August 9, 2023

The Province of Alberta announced a moratorium on approvals for wind and solar power generation facilities recently, citing concerns about the environment and land use conflicts.

Almost immediately, the wind and solar lobbyist, the Canadian Renewable Energy Association, came out with a comment that the move was a “mistake.“

Of course it is… for the wind and solar developers. It is curious indeed that while the main marketing ploy for the purveyors of expensive, intermittent and unreliable power is to help tackle climate change and save the environment, when people say they have concerns about industrialization by wind power on the environment, the lobbyist denies concerns.

Well, OK, they didn’t exactly: what they said instead was, the moratorium would undermine “investor confidence.” In other words, the whole wind power gambit could be revealed for what it is: a money-making strategy that will have little or no effect on climate change or the environment.

And citizens in Alberta are not buying the hype.

In an article today in the Edmonton Journal, Alberta residents are describing the fast pace to wind power development as a “Gold Rush”, and they are concerned about the impact of industrial wind power projects on the environment, and electricity bills.

Unlike the wind power rush in Ontario in 2009, when nobody knew anything about the potential impact of sky-high noisy wind turbines, the people in Alberta know exactly what’s coming. “Rural residents have been down this polluted path before,” said one.

“It’s no surprise that country folks are buzzing just now with anxiety, anger and unanswered questions about the boom in solar and wind farms near their homes,” says the Edmonton Journal.

A particular concern for rural Albertans is, what happens when nobody has any use for the power generation structures? Who will take the things down and return the land to its former state?

That’s an issue that has yet to be resolved in Ontario, too.

So while the lobbyist and the developers and the faux environmentalist organizations cry about the fact a government is slowing things down, once again, it’s the people who know the truth: nobody wants to live near a wind turbine.

And they don’t want to pay through the nose for the intermittent power, either.

Ottawa’s rural residents should watch this closely, as we wait for the City to come up with new zoning bylaws for renewable power projects, which may be released in draft form this month or next. It’s important that governments acknowledge all the facts about wind power in particular, and do proper analysis of all the benefits and impacts.

Nobody needs another wind power Gold Rush.

ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com