519-383-9170 or April Jeffs at 905-658-7890.
19 Monday Aug 2013
Posted in Uncategorized
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17 Saturday Aug 2013
Posted in Uncategorized
Here is the link to the print view of the two-page spread of today’s London Free Press story on the 61 (now 62!!) Not a Willing Host communities, complete with a map!
http://eedition.lfpress.com/epaper/viewer.aspx
The story and map are on pages 2-3.
Email us at windconcerns@gmail.com
05 Monday Aug 2013
Posted in Health, Ottawa, Renewable energy, Wind power
Tags
cost-benefit analysis wind power, Green Energy Act, Jim Watson, Lisa MacLeod MPP, Mayor City of Ottawa, Ontario Power Authority, Prowind, renewable energy planning Ontario, wind farm North Gower, wind farm Richmond, wind power Ottawa
Back in May, after the decision by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in the case of Wiggins et al vs wpd, we wrote to the Mayor of the City of Ottawa to inform him of the importance of the Court’s decision: that it was acceptable for property owners who live as neighbours to property being leased for industrial-scale wind turbines to sue for property value loss and nuisance at the time of approval of a wind power project (i.e., they do not have to wait until the power project is built), and that the Court accepted that property value loss had already occurred simply with the announcement of the power project near Clearview Ontario, on the order of 22-50 percent.
The effect of the proposed wind power project in North Gower-Richmond will be significant, we wrote , in terms of the potential danger to health (also acknowledged by the Court) and property value loss, which we estimate to be approximately–and conservatively–$70 million.
We received a reply from the Mayor, in which he repeats that this is a provincial responsibility (that was written in all capital letters so we wouldn’t miss it), and that the “regime” [sic] in place for renewable energy approvals is “quite onerous.”
“Should a wind power developer* seek a renewable energy approval in Ottawa,” he wrote, “the City will review all documentation and information relating to the proposed development and fully participate in any such consultative process. …the City will be in a better position to assess its response…and to address any concerns and needs of the public.” Note he does not say that the City will ensure people are not harmed; he does not say, the City will ensure that its residents are protected.
The letter is here: MayorWatsonLetterJuly17
We wrote back–sorry to take up more of his time–and said that we had recently participated in “dialogue” sessions with the province and found that we, along with other stakeholders, believe the renewable power (they keep saying ‘energy’ because it sounds nicer than power plants, but that’s the truth) planning process is deeply flawed and Ontario needs a completely new process. There was NO ONE from the City of Ottawa at the evening session we attended, and as far as we know, NO ONE from the City of Ottawa at the morning session, hosted by the Ontario Power Authority.
We told the Mayor that we demanded a return of local land-use planning powers to municipalities (removed by the Green Energy Act) and also a cost-benefit analysis including the impacts, financial and health, on local communities.
Many analysts are now describing the province’s “green” energy plan as a monumental policy failure that has already run electricity prices so high it is affecting businesses’ ability to be competitive (let alone survive) and has had an astounding effect on Ontario’s rural and small urban communities.
All we ask is that our City protect us from a power plant that is not needed, which uses an invasive, expensive and unreliable technology, and which will doubtless negatively affect this community.
Not a Willing Host demonstration, Ottawa City Hall, April 2013; MPP Lisa MacLeod and community members.
Ottawa Wind Concerns
*the Marlborough 1 project is on “hold” until the province announces its new procurement process; wind developer Prowind, headquartered in Germany, told the Ottawa Citizen recently that it intends to reapply when the new process is in place.
ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com
Donations welcome at PO Box 3, North Gower ON K0A 2T0
23 Tuesday Jul 2013
Posted in Health, Ottawa, Renewable energy, Wind power
Tags
Bob Chiarelli, Bob Lyman, cost benefit wind power, cost-benefit renewable power, Dalton McGuinty, electricity rates Ontario, Feed In Tariff Ontario, Green Energy Act, Kathleen Wynne, Ontario by-elections, Ontario Ministry of Energy, Ontario Power Authority, Ontario's electricity system, Ottawa wind concerns, Parker Gallant, power bills Ontario, Robert Lyman, Wind Concerns Ontario
You’ve read Bob Lyman, an economist specializing in energy issues, on these pages before.
In his latest work, he has written an overview of the last 10 years of energy policy as it relates to electricity in Ontario, and come up with the very worrying conclusion: the whole thing has been grossly mismanaged.
The question now is, can Ontario ever get out of this hole? That’s tough when Ontario keeps approving big, expensive wind power projects on the order of one a week this summer, despite not having a current long-term energy plan.
Here is Bob Lyman’s latest:
Ten Years of Liberal Mismanagement of Ontario’s Electricity System
A Layperson’s Summary
On July 16, 2013, Parker Gallant, a retired banker who for about six years has written about Ontario electricity policies, wrote an article to mark the forthcoming tenth anniversary of the Liberal Party’s tenure as government of Ontario. Mr. Gallant’s article can be found at the following link:
http://www.freewco.blogspot.ca/2013/07/ontario-liberals-10-years-of.html
This article is of great importance for Ontario residents who want to understand what has been happening to electricity supply, demand and prices over the past decade and, perhaps more importantly, how they should weigh these developments as they contemplate forthcoming elections in the province. Shortly, there will be five by-elections in different parts of Ontario that may swing the balance of power in the legislature. It is also likely that there will be a general election in Ontario within the next two years.
Voters need to understand what the fuss is all about and how it affects them. Unfortunately, Mr. Gallant’s article, as wonderfully insightful as it is, might be difficult to understand for the average citizen who does not follow electricity matters on a regular basis. The objective of this note is to offer a somewhat simplified version of the story people should know. …
Read the whole document here: Ten Years of Liberal Mismanagement of Ontario’s Electricity System
Upcoming topics: what does the situation at Chatham-Kent airport (where 8 turbines have been order removed) really mean?
Please contact us at ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com
Donations welcome at PO Box 3, North Gower ON K0A 2T0
19 Friday Jul 2013
Posted in Health, Ottawa, Renewable energy, Wind power
Tags
cost benefit wind power, cost-benefit renewable power, Elizabeth Payne, Green Energy Act, health effects wind farms, health effects wind power, health effects wind turbine noise, indirect health effects wind turbines, infrasound wind turbines, North Gower wind farm, North Gower wind power project, Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa wind concerns, Prowind, Richmond wind farm, Rochelle Rumney, South Branch wind farm, wind power project Ottawa
In the article on the proposed wind power project for North Gower-Richmond appearing in today’s Ottawa Citizen (http://www.ottawacitizen.com/business/Wind+power+projects+harmful+cancelled+plants+critic+contends/8678755/story.html), wind power developer Prowind (based in Germany) representative Rochelle Rumney says the project is “on hold” until the new application process is announced by the Government of Ontario.
Taking a cue from the province, which is making lots of noise about “community engagement” while still NOT returning local land-use planning powers removed by the Green Energy Act, Rumney told the Citizen writer that Prowind wants to work with the community to “try to have everybody be comfortable with the project.”
Comfortable.
Really.
How do we get “comfortable” with the fact that Prowind has concealed the true locations of the turbines and to this date, does not depict the turbines just north-west of a housing subdivision on its website?
How do we get “comfortable” with the fact that by conservative estimates (and this has been accepted by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice) property values could decline by 22-50% ?
How do we get “comfortable” with the fact that, again by conservative estimates, if only 10% of the residents within 3 km of the turbines were to experience sleep disturbance and other health problems, that would mean over 100 people could be affected?
How do we get “comfortable” with the fact that a few people who live here can do this to the rest of their community?
This community has options, none of them comfortable, but they will be pursued.
Just a reminder of who we’re dealing with, here again is the photo of Prowind’s stunning Head Office in Hamilton, Ontario.
Donations welcome to cover costs including legal fees: PO Box 3, North Gower ON K0A 2T0
Ottawa Wind Concerns Inc. is a corporate member of Wind Concerns Ontario.
Ottawa Wind Concerns 