Tag Archives: Farmers Forum

Wind power ‘tearing communities apart’ say farm owners

02 Wednesday Mar 2016

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Wind farms cause animosity in Ontario communities

3-MW wind turbine and house near Brinston: Ontario hasn't learned a thing. [Photo: Ray Pilon, Ottawa]
3-MW wind turbine and house near Brinston: communities “torn apart” by conflict. [Photo: Ray Pilon, Ottawa]

While the Wynne government claims to be “Building Ontario Up” the reality is different for rural communities where wind power developers offered leases to farmers, who then chose money over their neighbours and communityFarmers Forum, Eastern Ontario Edition, March 2016

TEARING US APART

Wounds not healing after wind turbines turned friends into bitter enemies

By Tom Collins

BRINSTON—Wind turbines tear apart communities and relationships, causing animosity that lingers for years, warn farmers who have lived through the ugly battles.

Don Winslow signed up almost immediately in 2013 when a wind company planned to build five turbines near Peterborough. Three months later, after immense public pressure and hostility, he couldn’t do it anymore.

“It relieved our stress tremendously [to cancel the contract],” the then-70-year-old Winslow told Farmers Forum after he cancelled his turbine. “We don’t have to sneak around the neighbours hoping not to run into them. There is always an element of society that is going to go overboard but people I respected were just as upset as the real radicals.”

There are only three wind turbine projects in Eastern Ontario – Brinston (10 turbines), Wolfe Island (86 turbines) and 5 turbines just west of Kingston, but there are more than 1,200 turbines in the province with another 1,500 on the way. The province is expected to announce new projects this month that could include another 98 turbines in Eastern and East-Central Ontario.

Most turbines are in Western Ontario where the stories are shocking.

They put their pocketbook ahead of the community

Time doesn’t heal all wounds, said Guelph-area dairy farmer Tim Martin. “There are people here that have absolute hatred for others. I have never seen anything so divisive in our community, ever, in my entire life. You try to say forgive and forget, but a lot of people say ‘We forgive them but we remember.’ They put their pocketbook ahead of our health and above the community’s well-being, and people don’t forget that.”

…

… But not everyone blames wind turbines. Some lay the blame on anti-wind protestors for stoking fears and fueling the fighting. Farmers with turbines have signed confidentiality agreements and won’t speak to news media. However, North Gower farmer Ed Schouten signed up for turbines on his dairy farm years ago but the project never went ahead. Although he is a strong supporter, Schouten said he would have to think long and hard about signing up again if the opportunity arose.

“You’ve got to be careful today because people are jealous and they’ll get back at you,” he said. “We have a lot to lose here. They can easily sabotage something on you. There’s all kinds of crazy people out there today.”*

Schouten credited anti-wind groups for doing a good job of fear-mongering and, while they are a minority, get people riled up.

The anti-wind protestors “say [turbines] tear up the communities. They’re the people that tore up the communities, not the turbines. They say [wind turbines] pit neighbor against neighbor and all this stuff because they want another reason to get rid of them.”

See an excerpt of this article here: Farmers ForumMarch2016-Tearing UsApart

To see the full article, go the FarmersForum.com next week or call 613-247-1334 to purchase a copy.

*Ottawa Wind Concerns Editor note: during the time of community action to oppose the proposed North Gower-Richmond wind power project, there was NEVER any threats of violence or civil disobedience. As to the comments about the opposition being a “minority,” readers will recall that a petition to the City of Ottawa requesting that North Gower be Not A Willing Host to the wind power project garnered signatures from 1,400 residents— almost every taxpayer in Ward 21. The petition was accepted and a motion of support passed unanimously at Ottawa City Council.

Who pays for turbine take down? Not clear says lawyer

14 Thursday Jan 2016

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Who pays for wind turbine teardown? Not clear, says lawyer

"No pocket to go to in 20 years": wind turbine teardown can cost thousands
What goes up must come down

“No pocket you can go to in 20 years”: Environmental lawyer says taxpayers and landowners could be responsible for costs

Farmersforum.com , January 2016

By Brandy Harrison

Toronto- With more wind turbines coming to Eastern Ontario, there has been a lot of talk about what happens when it comes time to take down the towers. While the provincial government may put the onus on wind project developers to pay for teardown, it’s far from certain they’ll be able to collect if a company goes bankrupt — which could mean taxpayers are on the hook, says a Toronto-based environment and municipal lawyer.

“Many of these companies are relatively small, or based outside of Canada, and that creates what appears to be a real risk as there will be no pocket you can go to 20 years from now when a cleanup is actually required,” says Eric Gillespie, who has represented landowners and municipalities with wind turbine concerns.

It’s anybody’s guess who would end up paying for decommissioning — the landowner, the municipality, or provincial taxpayers, he says.

Farmers shouldn’t underestimate what it takes to remove a single turbine, Gillespie warns. The nacelle — the central hub containing the generator — is 80 to 100 metres in the air and weighs as much as 70 tonnes. “It’s not something where you just call your neighbor and ask him to bring his tractor over.”

While Ontario costs are yet unknown, world-wide decommissioning has ranged from $30,000 to $80,000 per turbine.

But the worst case scenario can be avoided if funds are set aside as part of the approval process, suggests Gillespie.

Decommissioning plans are required to get renewable energy approval but they don’t have financial strings attached.

There is already a good model in place, says Gillespie. Under the Environmental Protection Act, the government will ask for financial assurance if there is a risk of adverse effects that could require remedial work. A letter of credit or security is required up front.

“Anything other than that might keep lawyers busy for a long time but won’t help communities. It’s about addressing the issue now rather than waiting for the end and crossing your fingers. It should be the companies that are earning the profits that have to pay the bill.”

More unwanted turbines for Eastern Ontario?

02 Wednesday Dec 2015

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Wind turbine and home, Brinston, Ontario. Photo by Ray Pilon.

Wind turbine and home, Brinston, Ontario, south of Ottawa. Photo by Ray Pilon.

Unwilling host status no guarantee against provincial green energy push

Farmers Forum, December 2015

By Tom Collins
NORTH FRONTENAC — The province will announce new wind turbine projects by the end of the year — as many as 100 turbines or more —  but seven out of eight Eastern Ontario municipalities that could be impacted by those submissions voted against the projects.

The lone wolf was Addington Highlands Township, which approved two turbine projects with a combined 370 MW capacity in July.

Wind turbine developers submitted 27 wind turbine projects by the Sept. 1 deadline. Those proposals equal 2,246.8 megawatts (MW), but the province will approve only 300 MW this year, translating to about 100 large turbines.

North Frontenac mayor Ron Higgins is 80 per cent confident there won’t be turbines in his township as it has declared itself “an unwilling host” but says the province can ignore that designation. Ninety-one of 444 Ontario municipalities have declared themselves unwilling hosts to wind turbines.

Higgins hopes the province will choose to put turbines where they are wanted. The province says wind developers that came to an agreement with a municipality have top priority for approval.
North Stormont Township councillor and Avonmore dairy farmer Jim Wert said there is no upside to turbines for his municipality, but has no confidence that North Stormont will not be getting wind energy.

“I think the track record of this decision-making process speaks for itself,” he said. “If you take a look at the number of municipalities that have had unwilling host status in the past and the number of them that now have windmills, I think that speaks volumes.”

According to numbers compiled by the municipality last year, 89 per cent of wind turbines are operating in municipalities that don’t want them as 25 of 28 municipalities that have turbines declared themselves unwilling hosts.

Wind turbines are a divisive issue for farmers, said Wert. With turbines bringing in around $30,000 a year per turbine, farmers who have the option of having wind turbines are in favour of them, while neighbours who can’t have turbines may be upset about the potential impact on property values.

South Dundas Coun. Bill Ewing said his municipality is against turbines unless the province can justify a need for it. He didn’t believe municipalities would be successful in stopping turbines if they all joined forces.

“That would be like trying to stop the snow from falling,” he said. “They missed the boat when the province first said, ‘you shall.’ (Municipalities) should have all got together and said ‘whoa, stop this.’ It became a dictatorship then.”

The successful applicants are expected to be announced later this month. The seven applications for Eastern and East-Central Ontario include:

  • 35 to 100 turbines for a 200-megawatt project in Addington Highlands Township.
  • 40 to 60 turbines for a 170-megawatt project in Addington Highlands Township.
  • 35 to 50 turbines for a 150-megawatt project in the Nation Municipality, Russell Township, North Stormont Township, and Alfred and Plantagenet Township.
  • 29 to 50 turbines for a 100-megawatt project in North Stormont Municipality.
  • 50 turbines for a 100-megawatt project in North Frontenac Township.
  • 40 turbines for a 75-megawatt project in South Dundas Municipality.
  • 15 turbines for a 40-megawatt project in Nation Municipality and Champlain Township.

On that list, the Nation, North Stormont, North Frontenac and South Dundas have declared themselves as unwilling hosts. Russell Township has approved a powerline through part of its township, but not wind turbines. Champlain Township voted in favour of allowing a substation in its township, but not turbines. Alfred and Plantagenet Township wouldn’t have turbines as part of the project, and they have not made a decision on whether to support wind turbines. Alfred and Plantagenet Township originally approved the project on July 20, but rescinded its decision on Aug. 12 once they discovered the Nation — which would have the turbines — was against it.

According to the Canadian Wind Energy Association, there were 76 Ontario wind developments running as of September, with a total of 2,150 turbines and 4,042 MW capacity.

There are three operating wind turbine projects in Eastern Ontario — 86 turbines at Wolfe Island, 10 at Brinston south of Winchester and five at Loyalist Township west of Kingston.

The province has approved eight other Eastern Ontario projects that are not yet up and running.

 

OTTAWA WIND CONCERNS EDITOR’S NOTE: There are 8 turbines at Brinston, not 10. Of the eight projects approved for Eastern Ontario, all are under appeal.

Please see today’s news story on the Auditor General’s report on the surplus of power in Ontario, and how much wind power has cost the citizens of Ontario.

Eastern Ontario wind farms: no community support

08 Saturday Aug 2015

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Eastern Ontario wind farms: “enjoy the horizon while you still can”

 From Farmers Forum, August 4, 2015

Community opposition to industrial-scale wind power mounting

Excerpt from “Eastern Limits” by Tom Van Dusen

I’m not sure what it is about North Stormont Township but wind power developers seem to love it.

Their calculations must have discovered more forceful winds than normal stirring the township. On the surface, though it seems no more or less windy than any other rural municipality.

In increasing numbers, developers have been wafting through the township looking for prime sites* to erect their industrial turbines. As in other communities where they’ve landed, their efforts have been the subject of increasing protests, petitions, and testy meetings.

Correctly gauging the way the wind is blowing on the issue, township council has just taken a stand against turbines and their proponents…for what that’s worth. With the provincial government relentlessly pushing wind power, it’s probably not worth much.**

Mayor Dennis Fife has explained that too many ratepayers are against wind projects for council to reasonably support them. Fife has expressed his personal opposition, claiming wind will never match nuclear power generation.

Typical of disgruntled ratepayers is Roger Villeneuve who worries that towers “much taller than any tree I’ve ever seen or will ever see” will soon dominate the local landscape.

…Council was helped along in its decision by Concerned Citizens of North Stormont which circulated an unwilling host petition, demanding that elected representatives back it at a meeting July 28. They did.

In explaining its opposition the citizens’ committee cited the loss of property values and prime agricultural land, increased hydro costs to cover wind power expansion, environmental impact on birds and bats, health issues related to pulsating noise and shadow flicker, and eventual decommissioning costs.

…Developers have been through all this before, in several other Ontario municipalities where they’ve landed. You see, they have carte blanche from the province under the Green Energy Act, trumping any local motions, opposing them. Projects are decided by the province’s Independent Electricity Service Operator [sic–it is “System” Operator] (IESO) with little regard for local concerns.***

…a growing number of wind power opponents are urging councils to use other tools at their disposal…one suggested option is refusing a bylaw to permit road access to turbine sites. ****

…

“Enjoy the natural horizon while there still is one,” says ratepayer Roger Villeneuve.

Wind Concerns Ontario notes:

* What they are looking for is willing landowners. Wind doesn’t really have much to do with it.

** The Not A Willing Host declaration stems directly from a statement by Premier Kathleen Wynne that she wouldn’t force wind power projects on communities that weren’t willing. Her failure to honour her word is underscored by the 89 (soon to be 90?) communities that have protested by municipal resolutions.

*** This is true but the failure of a developer to gain municipal support does not help them in a successful bid. Bids without community support are ranked lower.

**** This is not actually a valid option: several communities have tried this already and what happens is, the developer goes to the Ontario Energy Board which then grants permission to use road allowances. The municipality is then left without a road use agreement and possibility of compensation for the sometimes considerable damage to public roads.

How much does it cost to demolish a wind turbine?

14 Tuesday Oct 2014

Posted by in Ottawa, Renewable energy, Wind power

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Re-posted from Wind Concerns Ontario; note the information on the Brinston wind power project.

How much to take down a wind turbine?

Bonanza in scrap, or millions to demolish?
Bonanza in scrap, or millions to demolish?

Tom Collins, Farmers Forum, October 2014

Scaremongers say it will cost millions

Brinston–While some critics of wind turbines howl that the cost of the eventual teardown of a turbine is astronomical, the actual cost today would be $30,000 to $100,000, per turbine.

The bigger issue is, who is going to pay for it.

Municipalities are on the hook to ensure companies tear down or, in industry jargon, decommission a turbine, unless they’ve got a binding agreement with the wind power company. Some municipalities demand from wind turbine companies ongoing payments into protected (or escrow) accounts or bonds to set money aside annually to pay for decommissioning.

Some municipalities require a letter of intent from wind turbine companies to ensure they will be responsible for decommissioning. Some municipalities have no agreement at all, including Wolfe Island, said its mayor, Denis Doyle. TransAlta communications manager Stacey Hatcher said the decommissioning plans are between the company and the landowner and because of that, the info is confidential. [See editor’s note #1]

The 86 turbines on Wolfe Island, on the St. Lawrence River at Kingston, were built by Canadian Hydro Developers, later purchased by Trans Alta and there is no bond or escrow account in place. The company does, however, reimburse the island about $100,000 per year for hosting the project. Based on current decommissioning projects around the world, it can cost $30,000 to $10,000 [sic] to dispose of a turbine. If it were to cost $50,000 to remove each turbine on Wolfe Island, it would cost $4.3 million to remove them all. Of course, that price goes up over time. [See Editor’s note #2] Hatcher said the company plans to repower or recontract when they [sic] current contracts are up.

There are 10 three-megawatt wind turbines at Brinston, between Kemptville and Winchester, and the power company ProWind [see Editor’s note #3] pays $1,000 per megawatt per year over the next 20 years into an escrow account that will rack up $600,000 to pay for decommissioning. [Editor’s note #4]

Windlectric Inc. wants to build 36 turbines on Amherst Island where Statec Consulting said that decommissioning costs are up to Windlectric. Typically, decommissioning will not remove all of the concrete base, but that’s only the first few feet of concrete that went into the ground. [We’re done adding editor’s notes at this point.]

One of the most infamous decomissionings involved 37 decrepit turbines in Hawaii that stood unused for six years before they were taken down in 2012. Tawhiri Power estimated that the take-down cost $30,000 per turbine. [OK, one more; see Editor’s note #5]

The seven-turbine community-owned Black Oak Wind Farm in New York State will start construction in late 2014. The decommissioning plan would currently cost about $55,883 per turbine, although the project expects to generate at least $50,000 per turbine by selling it as scrap metal. The municipality agreement means the power company must pay $140,000 per turbine in escrow but also means the payment can be reviewed and changed if decommissioning estimates change.….

WCO Editor’s notes:

1. Many landowners were told that it was to their benefit to decommission the turbines themselves as there is so much scrap value in the turbines; this is untrue due to the quality of metal being used, and also the other costs of decommissioning such as crane rental, and disposal of the toxic components.

2. So, that would be the millions then…

3. ProWind, properly “Prowind,” does not own the Brinston project, and hasn’t for several years. It is now owned by EDP Renewables.

4. In the original negotiations with Prowind, the developer wanted the landowners and the municipality to be responsible for decommissioning costs. It was the local community group that brought these costs to the attention of the municipality, and played a significant role in the agreement now in place.

5. US dollars? Canadian dollars? Also, the size of the turbines and the machinery involved is a factor. The turbines erected in Hawaii over a decade again, and the turbines at Wolfe Island are now miniscule compared with the 500-foot-plus, 3 -MW behemoths being built and proposed.

Write to Farmers Forum at editor@farmersforum.com

Farmers Forum editorial on wind: I don’t want a turbine

15 Monday Sep 2014

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Apparently, everyone is tickety-boo with Wolfe Island being turned into a factory--or are they?

Apparently, everyone is tickety-boo with Wolfe Island being turned into a factory–or are they?

Wind turbine woes

September 2014, Farmers Forum

Farmers Forum surveyed a big chunk of Wolfe Island residents and found that 75 per cent approve of or are indifferent toward the 86 wind turbines they’ve been living with for five years.

There are only two wind turbine projects in Eastern Ontario–one in Wolfe Island and one near Brinston, south of Ottawa. But Wolfe Island, surrounded by the St. Lawrence River at one end and Lake Ontario at the other, is a captive crowd. We easily surveyed 200 of the 1,400 residents lining up for the Kingston ferry or working in the hamlet of Marysville.

With such a high proportion of residents surveyed–one in seven–we captured a fairly good picture of how people feel about those gigantic white gosal posts with their three imposing blades. Of course, having a visual of a turbine makes a huge difference. On many properties on the 29-kilometer long island, you can’t even see the turbines.* From other vantage points, you can see more than 10.

We found that money makes a difference. Those landowners (many of them farmers) hosting one or more turbines, are delighted with the $10,000 to $14,000 they earn each year per turbine just to look at them. The wind turbine company hands over another $100,000 to the island annually. Improvements to the local outdoor rink are one of the many benefits. It’s like getting paid twice for having the good luck of living at the right place on the right island at the right time.

Not surprisingly, wind power companies in other areas of the province are now offering “hush” money to Ontarians living near a proposed wind turbine project. As I’ve said before, if a company wants to pay me $14,000 a year to put a wind turbine on my property, I’d move the garage in order to accommodate them. Change their mind and offer the turbine to my neighbour and suddenly that turbine doesn’t look so good. It’s kind of an eyesore and doesn’t it affect bird migration? Could this be the health issues that we hear about or am I just sick at the thought that I just lost $280,000 of free money over 20 years? I think I know the answer. But when you offer to cut me in on the monetary benefits of my neighbour’s turbine, I’m suddenly all sunshine and happy thoughts.

This is not to say there aren’t honest-to-goodness health risks. Farmers Forum has no reason to disbelieve those survey respondents who complain of low-level noise when the wind changes direction.

We’re losing $24,000 an hour on wind

This brings me to my only real beef against wind power. As happy as I thought I would be to have a turbine, I don’t want  one.

They are the biggest money losers in the history of the province. Not for Wolfe Islanders or anyone else who gets a wind turbine contract. But for everyone else forced to pay an electricity bill. Electricity costs have already risen 12.5 per cent each year for the past five years. There are more than 1,000 operating wind turbines and another more than 4,000 to go up in the province. Ontario’s auditor general says we can expect another 40 per cent price hike over the next few years in our electricity bills. By 2018, every Ontario family will be paying an extra $636 per year to go green. And why? So the province can claim to be the first green province or state in North America? Big deal.

Wind turbines are incredibly inefficient. In a major report last year, the Fraser Institute noted that 80 per cent of the power generated by wind turbines occur when Ontario doesn’t need the power. So, while the province pays 13.5 cents per kilowatt hour, it often resells is for 2.5 cents south of the border. The report, Environmental and Economic Consequences of Ontario’s Green Energy Act, observed that data from the Independent Electricity System Operator show Ontario loses, on average, $24,000 per operating hour on wind power sales. Numerous companies, including Kelloggs and Heinz, have closed plants because Ontario companies pay more for power than any other jurisdiction in North America.

Not “green”

To make matters worse, a wind turbine can contain more than 200 tonnes of steel and Chinese factories need the mining of even more tonnes of coal and iron to make them. Writes David Hughes in his book Carbon Shift, “A windmill could spin until it falls apart and never generate as much energy as was invested in building it.”

So, you can’t even call wind turbines green energy. It’s appalling that farmers have been lied to about the benefits. We’re wasting billions on a phoney cause.

Patrick Meagher is editor of Farmers Forum and can be reached at editor@farmersforum.com

Re-posted from Wind Concerns Ontario

WCO editor’s note: Although Farmers Forum was clear on the limitations of their survey they missed several key points: one, by surveying only people at the ferry dock and in a coffee shop, they may have missed people who stay on the island all day, but more important, as the Island has turbines on one half and none on the other, it would have been absolutely critical to define where the survey respondents actually live. They didn’t. Another key factor in any survey of community residents living with turbines is the fact that many turbine contracts force landowners to sign a non-disclosure agreement—in other words, if they have anything negative to say about the turbines, they can’t talk.

What’s in that wind farm lease? You could lose rights to your land for longer than you will be alive

01 Sunday Dec 2013

Posted by in Health, Renewable energy, Wind power

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This is an advance copy of an article prepared by Garth Manning of Prince Edward County, and chair of the County Coalition for Safe Appropriate Green Energy (CCSAGE). The article will be appearing in the December edition of Farmer’s Forum, with a circulation of 40,000 in the agricultural community of Ontario.
For more information on Farmers Forum, go to www.farmersforum.com

WHAT’S IN THAT WIND TURBINE CONTRACT?

you could be giving up the right to your land for longer than you are alive.

 Wind companies operating in Ontario are frequently owned outside Canada, and are not interested in “saving the planet for our grandchildren” or “curing climate change” as those weary clichés would have you believe. Rather, they’re only after the biggest possible profits guaranteed over a period of from 21 to 40 years by our provincial government using the proceeds of Ontario residents’ constantly increasing hydro bills and taxes.
So what do you do when the wind company wants you to sign a contract? The land owner must first decide for him/herself whether there’s any truth in the now widely accepted beliefs that industrial machines, taller than the Ottawa Peace Tower and as tall as the London Eye, can cause health problems, reduce property values, adversely affect local economies, provide few jobs, kill birds and bats in unacceptable numbers, devastate rural Ontario and disrupt communities.  If you can get past that, you have to accept that wind power is not even required at all in an economy with an excess of electricity, some of which is virtually given away to neighbouring provinces and states on a regular basis.
The “gifts” the wind company salesmen bear while dangling the sugar plum of additional (taxable) income, include more than 30 pages of legal documents, which they urge you to sign.  In a word…DON’T. They are prepared by large, expensive, law firms to protect wind companies, not you. Have them reviewed by your own lawyer and insist that the wind company reimburse you for the legal fee.  Then make your own informed decisions.
There is no such thing as a standard form of contract used by wind companies – they’re all different in detail but usually consist of an option agreement and a stringent form of lease (which you will have to sign without change if the wind company decides to go ahead).
To protect yourself, your lawyer and you should consider and discuss a long list of valid concerns. Here are some examples.
You could be virtually handing over control of your property and the way you normally use it for a period of time extending beyond your own life expectancy. The wind company can get out of the contract but you can’t. Turbine(s) can be sited where they, not you, want it or them.  Ditto for the access roads to the turbine(s). You should discuss how your mortgage and insurance coverages might be affected. The period of construction will entail the presence of heavy machinery and considerable upheaval to your normal daily life. This could be repeated after about 21 years if the wind company decides to build bigger turbines to replace the old ones. You may find it difficult to sell, or raise money on, your property. There’s no guarantee that the wind company will follow up on its promise to make good all damage caused by construction, for which you should require a major cash deposit, irrevocable letter of credit or bond.  Ditto for its promise to remove the turbine(s) and make good your land.
There’s more…the wind company can escape its obligations by assigning the contract to anyone,   including an anonymous numbered company, without assets, which could avoid removing the turbines(s) and making good the land. Without the proper financial protection, you might find yourself responsible 20 or 40 years from now for demolishing the turbine(s) at immense personal cost.
You might also be asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement restricting your right to communicate publicly what you have learned from your dealings with the wind company. You could be required to give legal permission for the turbine(s) to cause flicker, noise, turbulence and general unpleasantness, thus giving up any right to sue should you or your family suffer any health or financial problems from the turbine(s). You could be sued by neighbours for knowingly contributing to diminished value or unsaleability of their property because of the presence of the turbine(s) on your land. You may be left with massive concrete foundations and other sub-surface installations on your lands.
You owe it to yourself, your family and your community to consider and act on these concerns before you sign a contract.
Garth Manning
Mr Manning is a retired lawyer living in Prince Edward County.
This article is for informational purposes only, and does not constitute legal advice.

Amherst Island community tearing apart: “No way would anything this tall with this opposition be built in the city”

15 Saturday Dec 2012

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Amherst Island is a small community offshore from Kingston, Ontario, which if Toronto-based wind power developer Algonquin Power gets its way, will soon be populated by as many as 37 huge wind turbines.

The community has been ripped apart by the controversy, as is becoming typical for rural Ontario communities where farm owners want the revenue from leasing their land for the turbines, while other residents worry about health and property values.

Here is a feature article from this week’s Farmer’s Forum, by Patrick Meagher. http://www.farmersforum.com/DEC2012/p12.htm

 

The big chill

Eastern Ontario’s latest battle over wind turbines reveals another divided community

 

By Patrick Meagher

 

AMHERST ISLAND — Bruce Caughey is the only dairy farmer on the 20-kilometre long Amherst Island, a three-kilometre offshore ferry ride west of Kingston. In 1970, there were 28.

Times have changed. Looks like they’re changing again.

If Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has its way, there will be 33 to 37 new wind turbines, each standing 50 storeys tall, on the humble island. Contracts have been signed, so Caughey expects to see eight of them from his back window.

“This is not a popular project,” he said, noting that the year-round population of about 410 people (2011 census) are overwhelmingly against it. Some say the issue has defined people by who now waves to whom.

“You can have differences of opinion,” Caughey said. “Most people rise above that. There are lots of social things we still enjoy together. Most people get along.”

Amherst Island is the typical story of many small Ontario communities where ugly battles have erupted over a landowner’s right to do what he wants on his property versus the neighbour’s right to the enjoyment of his property.

Despite worry about killing birds, the biggest issues are health concerns caused by the turbines and having to look at them. You can see the turbines towering over neighbouring Wolfe Island from the grassy southeast. To some they look good. To others they don’t. To some who lease land for a turbine, they look like money, up to $15,000 per year. Others cynically said the island will become a factory. The ones on Amherst will be taller by 20 to 30 metres, reaching 150 metres from ground to the tip of a vertical blade.

Caughey visited a farmer with three turbines on Wolfe Island and was struck by the “haunting” afternoon shadow but also the noise. The farmer told him they can sometimes sound like a jet plane taking off. A neighbour and a visiting veterinarian said they have heard it too.

“The only people getting a return are the landowners but we’re all going to enjoy them or not,” said Caughey, who once considered signing up for a turbine.

The setback is 550 metres but Caughey agreed with others that setbacks from homes should be at least one kilometre.

Local councilor for Loyalist Township, Duncan Ashley, lives on the island and said that in 18 years in municipal politics this issue is by far the most divisive. “Without a doubt,” he said. “Nothing comes close. This is tearing the community apart.”

Farmers Forum conducted a survey of 200 of Wolfe Island’s residents last year and the most significant conclusion was that 28.5 per cent of respondents said that community spirit had gotten worse since 86 turbines were erected in 2009.

Even though Premier Dalton McGuinty announced a priority points system that sends projects that are not community-supported to the bottom of the list, Ashley said he has not seen any legislation that gives municipalities power to stop a project. “Municipality rights have been stripped,” he said.

Some road work has been done to bring in the wind turbines and the province is considering a multi-million dollar upgrade of the ferry but the wind project has yet to be approved.

The president of the Association for the Protection of Amherst Island, Peter Large, said that 15 to 18 landowners have signed a deal to get a wind turbine but 200 people have signed on with the association in protest, representing the “vast majority” of the year-round adult population.

Large makes numerous arguments but there are two that stand out: health concerns and lack of local autonomy.

There’s no way that a building this tall would be approved in a city with such overwhelming opposition from the community, he said, adding that there is no local input, no hearing and no appeal process. “This in itself is unthinkable.”

The many health concerns from existing wind projects are now being studied by Health Canada, which expects to reach conclusions in about two years.

One concern, which has rarely been discussed in the news media, is the shadow flicker or strobe light effect created by the setting sun passing behind the turning blades and casting long but interrupted shadows into homes. (Google “wind turbine shadow flicker” and see the shadow action for yourself.)

Loyalist Township planner Murray Beckel said that if the project is approved he suspects turbine construction will not start until 2014, as the company first needs to hold a second open house in the new year and then provide numerous reports to the Ministry of Environment and obtain various permits. The ministry will need about six months to respond to the report package, he said.

But while the opposition has the numbers this is far from a one-sided battle. The pro-wind group has the law on its side. It also has long-time residents, mostly farming families, said sheep farmer Dave Willard, who stands to gain from two wind turbines on his property. “Every traditional island family that has been here for three, four, five generations are all on side but one (dairy farmer Bruce Caughy),” he said. “I can’t think of one other long-term island family that is opposed. Almost everyone with 100 acres signed on.”

He added that some families signed on but didn’t get a turbine and will still earn $2,500 a year for the 20-year term of the project.

“I don’t like being dictated to by a group of newcomers (fewer than 30 years),” Willard protested. “They don’t have historical authority. They didn’t raise their kids here.”

Editor’s note: APAI is a sister organization to Ottawa Wind Concerns, as group members of Wind Concerns Ontario. http://www.windconcernsontario.ca