• About
  • Donate!
  • EVENTS
  • Ottawa’s “Energy Evolution”: wind turbines coming to rural communities
  • Thinking of signing a wind turbine lease?
  • Wind Concerns Ontario
  • Wind turbines: what you need to know

Ottawa Wind Concerns

~ A safe environment for everyone

Ottawa Wind Concerns

Tag Archives: Lisa MacLeod

North Gower rally vs proposed wind power project

27 Sunday Oct 2013

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

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Lisa MacLeod, noise wind farms, noise wind turbines, Ottawa wind concerns, Pierre Poilievre, property value loss North Gower, Prowind, wind farm North Gower, wind farm Richmond Ontario, wind power North Gower

(Dear Tom Spears: they are NOT ‘farms’)

From the Ottawa Citizen

North Gower rally opposes possible wind farm

  By Tom Spears, OTTAWA CITIZEN October 26, 2013
  • Photos ( 2 )
North Gower rally opposes possible wind farm

Nearly 300 people came to the recreation centre in North Gower Saturday morning to oppose construction of eight to 10 wind turbines north and west of the village.

NORTH GOWER — Nearly 300 people came to the recreation centre in North Gower Saturday morning to oppose construction of eight to 10 wind turbines north and west of the village.

“They’re too noisy. They are really way to close to people for an industrial power plant,” said organizer Jane Wilson, of Ottawa Wind Concerns. “Far too close to too many people.”

She estimates that 1,100 homes would be within 3.5 kilometres of the turbines.

“A number of the homes are within two kilometres, which is … where you see most of the health effects,” she said.

Her group circulated a map of where it says the turbines would be sited, “and when people start looking at the map and see how close it is, it really makes a difference to them.”

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, she believes.

The proposal by Prowind Canada is on hold for now, but residents expect the company to go ahead eventually. The Prowind website estimates the size of what it calls the Marlborough wind farm at eight turbines, producing up to 20 megawatts.

Nepean-Carleton MPP Lisa MacLeod, who is also the Conservative energy critic, attended the event to support the protest.

“Rural communities are going to be assaulted by these wind turbine developments,” she said.

She said the Conservatives want a moratorium on new wind developments, and an end to subsidies “so that we can put them put of business.”

She also accused the turbines of being costly and inefficient.

Wind farms are common in many parts of Ontario, especially along the Great Lakes, but are not yet common in Eastern Ontario. In some rural communities they have pitted neighbours against each other, with some welcoming the revenue and some saying their health and property values are at stake.

“There are obviously some health issues that need to be explored and Health Canada is doing that right now,” MacLeod said.

Wilson said the Saturday rally collected 282 signatures declaring that North Gower is “not a willing host” to a wind farm.

Nepean-Carleton MP Pierre Poilievre announced on Twitter that the social costs of wind farms are too high and added, “I will continue to stand with you.”

Click here for the map by Ottawa Wind Concerns.

tspears@ottawacitizen.com

MacLeod named Energy Critic in PC shadow cabinet

30 Monday Sep 2013

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

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

electricity bills Ontario, energy Ontario, Lisa MacLeod, Randy Pettapiece, wind farm North Gower

Just announced: Nepean-Carleton MPP Lisa MacLeod has been named the Energy Critic in the Progressive Conservative “shadow” cabinet.

MacLeod has been critical of the proposed 20-megawatt wind power project on farmland in North Gower and Richmond which will be too close to hundreds of people, and which will be financed with subsidies from Ontario taxpayers and ratepayers.

Perth-Wellington MPP Randy Pettapiece has been named Rural Affairs critic; Pettapiece’s family first came to North Gower in the 1800s from England, and has appeared at several events in the Ottawa area speaking on energy and wind power issues.

Email us at ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com

Wind power project siting process needs to be replaced, says Ottawa Wind Concerns

18 Thursday Jul 2013

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

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

cost benefit wind power, Feed In Tariff Ontario, gas plant cancellations Ontario, gas plants Ontario, Green Energy Act, health effects wind farms, health effects wind turbine noise, health problems wind farms, indirect health effects wind turbines, infrasound wind turbines, Lisa MacLeod, moratorium wind power projects, North Gower wind farm, North Gower wind power project, Ottawa wind concerns, Pierre Poilievre, Prowind, Rochelle Rumney, Wind Concerns Ontario, wind power performance Ontario, wind turbines and property values

Posted by the Ottawa Citizen:

Wind-power projects as harmful as cancelled gas plants, critic contends

By Elizabeth Payne, OTTAWA CITIZEN July 18, 2013 6:04 PM
 OTTAWA —The same process that led to Ontario’s “gas plant fiasco” is being used for wind-generation projects with disastrous results, says the head of a group concerned about a proposed wind farm in rural southern Ottawa.

“The gas plants got all the attention, but the wind-power projects are more widespread — and causing real problems for communities in terms of health problems, social disruption, lost property value and harm to the natural environment,” wrote Jane Wilson in a submission to the Ontario Power Generation and the Independent Energy System Operator as part of a “dialogue” about the way the province locates large power projects.

The consultation process stemmed from the political controversy around the location, and cancellation, of planned gas plants in southern Ontario. The Liberal government’s handling of the costly gas plant issue is the subject of an inquiry and a criminal investigation.

Ottawa Wind Concerns, which Wilson heads (in addition to Wind Concerns Ontario) wants a new system for planning and siting all large energy projects, including wind, that gives local communities more control. The Liberal government’s Green Energy Act gave the province control over location of wind energy projects. In May, the provincial government announced changes that will make developers work more closely with municipalities.

Ottawa Wind Concerns says, however, that the province needs to go further and give municipalities full control over projects as well as treating them the same way an industrial project would be treated. So far 60 municipalities across the province have declared themselves not willing hosts to wind power projects.

“Local land use planning needs to be returned to communities as a start and power projects should be treated as any other sort of infrastructure, with residents having full input to decisions that will affect their community, their financial futures and their health.”

Although many people living near wind turbines complain about health effects, research into the issue is limited. Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, in a 2010 report, concluded that “the scientific evidence available to date does not demonstrate a direct causal link between wind turbine noise and adverse health effects.” It also concluded that sound from wind turbines with common setbacks is not sufficient to cause hearing problems, although people might find it annoying. It also said there is no scientific evidence that vibrations from low-frequency wind turbine noise causes health issues. The report also said that “community engagement at the outset of planning for wind turbines is important and may alleviate health concerns.”

Health Canada has launched a major study into the effect of wind turbines on health. Meanwhile, federal cabinet minister Pierre Poilievre and Conservative MPP Lisa MacLeod, both of whom represent the riding where the project is planned, are calling for a moratorium on the North Gower project until the Health Canada study is completed.

A spokesman for the company that is proposing to build the project, Prowind Canada Inc., said it is temporarily on hold until the province determines what the new process for awarding wind power contracts will look like.

Rochelle Rumney, environmental co-ordinator with the company, said — environmental coordinator said Prowind would “like to work with the community and try to have everybody be comfortable with the project.”

Meanwhile, during an ongoing July heat wave that has strained the power grid, wind power contributed less than one per cent to Ontario’s power needs this week, something that Wilson says underlines the need for a cost-benefit analysis of wind-power projects.

© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen
OWC notes: despite community opposition, and opposition from elected representatives, despite clear evidence this project will cost taxpayers/ratepayers $4.8 million a year for power we don’t need, it looks like Prowind is still prepared to proceed with the North Gower-Richmond project…or sell it to someone who is. That means, we need even more help and especially funds for legal counsel. Donations welcome at PO Box 3, North Gower ON   K0A 2T0 Email us at ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com

Impact of Ottawa wind power project would be ‘staggering’

16 Tuesday Jul 2013

Posted by Ottawa Wind Concerns in Health, Ottawa, Renewable energy

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

cost benefit wind power, cost-benefit renewable power, Green Energy Act, health effects wind farms, health effects wind power, IESO, infrasound wind turbines, Lisa MacLeod, North Gower wind farm, Ontario government power projects, OPA, Ottawa wind concerns, Pierre Poilievre, Richmond wind farm, siting power projects, wind power project Ottawa

Community group Ottawa Wind Concerns has filed a formal comment with the Ontario Power Authority and the Independent Electricity System Operator as part of the “dialogue” process on siting large power projects in Ontario.

Placing a huge wind power project as proposed in the North Gower and Richmond communities, part of the City of Ottawa, would have “staggering” effects, the group says, in terms of negative health impacts and on property values.

On a day when wind power is contributing considerably less than one percent to Ontario’s power needs during the current heat wave, OWC’s chair Jane Wilson said that a thorough cost-benefit analysis, including comparison to other forms of power generation and the impact on communities, should be done for this and every wind power project.

“Ontario needs a new process,” she says. “That starts with a return of local land use planning and the recognition that wind power projects should be treated as any other type of infrastructure.”

MP Pierre Poilievre, MPP Lisa MacLeod and Ottawa City Councillor have all expressed opposition to the wind power project.

ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com

Read the full comment document here: OPA-commentJuly11

Donations welcome, please mail to PO Box 3, North Gower ON  K0A 2T0

Support for Bill 39 Affordable Energy Act

18 Thursday Apr 2013

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

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

CanWEA, cost benefit wind power, cost-benefit renewable power, energy prices Ontario, Feed In Tariff Ontario, FIT program, Green Energy Act, health effects wind farms, Lisa MacLeod, Lisa Thompson, North Gower wind power project, power prices Ontario, Robert Lyman, wind power subsidies Europe

Energy economist Robert Lyman has provided us a copy of his letter to MPP Lisa MacLeod in support of Bill 39 for the Affordable Energy Act, which will be read today. The wind power corporate lobby group has been working hard to oppose this bill, which would see cancellation of the Feed In Tariff subsidy which is bankrupting Ontario and providing huge subsidies to wind power developers, return of local land use planning control for renewable energy projects, and the requirement that wind power projects provide power at competitive prices.

His rationale is worth reading.

Ms Macleod,

I am writing with respect to Huron-Bruce MPP’s proposed Bill 39, the Affordable Energy Act, which I understand will receive second reading in the Ontario legislature today. As you know, the bill would authorize the return to municipalities of local land use planning control for renewable energy projects. It would also require that that proposed wind power projects supply power at a price competitive with other sources of power. I appreciate that is is very difficult to obtain legislative approval for Private Members’ Bills, but I think the committee meeting on this subject is an appropriate time to raise the awareness of the legislature and perhaps the media concerning the major problems associated with the Green Energy Act.
Here are a few points you may wish to bear in mind.
The current FIT subsidy for on-shore wind turbines of 13.5 cents per kWh. One should note the comments and findings in Chapter 3 of the Auditor General of Ontario’s 2011 Annual Report ( My personal comments are in brackets):
– “Many other jurisdictions set lower FIT prices than Ontario and have the mechanisms to limit the total costs arising from FIT programs”.
– “Ontario’s FIT prices were originally designed with the intention of allowing a reasonable rate of return, defined as 11% after-tax return on equity.” (In today’s market, even the riskiest of investments don’t get an 11 % rate of return; the FIT prices, in contrast, are guaranteed for the twenty-year life of the contract. There is no risk at all.)
– “There was minimal documentation to support how FIT prices were calculated to achieve the targeted return on equity, because of the numerous changes in the financial model and assumptions made by the Ontario Power Authority”. (The method of determining the FIT prices was, and remains, obscure.)
– “There has been a lack of independent oversight on the reasonableness of FIT prices. Although the OEB has historically been mandated to oversee and approve electricity prices, it has no role or legislative responsibility to review or approve FIT prices.”
– “”The internal rates of return offered to the developers in Germany and Spain varied depending on market risks and ranged from just 5% to 7% in Germany to between 7% and 10% in Spain. When Ontario’s FIT prices were first developed in spring 2009, they were already higher than those in Germany and Spain, which have both significantly dropped their FOIT prices since then due to lower component costs arising from technological advances”
– (Ontario’s FIT price for onshore wind installations is higher that that in Michigan, Wisconsin, Denmark, Germany, Spain and South Korea. Only in Vermont and Washington are FIT prices higher.)
I would add that, of all the various elements of the Green Energy Act, the withdrawal of authority from municipalities to exercise land use planning control over the construction of renewable energy installations is probably the most egregious. It is an affront to democracy that the governments most closely associated with the affects these installations have lost their ability to protect the public.
Bob Lyman
Nepean
********
Email us at ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com
Donations welcome at PO Box 3 North Gower ON  K0A 2T0

Energy economist: Ontario’s renewables plan ‘not affordable’

07 Sunday Apr 2013

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

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Brinston wind farm, Kathleen Wynne, Liberal Ontario government, Lisa MacLeod, North Gower wind farm, Ontario Ministry Environment, Ostrander Point wind power, Ottawa wind concerns, Prince Edward County wind projects, Robert Lyman, Shanly wind farm, South Branch Wind Opposition group, Wind Concerns Ontario

Dozens of residents of Ottawa, North Gower, Brinston and Shanly gathered at Ottawa City Hall yesterday to declare their communities “NOT a willing host” to proposed giant wind power projects.

Energy economist Bob Lyman addressed the crowd, noting that the day before, the Ontario Energy Board announced yet another rate hike, effective May 1st.

“Ontario’s renewable energy plan is unaffordable,” Lyman said. “We’re just beginning to feel the costs, which will amount to billions every year to be paid by Ontario ratepayers.”

Because wind power is produced when it’s not needed, he said, Ontario is shipping power out at “depressed” rates. “Ontario is subsidizing New York ratepayers by $500 million a year.”

Lyman blames the changes to structure in Ontario’s power system: “We’ve come a long way from the days when policy was to ensure that Ontario consumers had reliable and competitively priced supply. Today, the goals of environmental groups have displaced the interests of consumers and industry. It is time to take back Hydro for the consumers of this province.”

Wind Concerns Ontario president Jane Wilson said that the Ontario government is not listening to concerns about the rising price of electricity, about health problems, property value loss, or the environment. “Right now,” she said, “the citizens of Prince Edward County are having to raise money to fight their own government, the Ministry of the Environment, which has approved a wind power project at Ostrander Point. The government is not doing its job.”

Nepean-Carleton MPP Lisa MacLeod noted the cost of electricity in Ontario is hurting small and medium sized businesses, while huge corporations are benefitting from wind power subsidies. “The Premier says she is listening,” MacLeod said, “but I’m not sure who she’s listening to.”

The text of Bob Lyman’s remarks is available here: Remarks for April6event-RLyman, 2013-1

Email us at ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com

Donations welcome: PO Box 3, North Gower ON  K0A 2T0

NWH-Ottawa.jpg large

[Photo courtesy Lisa MacLeod]

Ottawa NOT a ‘willing host’ event Saturday April 6th

05 Friday Apr 2013

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

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Bob Lyman, cost benefit wind power, health effects wind farms, health effects wind turbine noise, infrasound wind turbines, Lisa MacLeod, Not a Willing host, Ottawa wind concerns, South Branch Wind Opposition group, Wind Concerns Ontario, wind farm North Gower, wind farm Richmond, wind power project Ottawa

Print

NORTH GOWER-RICHMOND-BRINSTON NOT A “WILLING HOST” to giant wind power generation project.

News conference and peaceable demonstration Saturday April 6th, Ottawa City Hall, 2 PM, corner Elgin and Lisgar Streets, Human Rights monument

Speakers: Lisa MacLeod MPP, energy economist Bob Lyman, Wind Concerns Ontario president Jane Wilson

Organized by: Ottawa Wind Concerns, Wind Concerns Ontario, South Branch Wind Opposition Group

Province knew about health effects in 2008

13 Wednesday Feb 2013

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

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Amaranth, Dalton McGuinty, Green Energy Act, health effects wind farms, health effects wind turbine noise, health effects wind turbines, indirect health effects wind turbines, infrasound wind turbines, Lisa MacLeod, Melancthon, moratorium wind power projects, Orangeville, Ottawa wind concerns, Tim Hudak, wind farm North Gower, wind farm Richmond, wind farms Osgoode, wind farms Ottawa

At this point, no one is surprised that the Government of Ontario knew there was a potential for health impacts from wind turbine noise … but went ahead with its Green Energy and Green Economy Act anyway, which stripped away municipalities’ rights to plan local land use where “renewable” energy projects are concerned, and ride roughshod over the rights of citizens.

Here is an article from this week’s Niagara This Week which puts it all together.

The link is: http://www.niagarathisweek.com/

Province knew about health effects from turbines

Released documents show ministry aware of concerns as far back as 2006

 

Province knew about health effects from turbines. Documents released through a Freedom of Information request reveal the government was aware of adverse health effects caused by industrial wind turbines as far back as 2006. Toronto Star file photo

Documents released through a Freedom of Information request from an Orangeville resident reveal the government was aware of adverse health effects caused by industrial wind turbines as far back as 2006.

While Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak says he is not shocked to learn the government kept this information from the public in relation to the 200-megaWatt Melancthon EcoPower Centre (located in Amaranth and Melancthon Township, near Shelburne, Ont.), he says he is disappointed.

“I wasn’t surprised. Concerns have been raised across Ontario and in other jurisdictions,” says Hudak, whose own riding of Niagara West-Glanbrook is poised for the installation of several industrial wind turbines.

“What it is, is disappointing. It appears as through they were trying to cover something up.”

In the released document, ministry officials report “complaints of adverse health effects by area residents are for the most part justified.

“MOE Provincial Officers have attended at several of the complainant’s [sic] residences and have confirmed that despite the noise emissions apparently complying with the applicable standard … that the noise emissions are in fact causing material discomfort to the residents in and around their homes,” reads the document, written by provincial officer Gary Tomlinson.

According to the ministry, to develop the guidelines for noise limits, ministry scientists and engineers consulted with local community members and noise experts including representatives from major acoustical consulting firms. At the time of the Melancthon project, there were no minimum setback distances, only a provincial noise guideline of 40 decibels, which was maintained in the Act.

The documents state that “at least two families have moved out of their homes due to noise impacts” and that the MOE was aware of “at least six cases where the wind developer bought out resident’s [sic] homes to address and silence their ongoing concerns.”

Tomlinson writes, “reasonable people do not leave their homes to sleep elsewhere for frivolous reasons.”

Melancthon is Canada’s largest wind energy installation to date. Construction on phase one began in 2005, and phase two was completed in 2007. The project has a capacity close to 200 megawatts — roughly 30 megawatts less than the largest project proposed for West Lincoln by Niagara Region Wind Corp.

The Melancthon EcoPower Centre, made up of 133 turbines, was approved before the province passed its controversial Green Energy Act. The Act established a minimum setback distance of 550 metres between residential dwellings and turbines, which is 100 metres more than the minimum setback distance used in the Melancthon project.

Projects approved prior to the passing of the GEA had to meet provincial noise guidelines but the setback distance was to be negotiated between the developer and municipality.

The Melancthon turbines, however, are much smaller than those proposed for parts of West Lincoln. NRWC is proposing to erect 77, three-megaWatt turbines designed by Japanese manufacturer Enercon, which is building facilities in Niagara to manufacture both the towers and electrical components. Fourty-four of those turbines will be built in West Lincoln, three in Wainfleet and 31 in nearby Haldimand County. The concrete towers of these turbines measure to a maximum of 145 metres to the hub, about the length of 13 school buses stacked bumper to bumper. The blades stretch close to 50 metres, roughly another five school buses across.

The turbines used in the Melancthon project are 1.5 megawatts and are manufactured by GE. They measure 80 metres in height, with blades nearly 40 metres long.

While some local residents claim Enercon suggests a greater setback distance for the model being used by NRWC, a company spokesperson said she was unaware of it.

“Enercon has to sign off on everything we put forward,” said Randi Rahamim. “They have signed off on the full design.”

Hudak’s colleague, Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson, wants to know why the government moved ahead with the Green Energy Act when it was aware of health concerns.

“I’m absolutely disgusted,” said Thompson, who is the PC energy critic. “It’s sad, because, at the end of the day, it hurts that the Liberal government chose to play word games with people’s health. It comes back to my point of how and why did this Liberal government become so arrogant that they can blatantly play with people’s health just to further their own agenda.”

Thompson was further disappointed with the response from Ontario’s environment minister, St. Catharines MPP Jim Bradley, to a letter she sent to him Jan. 9 in light of the FOI information.

“His response was that there is no direct impact,” said Thompson. “Of course, the odds of a blade falling off and hitting someone are rare. But too many people have come forward with concerns, and their complaints have gone nowhere.

“This further emphasizes the need for a moratorium, which I have tabled twice now,” said the MPP whose own riding not only includes the Bruce Power nuclear energy plant but is poised to see 1,700-1,800 wind turbines primarily along the shoreline of Lake Huron.

Thompson said her office is getting ready to table a motion when the house resumes Feb. 19.

“I will continue to put forward efforts to make this government accountable,” said Thompson. “I am not going to let go of these redacted documents… They point to a larger problem of this Liberal government: it doesn’t matter who is in charge, hiding things and driving its own agenda on the taxpayer’s back. It’s got to stop.”

Despite several attempts to reach Bradley, he did not provide comment on the recently revealed document. His press secretary did provide the following: “The ministry is aware of health concerns and has reviewed literature on the potential impacts of wind turbines, including the 2010 report from Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health which found there is no scientific evidence of a direct causal link between wind turbine noise and adverse health effects.

“The ministry will continue to review emerging scientific and engineering studies to ensure Ontario’s requirements remain in line with the best available science.”

The FOI documents pertain to an abatement plan the ministry put in place in relation to the Melancthon project. The ministry worked with both the municipality and wind developer to address concerns which resulted in several turbines being shut off at night and sound barriers being built around a transformer.

Hudak says it appeared ministry staff were trying to be forthcoming in their reports but that the government withheld that information.

“We need a moratorium on these projects,” said Hudak. “It’s been a position that I took up shortly after I became leader in 2009 for a number of reasons.”

Hudak’s issues with the Green Energy Act range from “expensive studies which fail basic economic sense” to how it strips away the decision-making powers of local governments.

Hudak and his PC government have called for several moratoriums on wind projects. In April 2010, at Queen’s Park, Hudak brought forward a bill to halt industrial wind turbine development. In March 2011, he was joined by West Lincoln Mayor Doug Joyner and Wainfleet Mayor April Jeffs at West Lincoln township hall to renew that call. This past June he was joined by his federal counterpart in the riding, MP Dean Allison, in demanding an immediate moratorium on industrial wind turbine development until a federal health study is complete.

Several other PC MPPs, including Thompson, have tabled similar motions.

The PC party will be introducing another motion when legislature resumes, both Hudak and Thompson confirmed.

“Lisa Thompson, in her capacity, brought forward motions in legislature for a moratorium. We will do that again, now that the house is back in after four months of inaction,” said Hudak, who has met with new Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne.

“We discussed ideas for job creation and balancing the books. One recommendation I made was a moratorium on these types of projects,” Hudak said. “I’ve brought it to the premier, I hope she takes my advice.

“I’m not going to give up,” said Hudak. “I’m going to keep fighting for what I think is the right thing to do.”

…..

Note that in the North Gower-Richmond area (which is only the beginning if this project were to proceed, as one of the landowners has land from Richmond to Osgoode) more than 450 homes would be within the 2-km Turbine Zone.

Join our email list! ottawawindconcerns@yahoo.ca

MPPs call for halt to wind power development in North Gower-Richmond

03 Monday Sep 2012

Posted by Ottawa Wind Concerns in Health, Ottawa, Wind power

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Bob Bailey MPP, cost benefit wind power, electricity cost Ontario, Emma Jackson EMC, Feed In Tariff Ontario, FIT Ontario, jobs Ontario, Lisa MacLeod, North Gower wind power project, Ontario economy, Ottawa wind concerns, Randy Pettapiece, Richmond wind farm, Richmond wind power project, Rideau Township, Tim Hudak, Vic Fedeli, wind power Ontario

From the latest online version of the EMC Manotick-Winchester, an account of a news conference held by Conservative MPPs Lisa MacLeod, Vic Fedeli, Randy Pettapiece and Bob Bailey.

The story is here http://www.emcmanotick.ca/20120830/news/Conservative+MPPs+decry+wind+power+in+North+Gower

and here:

Conservative MPPs decry wind power in North Gower

Posted Aug 30, 2012 By Emma Jackson


1

EMC news – A group of Progressive Conservative MPPs joined Nepean-Carleton MPP Lisa MacLeod in North Gower on Aug. 21 to oppose the Ontario government’s commitment to wind power in Ontario.

A small group of North Gower residents have been fighting a Prowind proposal to build 10 industrial wind turbines just outside the village boundaries, and PC energy critic Vic Fedeli and MPPs Bob Bailey and Randy Pettapiece took time from the Association of Municipalities Ontario conference in Ottawa to show their solidarity.

Fedeli did most of the talking at the brief event at the Rideau Township Archives on North Gower’s main street. He said the McGuinty government’s plan to bring green energy into the province is failing.

“The government’s dream of bringing green energy was forced on Ontario by overpaying for FIT (the feed-in tariff program) and guaranteeing to buy the power whenever it’s made, which is usually at night,” he told a small gathering of residents. “And they stripped municipalities of their decision-making power.”

He said the PC party would like to reverse those three elements of the Green Energy Act, so that residents can have more power to decide what energy projects are built in their communities.

“When you want green energy in your community, (municipalities can ask) is it in a willing host community, do we need the power and is it at a price we can afford,” Fedeli said.

The party is also asking to put all proposed wind projects in the province on hold until a federal study on the health effects of wind turbines is completed.

Gary Thomas, owner of Thomas Tree Farm on McCordick Road, said his house and farm will be within one kilometre of “four or five” turbines planned for the area. He said he’s done some basic calculations and thinks that from about December to February he will experience shadows from the turbines in the afternoons.

“It would drive you crazy. I couldn’t live there, and we’ve been here for 32 years,” said his wife Ruth Thomas.

Thomas said he’s concerned that it will ruin his old-fashioned Christmas tree cutting events. “With the turbines across the road, I don’t know how old-fashioned it will be,” he said.

Passing on the family farm will become difficult as well, because his son’s family will likely refuse to come because of health concerns.

Thomas said he wishes he could be more supportive of such an initiative.

“If they were of any benefit, it would be a different story,” he said. The Conservatives have long lambasted the McGuinty government for their commitment to wind power, claiming that turbines are inefficient and less green than traditional sources of power such as hydro.

Fedeli said he wants the government to focus on retrofitting existing dams and hydro plants to harness water energy, which he said would be more environmentally-friendly and more cost-effective.

Email us at ottawawindconcerns@yahoo.ca

Donations gratefully received: PO Box 3, North Gower ON   K0A 2T0

Citizen writer owes us all an apology

17 Friday Aug 2012

Posted by Ottawa Wind Concerns in Health, Ottawa, Wind power

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Dalton McGuinty, Health Canada wind power study, health effects wind farms, Henri Garand, indirect health effects wind turbines, infrasound wind turbines, Kate Heartfield, Lisa MacLeod, moratorium wind power projects, North Gower wind farm, Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa wind concerns, Pierre Poilievre, Richmond wind farm, wind farms Ottawa, wind power projects Ottawa

August 17, 2012

Yesterday, writer Kate Heartfield, who claims to live in the south Ottawa area near to the proposed wind power generation project, published an opinion piece in the Ottawa Citizen that she thought was a colossal joke. Doing absolutely no research herself on the whole issue of wind power generation, she took aim at Nepean-Carleton MP Pierre Poilievre for what she felt was inadequate references for the petition he circulated to constitutents last week.

(The petition states that there is evidence for health effects from wind turbine noise and vibration and that Health Canada is now doing a study; Premier McGuinty of Ontario ought to halt approvals on the North Gower-Richmond project until results of the study are in. For a copy of the petition, please see our documents tab.)

She also claimed that the group of international scientists working on this issue were “amusingly” named the Society for Wind Vigilance  ( a five-minute read would have revealed what an important group of scientists and health care professionals that is), she denigrated well-known and peer-reviewed independent health researcher and former health policy analyst and editor Carmen Krogh as “a retired pharmacist” and finally, claimed that for 20% of the population to have health effects from wind turbine noises was neither here nor there.

If you are a regular reader of these pages and our former blog the North Gower Wind Action Group blog, you’ll know what a puff piece Heartfield’s article was–there is plenty of evidence to show that there are health problems, and that research needs to be done to develop policy for health and safety because, clearly, Ontario’s 550-meter setback based on noise modelling (not reality) is not safe.

Our final comment is, Since when is a health issue the basis for humour? We note that it took just nine complaints about Jeeps in the U.S. to result in a recall of hundreds of thousands of vehicles. Now you have hundreds of noise complaints in Ontario, and yet the government still approves these projects? How many people have to become ill before it is too much? And before people like Kate Heartfield can take seriously the damage that is being done?

We are grateful for the continuing support of MPP Lisa MacLeod and MP Pierre Poilievre. Thanks too to all those who wrote in and congratulations to writers Mike Baggott, Judi Atkinson, Francesco Macri, and Henri Garand, for having been published in the Ottawa Citizen today.

Email us at ottawawindconcerns@yahoo.ca

← Older posts
Newer posts →

Recent Posts

  • Open letter to CAFES Ottawa
  • Ottawa Wind Concerns supports West Carleton residents
  • What does wind ‘farm’ construction really look like?
  • Unwilling Host communities surround Ottawa
  • How many birds do wind turbines kill?

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Tags

Bob Chiarelli Green Energy Act IESO Ontario Ottawa Ottawa wind concerns wind energy wind farm wind power wind turbines

Contact us

PO Box 3 North Gower ON K0A 2T0

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Subscribe Subscribed
    • Ottawa Wind Concerns
    • Join 379 other subscribers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • Ottawa Wind Concerns
    • Subscribe Subscribed
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...