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Tag Archives: Melancthon

Realtors dispute economist study on wind farm neighbour property values

31 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by ottawawindconcerns in Renewable energy, Wind power

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics, Canadian Real Estate Wealth, Melancthon, mortgage financing, property value, property value loss, property values, real estate appraisers, real estate value, Realtor, Richard Vyn, University of Guelph, wind farm property value, wind farms, wind turbine, wind turbines

Wind farm “monsters bad for Ontario: Realtors shoot back at property value study

Looks like a great place to live!!
Looks like a great place to live!!

Jennifer Paterson, Canadian Real Estate Wealth, December 18, 2014

A recent study by the University of Guelph, which found wind turbines do not have an impact on nearby property values, might have earned a big sigh of relief from investors – but the study’s results have been strongly criticized by members of the real estate industry.

“I have had several deals fall apart in this area because, in the appraisal report, it has been mentioned that there are windmills visible or adjacent to the property and, once a lender gets wind of that (forgive the pun), they will not fund a mortgage,” said Angela Jenkins, a mortgage agent at Dominion Lending Centres, who lives and works in the Melancthon region, where the study was conducted.

“If a person cannot get financing due to windmills, then how can this be a positive thing?”

The study, which was published this month in the Canadian Journal of Agricultural Economics, analyzed more than 7,000 home and farm sales in the area, and found that at least 1,000 of these were sold more than once, some several times.*

John Leonard Goodwin, who has been a real estate broker for more than 10 years in the Grand Bend, Ont. market, asserted that wind turbines absolutely do affect property values. “Turbines complicate your property enjoyment, period,” he said. “That alone spells depreciated value(s).

“Turbines should be in remote, unpopulated locations. To all the folks who have turbines on their property: Enjoy your $18,000 per turbine per year, because you will be giving most of the lease payments back (in much lower property value) when you sell.

“These monsters are very bad for Ontario,” he continued. “We all pay to subsidize the electricity they produce and they will also cause a significant loss of real estate value.”

Lynn Stein, a sales representative at Hartford and Stein Real Estate, lives and sells real estate in Prince Edward County, where a large-scale wind turbine project is slated to begin.

“The turbines that are proposed here are quite large,” she said. “The majority of the population here very clearly doesn’t want them.

“Put simply, if you were to buy your future home, given the choice, would you buy where you would have noise, shadow flicker, an industrial view, potential health issues caused by the turbines, and the possibility of a very difficult resale, or would you spend your money elsewhere?”

Read the full story and comments here.

*Wind Concerns Ontario Editor’s note– The writer is incorrect: Vyn had a data set of 5,414 residences but very few, 124, were within 5 km of a turbine. Several were as far as 50 km from a turbine. This is a tactic designed to “dilute” any actual effect. Author Richard Vyn himself said that the limitations of this study (sponsored by MPAC, perhaps to buttress their own disastrous study on this issue earlier this year) were significant and should not be overlooked. Toward the end of his paper he admits, “…while the results indicate a general lack of significantly negative effects across properties examined in this study, this does not preclude any negative effects occurring on individual properties.”

The Realtors and financing professionals contacted for this article also did not note that Vyn failed to include expired listings, i.e., properties that were listed for sale, but never sold.

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Province knew about health effects in 2008

13 Wednesday Feb 2013

Posted by ottawawindconcerns 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.

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The government KNOWS about health effects

09 Wednesday Jan 2013

Posted by ottawawindconcerns in Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

CTV Kitchener news, Dalton McGuinty, Freedom of Information Ontario, health effects wind farms, health effects wind turbines, Lisa Thompson MPP, Melancthon, Ontario Ministry of the Environment

Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson filed a Freedom of Information request with the Ministry of the Environment, and learned from the documents that the Ontario government investigated complaints of noise and the effects of infrasound in 2009 from the wind power project at Melancthon, and noted them as serious and valid.

A noise abatement program was developed … and ignored.

A CTV news video is here: http://www.freewco.blogspot.ca/2013/01/video-mpp-says-ontario-hid-documents.html

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