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Tag Archives: Eastern Ontario

Energy poverty grows in Eastern Ontario

12 Sunday Feb 2017

Posted by ottawawindconcerns in Renewable energy

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Eastern Ontario, electricity bills Ontario, energy poverty, Glenn Thibeault, hydro bills Ontario, Ontario Liberal government, ROMA

Ontario’s electricity bills are the fastest rising in North America, with rates increasing year over year. While the government talks about “relief,” it is not doing anything substantial to help.

Here is the news from Eastern Ontario, as reported in the Brockville Recorder and Times.

Leeds-Grenville councillors say rural electricity rates are negatively impacting their constituents, farmers and businesses, although Burnbrae Farms - one business cited by council members as a victim of high rates - says electricity costs were not behind its recent decision to expand its operations out of province. The Burnbrae operation near Lyn is shown on Tuesday morning, Feb. 7, 2017. (Ronald Zajac/The Recorder and Times)

Leeds-Grenville councillors say rural electricity rates are negatively impacting their constituents, farmers and businesses, although Burnbrae Farms – one business cited by council members as a victim of high rates – says electricity costs were not behind its recent decision to expand its operations out of province. The Burnbrae operation near Lyn is shown on Tuesday morning, Feb. 7, 2017. (Ronald Zajac/The Recorder and Times)

Frustration at Ontario’s high hydro rates boiled over at a United Counties meeting Tuesday as mayors railed against an “out-of-touch” provincial government that is indifferent to the plight of rural Ontarians.

“Seniors are losing their homes, seniors are going to food kitchens,” said Mayor David Gordon of North Grenville, who said he knows of 89- and 90-year-old farmers in his township who have to continue to work because they can’t afford their electricity bills.

Gordon said that if Americans were experiencing the same increasing power rates as in Ontario they would be demonstrating and rioting in the streets.

“Up here it’s just ‘deary, deary me’,” he said. “What’s going to happen when somebody dies because they don’t have any heat?”

Augusta Mayor Doug Malanka said the government has failed to consider the unintended consequences of high hydro rates.

As an example, Malanka cited the Prescott Curling Club, which has complained to the Ministry of Sport, Tourism and Culture that its escalating power bills put the future of the club in doubt.

Malanka said the club did extensive energy-saving upgrades to its rink several years ago. Despite this, the club’s power bill increased by $13,000 over an 18-month-period, bringing it to $25,000 annually, he said, noting that the rink operates only six months a year.

Club president Ron Whitehorne said the hydro bill now accounts for half of the club’s budget, and the rates continue to rise despite the $120,000 spent on renovations to make the rink more energy-efficient.

The rising rates, coupled with the depletion of the club’s capital reserves to pay for the improvements, has put a real squeeze on the volunteer-run club, Whitehorne said.

Malanka said counties mayors raised the hydro issues with Liberal MPP Bob Delaney, parliamentary assistant to the energy minister, at a meeting during last week’s Rural Ontario Municipal Association conference. Delaney was initially defensive about the mayors’ complaints, Malanka said, but he later agreed to a followup meeting with counties’ representatives. Warden Robin Jones agreed to contact Delaney to arrange a followup meeting.

Gordon said that the Liberal government has lost touch with the average Ontarian.

“These people living in Toronto don’t care because they are living in their fancy condo on the 27th floor,” he said.

Rideau Lakes Mayor Ron Holman, who chairs ROMA, said the Ontario government needs to set “predictable, prudent, long-term” hydro rates so that businesses and residents can plan for the future. Instead, the government seems to be taking an ad-hoc approach to hydro by fiddling with rates in response to the “flavour of the day,” he said.

Holman said Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne is continuing to promise “adjustments” to hydro rates in the next budget.

“What does that mean? I have no idea. What assurance does that give to individuals or businesses that want to come to our community? It doesn’t,” he said.

Several mayors pointed to Burnbrae Farm’s decision to build new hen houses in Quebec, instead of Ontario, as a consequence of high energy costs. They were basing their comments on a news report that said the egg producer, which is centred in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, was expanding to Quebec to escape Ontario’s hydro rates.

But Margaret Hudson, president of Burnbrae Farms Ltd., flatly denied that hydro rates played a part in the decision.

“The cost of electricity was never a factor in our decision on where to locate our new farm,” Hudson said in a statement Tuesday.

Read the full article here.

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MPP Jim McDonell launches wind farm petition

08 Friday May 2015

Posted by ottawawindconcerns in Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Eastern Ontario, Jim McDonell, Not a Willing host, Ontario government, Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry, wind far, wind farm Crysler, wind farm petition, wind farm Winchester, wind power

A photo on Flickr

MPP for Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry Jim McDonell has launched a petition asking to Ontario government to return full consultation for the community regarding a proposed 30-50 turbine wind power project, and further, to do a complete study of any impacts of the proposed power project.

The petition MUST be printed out, signed, and mailed or delivered to Mr McDonell’s office as a legal document. Fax or scanned versions are not legal.

Obtain the petition here: Petition

Contact Mr McDonell’s office at 613-933-6513 or visit his website at: http://jimmcdonellmpp.ca/

 

New wind power contracting process released

13 Friday Mar 2015

Posted by ottawawindconcerns in Ottawa, Renewable energy, Wind power

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Eastern Ontario, IESO, Large Renewable Power projects, law suits wind farms, legal action wind farms, renewable power, wind farm noise, wind farm North Gower, wind farm Otrtawa, wind power, wind power development

The long-awaited resource documents for the new Request for Proposal (RFP) process for Large Renewable Procurement (LRP) were released this week.

Wind Concerns Ontario is again undertaking a review of the documents (the basic LRP/RFP is 100 pages long) but the following are changes from draft documents released last fall:

  • the number of required public meetings is now one, not two (this was a request from the wind power industry)
  • the requirement for consent from abutting landowners has been dropped to 75% from 100%

The point system for community engagement is also now known. The points  for Rated Criteria are 80 points for community engagement and 20 for aboriginal interest.  There are two levels of possible support from the Project Community – a Municipal support resolution or a Municipal Agreement. If there is an agreement but no support resolution, the proponent could get 40 of the 80 points.  Failing that,  they could claim 30 points if they have support from 75% of the landowners for abutting properties to the project and the connection line.

Deadline for submissions is September 1, then proposals will be evaluated and successful proponents notified November-December, 2015.

Ontario communities should know within the next few weeks whether a wind power developer plans to submit a proposal for a utility-scale wind power development.

The Government of Ontario has still never performed a cost-benefit analysis or impact study for large-scale wind power development, or of its renewable energy policy in general, despite the advice of two Auditors General to do so.

Eastern Ontario has a “green light” for renewable power generation projects. Already, EDP Renewables has announced plans to develop more turbines in South Dundas and North Stormont. The company that previously put a proposal forward to do a 20-megawatt wind power project in North Gower-Richmond did not qualify for the 2015 contracting process, but 41 companies did qualify. In a recent edition of the Ontario Farmer, a North Gower area farm owner said he though wind power was a waste of money but that if he were offered money he would put them on his property (though not where he lives).

Ottawa Wind Concerns remains active in monitoring any proposals that might come forward, and we continue to have a law firm on retainer.

ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com

Follow us on Twitter @northgowerwind

CanWEA execs venture down to Brinston wind ‘farm’

17 Thursday Jul 2014

Posted by ottawawindconcerns in Health, Ottawa, Renewable energy, Wind power

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Brinston, Canadian Wind Energy Association, CanWEA, Eastern Ontario, EDP Renewables, law suits wind farms, legal action wind farms, property value, Prowind, sleep disturbance, South Branch, South Branch Kid Wind Day, South Dundas, wind farm, wind farm noise, wind power, wind turbines

 

 

Not from around here: just visiting for the brainwashing

The executives at the wind power developers’ lobby group, the Canadian Wind Energy Association, took a trip down the road from their offices on Carling Avenue in Ottawa to see the wind power project in Brinston, just south and east of Ottawa.

Here’s a report on the visit:

CanWEA Staff Tours South Branch Wind Farm

On June 25, several EDPR employees led a tour of the South Branch wind farm for staff members of the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) , including CanWEA’s president, Robert Hornung, who had this to say about the visit: The siting characteristics of South Branch and how well the wind farm blends with the natural landscape are truly impressive, said Mr. Hornung. We were equally impressed by the care and attention that EDPR has taken in building a high level of enduring community acceptance. 
The tour of the wind farm, located near Brinston, Ontario, included stops in the O&M building as well as the inside of the base of a tower and the substation building. After an informative tour, CanWEA expressed interest in working with EDPR to improve its information packages for farmers.  Several CanWEA representatives also said they planned to stop by the upcoming South Branch Kid Wind Day, which will be held on Thursday, July 24, and attended by 150 kids.

The claim that EDP has “enduring community acceptance” would be laughable, were it not for the truth about this community: once the wind project was publicly announced by the original developer, Germany-based Prowind, the community became divided between the few farm owners leasing their land for turbines, and others in the community who had no choice but to watch this happen to them. A community group was organized and held several information meetings…but of course, with the Green Energy Act, there are no solutions through elected representatives. South Dundas Council voted on a resolution to say there would be no support for further wind power development as Ontario doesn’t need any more power generation.

The so-called South Branch Kid Wind Day is NOT for local families (hard for them to miss the huge, 3-megawatt turbines) but it will be for kids being bused in from elsewhere. The community has not even been informed of this PR event.

Of greater concern, though, is the news that an “information package” is being developed for farmers: this is being worked on because Eastern Ontario has a green light from the province for wind power development…it is rumoured that 5,000 more acres in North Dundas have been optioned for future wind power development.

Our question: will EDP and CanWEA provide full disclosure on noise, health problems, sleep disturbance, property value loss, and the potential for lawsuits from neighbouring landowners?

Email us at ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com

 

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