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Pleas for protective bylaws for noisy wind turbines get nowhere with Ottawa councillor

11 Tuesday Oct 2022

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Not “forward-thinking”: Ottawa is not acting on its opportunity to protect rural citizens against wind turbine noise and vibration. [Photo: D. Larsen for Wind Concerns Ontario]

Planning committee co-chair responds with condescending, hostile messages; continues to deny Ottawa plans for wind turbines

October 11, 2022

While Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) prepares to launch new procurement initiatives for power generation, and wind power developers line up to apply for contracts, at least one councillor with the City of Ottawa denies the need for the city to issue protective bylaws for noise and setbacks for health and safety now.

Ottawa Wind Concerns has been updating the Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committee (ARAC) as well as city staff charged with developing new zoning bylaws on both the need for protective regulation and the fact that other municipalities have already taken these steps. We made a presentation to ARAC in April, detailing the need for protective regulations, emphasizing that current provincial rules are inadequate.

Recently, we submitted letters to both the Planning Committee and ARAC warning that if the IESO opens the door to new wind power proposals, it will be too late to create bylaws for noise and setbacks. Ottawa needs to take action now, before proposals are made.

Here’s what we told ARAC:

SUBMISSION TO CITY OF OTTAWA AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL
AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
Urgent need for protective zoning bylaws for wind power projects/wind turbines
September 28, 2022
This is a follow-up to our submission and presentation on April 7th by Ottawa Wind Concerns
board member Michael Baggott, requesting protective zoning bylaws and a setback distance of
at least 2 km for industrial-scale or grid-scale wind turbines. We have discussed this
presentation with the Carleton Landowners and have their support in making this submission.
What is new:
The Independent Electricity System Operator or IESO is launching several Requests for
Proposal, to acquire 3,500 megawatts of new power generation. (Reference:
https://www.ieso.ca/en/Sector-Participants/Resource-Acquisition-and-Contracts/Long-Term￾RFP-and-Expedited-Process )
The IESO has released a list of Qualified Applicants, of which more than a dozen are wind
power developers.
One new contract has already been awarded (an extension to Melancthon I) and wind power
developers have already announced their intention to propose new projects. (Capital Power,
September 22, Windsor, Ontario)

The City of Ottawa confirms that it wants “predominately wind and solar” power to achieve
climate action goals (reference: climate manager Mike Fletcher), repeated by climate manager
Andrea Flowers to the environmental protection committee May 17th: “We have explicitly said
[our plans] would include wind and solar.”
The IESO has released a set of draft documents related to municipal approval and community
engagement. Deadline for stakeholder comment is September 30.
Problems:
As documented previously, Ontario current setback for noise of 550m is inadequate and not
aligned with regulation in other jurisdictions today.
Setback from roadways, public pathways etc. not adequate for protection
Once proposals are made, and officially submitted, a zoning bylaw cannot apply to those
proposals. (Future ones, yes)

Ottawa citizens, particularly those in rural areas who would be forced to have these power
generation projects, are very concerned about noise pollution, impacts on property value,
effects on the aquifer and private water wells, as well as the risk to wildlife including endangered
species.
This was acknowledged by Ottawa staff Andrea Flowers on May 17 when she said the City
would respond to concerns with appropriate zoning.
This cannot wait.
Protective zoning bylaws for grid-scale wind turbines are needed urgently, before any proposals
for new wind power development come forward.
We understand that the City is engaged in developing new bylaws connected to the new Official
Plan, but this bylaw or set of bylaws cannot wait until second quarter of next year when the new
draft bylaws could be presented.
An option would be for a resolution to the effect that the CIty of Ottawa will not review or
approve any proposals for new power generation until after the new bylaws come into effect.
In a meeting we had with Councillor Eli El-Chantiry and ARAC chair on this subject in 2019, we
were told that municipalities can act quite quickly if they have to.
The time to “act quickly” is now.

…

Two days before the ARAC meeting, Ward 21 Councillor Scott Moffatt ( a member of ARAC and also Planning co-chair) sent this message.

I’ll try to be direct so that your Twitter account doesn’t spin my words.

As it stands today, the City does not have an explicit zone that permits wind turbines. All we have is the pending Official Plan which seeks to prohibit their installation in the Agricultural Resource Area. You and I both know that the Province is not required to adhere to municipal policies and by-laws. Nevertheless, the City has committed to reviewing this matter as part of its upcoming Zoning By-Law process.

What you are seeking is a more immediate zoning setback. What you are not considering is that to apply a zoning setback, you need an explicitly permissive zone. I don’t believe the residents of Ottawa would appreciate a quick greenlighting of wind turbines on their properties just so that we can implement a setback that may or may not be respected by the Province.

My position on this has always been that we cannot bury our heads and assume that wind will never come. I’ve also said that there was no current application process for wind, which your Twitter account spun and mocked. Regardless of the recent IESO announcement, I still don’t foresee this current Provincial Government approving wind but they won’t always be in power. While the City will not be an applicant for wind power, we should ensure we prepare for what could come. That led to the OP inclusion and the future zoning discussion. For the sake of the communities you want to represent, I would not recommend rushing that process.

The message was copied to every member of both committees. Not one of them countered the inaccuracies in the message.

  1. The City doesn’t need an “explicit zone” that permits turbines. True, the Official Plan says where they may NOT go, but it is absurd to say that a turbine zone must be described in order for there to be setback or noise regulations, or even a general policy statement. The City already has bylaws about where development may or may not be located, and bylaws governing noise in communities etc. The City has the option to create a resolution, as we suggested, to note its policy intentions, which would help protect in case any proposals come forward now.
  2. “The Province is not required to adhere to municipal policies”—municipalities are free to create their own bylaws, which several have already done with regard to wind turbine noise limits, setback distances, and height restrictions. Yes, the province could enact something like the Green Energy Act which blatantly removed municipal powers, but the current government restored them in 2019. Not going backwards.
  3. Protective bylaws constitute “greenlighting” of wind power projects???
  4. “No current application process for wind”: that was exactly our point. One is coming. And it’s coming fast. We simply asked the City to take steps to protect the residents of rural communities BEFORE it becomes impossible to do so.
  5. The City won’t be an “applicant” for wind power. Maybe not but the $57B Energy Evolution plan and statements by staff make it clear the city’s climate action plan is to increase electricity available which they intend to do by “predominately wind and solar” (City staff quote). So Ottawa may not be an “applicant” but it certainly intends at the moment to encourage wind power development. One of the “catalyst projects” is to have 20 megawatts of wind turbines by 2025. (We learned via documents obtained under Freedom of Information request that the project is “on hold” while the Province reviews requirements for net metering.)
  6. Our Twitter account does not engage in “spin” or “mockery.” Our goal is to inform. The fact is, the City of Ottawa has been woefully unaware of, or wilfully ignoring, Ontario’s disastrous history with expensive, unreliable and ineffective wind power. Why? What’s the agenda?

We showed this response to colleagues who are or who have in the past been municipal councillors and their reaction was that this response was puzzling at a minimum, and disrespectful of community concerns. One commented that the purpose of the response could be taken to be an attempt to “throw you off the scent.”

We also consulted an urban planner who remarked that Mr. Moffatt’s response was “garbled and condescending.” The planner was surprised at the lack of understanding from a co-chair of the city’s planning committee, and additionally that Ottawa is not further ahead on this matter, as are other jurisdictions. “Not forward-thinking” was the planner’s comment.

Again, not one member of the Planning Committee countered the inaccuracies.

We can only hope now that the next Council is committed to a review of the problematic Energy Evolution plan, at least as far as the electricity generation proposals (written for the city by an activist group) are concerned, and that the next Planning Committee is more interested in awareness of current events and potential impacts on rural communities.

Election Day is October 24; next Advance Poll is October 14. Ask questions of candidates NOW and choose wisely.

ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com

List of IESO Qualified Applicants for new power contracts. Check the companies that are wind power developers. Conclusion: wind is coming.

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We want transparency on new power projects: Ottawa Wind Concerns to City of Ottawa

01 Monday Aug 2022

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A previous wind power project was presented as a ‘done deal.’ That’s not happening again, says Ottawa community group.

City documents show that wind and solar power projects and battery storage are due for completion by 2025. Where are they? Rural residents want to know.

August 1, 2022

Community group Ottawa Wind Concerns has asked its followers to contact the City of Ottawa to request transparency on several renewable energy projects.

In an email today, the group asked citizens to demand transparency from the city, with the following request:

“On page 45 of the Energy Evolution action plan is the statement that a project is to be undertaken in the electricity sector between 2020 and 2025, which requires specifically the installation of:

150 megawatts of solar power generation

20 megawatts of wind

20 megawatts of hydro and

20 megawatts of electricity storage.

Given that these are substantial projects for the City and will require procurement of land as well as environmental studies in order to obtain approvals, we are asking the City of Ottawa to release information NOW on where these projects will be located, who will be the operators of the facilities, what contract terms are for setbacks from homes, noise limits, decommissioning, and fire and aviation safety requirements as well as what cost-benefit analysis is being done to confirm the climate change benefits of these projects.

In short, we are asking for opportunities for full public engagement with regard to these power generation projects.

As the deliverable date for these projects is less than three years away, we ask that public disclosure and engagement begin as soon as possible.”

The power projects are significant, says Ottawa Wind Concerns Chair Jane Wilson: “For wind power, the 20 megawatt requirement could mean seven or more industrial-scale wind turbines,” she says. “That will be a significant impact on a community and on the people who will be forced to live nearby. The power generators do create noise pollution and have other potential impacts on the environment such as the risk to wildlife, and the loss of important woodlands and other features.”

Wilson says there is no news on the 2025 power projects, but residents want to know they will be notified and included.

“The last time this happened,” says Wilson, “the project was presented as a ‘done deal’. That cannot happen again.”

A 20-megawatt wind power project was proposed for North Gower in 2008 but ended when the proponent, a small firm out of Germany, failed to meet requirements of Ontario’s Large Renewable Power procurement effort in 2014. The turbines were to be 600 feet tall and would have been near hundreds of homes and the village school. Almost every citizen in the area signed and petition which was presented at City Hall.

The local chapter of Ontario Landowners has also asked members to contact the City of Ottawa to demand transparency.

ottawawindconcerns@ottawawindconcerns

Ottawa Wind Concerns is an incorporated, not-for-profit group, with a membership list of several hundred residents of rural Ottawa communities and other stakeholders. We are a community group member of the Wind Concerns Ontario coalition.Our goal: a safe environment…for everyone

Wind power: a no-show in summer (winter too)

15 Friday Jul 2022

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How does Ottawa’s Climate team expect to run Ontario’s second largest city on power that’s just not there?

Industrialization of Ottawa rural areas planned: for what? [Photo: D. Larsen for Wind Concerns Ontario]

July 15, 2022

At 5 p.m. today, the province-wide demand for power was just over 19,000 megawatts on a warm summer afternoon.

The closest wind power plant to Ottawa is at Crysler (Finch, Berwick). At that hour, the 100-megawatt facility was generating just 7 megawatts of power. Next closest is Amherst Island’s Windlectric project, also producing just 7 megawatts of power.

Wind in total that hour was producing 395 megawatts of power.

Ottawa city staff on the climate team have made it clear they think Ontario’s second largest city can run on “predominately wind and solar.” On May 17th, section manager Andrea Flowers told the environmental protection committee that “we have explicitly said that [the energy resource for the city] would include renewable energy generation both wind and solar”.

Commentator and former international banker Parker Gallant has made much of Ontario’s unavailable wind power supply in recent days. He says, if you completely shut down Ontario’s wind power fleet, you wouldn’t notice a thing. Why?

It’s not there.

Here’s what he had to say about one day’s performance earlier this week:

“Yesterday, July 13, 2022, was one of those; not so hot summer days in most of Ontario so according to IESO (Independent Electricity System of Ontario) peak demand at hour 16 only reached 18,135 MW during a five (5) minute interval.  At that hour those IWT (industrial wind turbines) with a capacity of 4,900 MW were contributing 108 MW or 2.2% of their capacity and 0.6% of demand. Had they been absent they wouldn’t have been missed!”

Gallant also wrote an article for The Financial Post this week in which he described wind as a “fickle energy friend.” In a day not unlike today, July 13th saw wind producing a few hundred megawatts of power while demand was more than 19,000 megawatts.

Who did show up for work that afternoon? Gallant answers the question:

“What sources did the work at this peak-demand hour? Here’s the breakdown:

  • Nuclear                9,529 MW
  • Hydro                   5,222 MW
  • Natural Gas         4,336 MW
  • IWT                          332 MW
  • Solar                        207 MW
  • Biofuel                     115 MW”

Ottawa’s Energy Evolution document, the “action plan” for the Climate Change Master Plan and the first step in implementation, actually calls for Ottawa to get its own 3,200 megawatts of wind power, which they translate into 710 wind wind turbines ( Energy Evolution, page 45).

The model states that those are the MINIMUM required for the city to get to “Net Zero” and electrify everything — a worthy goal, but not going to happen with wind power. No cost-benefit analysis was included.

Ottawa voters need to ask election candidates a few pointed questions leading up to the October municipal election.

Are you aware of the Energy Evolution plan?

Have you read it?

Do you support more than 700 wind turbines in Ottawa’s rural communities, effectively turning them into industrial power plants?

Oh, did we mention the Energy Evolution is priced out at $57 billion?????

Time to ask questions.

Ottawa Wind Concerns is an incorporated, not-for-profit group, with a membership list of several hundred residents of rural Ottawa communities and other stakeholders. We are a community group member of the Wind Concerns Ontario coalition.Our goal: a safe environment…for everyone

ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com

Health returns for North Stormont residents as wind turbines silenced

30 Monday May 2022

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House amid industrial wind turbines in the Nation Rise Wind Farm: noise emissions can affect neighbours [Photo: Dorothea Larsen for Wind Concerns Ontario]

The huge wind turbines in the Nation Rise wind farm have been off for 9 days—and residents couldn’t be happier

May 30, 2022

Ottawa–The 29 wind turbines that power the Nation Rise wind farm in North Stormont, 40 minutes south of Ottawa, have been quiet for nine days, since just before the “derecho” chain of thunderstorms that rampaged across Ontario .

The blades on the wind power generators, which are more than 600 feet tall, or equal to 60-storey office buildings in height, are turning gently, but not creating any electrical power.

The result? QUIET. And peace in more ways than that, as not just the audible sound of the turbines has gone, but also the inaudible emissions that humans perceive as pressure and vibration.

People who live inside the power project are experiencing a retreat of the physical symptoms that suggest poor health, including headache, ringing in the ears, a sensation of pressure in the chest, and elevated blood pressure and heart rate.

Best of all, say the people who have contacted us, they can sleep.

Long-term sleep disturbance is well documented as a factor in poor health and can have serious consequences including heart disease.

Wind turbines are not a non-emitting source of power. They are known to produce a range of sound emissions, some audible, some inaudible. Ontario’s noise regulations and setback distances for wind turbines — unchanged since 2009, despite more powerful wind turbines — only deal with audible noise.

I can sleep!

Residents contacting Wind Concerns Ontario have commented that since the wind turbines halted operation, not only have symptoms such as headaches and racing heartbeats retreated, they are finally able to sleep at night, and have more energy.

“I used to have to have a nap every afternoon,” said one resident, who said she usually feels exhausted all the time from being wakened frequently in the night. Since the turbines have been off “I have slept unbelievably well.”

Others under the care of cardiologists for what they describe as “racing” heart beats and, in some cases, evidence of heart attacks, also say they are feeling better this week, and feel that their heart health has improved.

One person living near Crysler who has not only turbines but also the transformer substation nearby reported: “all heart palpitations are gone, NO STINGING PAINS Heart is beating normal blood pressure is normal all in 4 days as the turbines stay off“.

Symptom disappearance an indication of harm

According to a paper written by physician Dr Robert McMurtry an medical researcher Carmen Krogh, published in 2014, there is a list of symptoms that are suggestive of harm being done by exposure to wind turbine noise emissions.

And, a key indicator that harm is being caused could be what happens when people leave their home environment. Krogh and McMurtry wrote: “Significant improvement away from the environs of wind turbines and a revealed preference for sleeping away from home serve to distinguish between AHE/IWT from other conditions.“

Ottawa ignoring adverse effects

It is worrying that the City of Ottawa, perhaps 40 minutes away from Nation Rise, has created a strategy for electrification and “Net Zero” in its Energy Evolution document. A model in the strategy calls for 3,200 megawatts of wind power or more than 700 industrial-scale wind turbines in the rural areas of that city.

And the Government of Ontario will soon release a Request for Proposals for 1,000 megawatts of new power generation, some of which might be from wind energy.

Meanwhile, the problems with existing wind turbines have not been addressed: the government (under premiers McGuinty, Wynne and Ford) has thousands of files* of reports of noise pollution and other effects from wind turbines, but enforcement is lax.

Wind Concerns Ontario did a review of operating wind power projects to determine the status of the required audits to verify compliance: only 43 percent have completed and accepted audits.

It is a violation of the Environmental Protection Act or EPA of Ontario to cause an adverse effect. “Adverse effect” is defined in the Act.

“adverse effect” means one or more of,

(a) impairment of the quality of the natural environment for any use that can be made of it,

(b) injury or damage to property or to plant or animal life,

(c) harm or material discomfort to any person,

(d) an adverse effect on the health of any person,

(e) impairment of the safety of any person,

(f) rendering any property or plant or animal life unfit for human use,

(g) loss of enjoyment of normal use of property, and

(h) interference with the normal conduct of business; (“conséquence préjudiciable”)

Co-owners of the Nation Rise power project are EDP Renewables and the Algonquins of Pikwakanagan who have a contract extending to 2041. Obviously, the wind turbines will start operating again, but it is unknown what the effects will be for people living near Nation Rise wind turbines as the turbines resume operation.

People are reminded to report any effects to the Ontario environment ministry by calling 1-866-MOE-TIPS or by using the online reporting tool here Report Pollution | Ontario.ca (gov.on.ca) Be sure to include descriptions of any health impacts or harm being experienced.

ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com

Ottawa environment committee votes Yes to wind on City-owned lands

18 Wednesday May 2022

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“New technology” wind turbines seen from street in Crysler, Ontario, 2 km away: big, noisy, industrial

May 18, 2022

The City of Ottawa’s Environmental Protection Committee passed a motion on “City Renewable Energy” yesterday in an unanimous vote.

The motion, presented by Bay Ward Councillor Theresa Kavanaugh, contained these statements in Section 3:

3. Approve that, contingent on sufficient resources, Council direct staff to report back to the Standing Committee on Environmental Protection, Water and Waste Management by Q4 2023 with: 

 a) An evaluation of existing solar PV systems and impact to facilities installed at City owned facilities 

b) A distributed energy resource framework for city-owned

facilities and land including: 

 i. Renewable energy generation (solar and wind) 

ii. Energy storage 

 ii. [sic] Demand response 

 iv. Potential policies to install distributed energy resources at City facilities or on City land 

There was only one question from the committee members, and it came from Committee Chair Scott Moffatt, who noted that he has been telling rural residents of Ottawa that the City is not planning to develop wind power.

Councillor Moffatt: … the concerns still arise and I made it clear in the past to rural associations and community members that the City itself is not actively out there exploring opportunities to stick wind turbines in your backyard, but we would also be foolish to not think that this is something that could happen in the future. …

We made some commitments to looking at zoning and setbacks when that time comes, in the next term of Council, also through the Official Plan making sure that these things don’t occupy prime agricultural land in the rural areas as well.

Now this is all contingent on the Province actually listening to us. We’re actually embedding that because we know the previous act did not listen to municipalities and did not give us deference in any way, shape or form when it came to where wind turbines are sited. We know that municipalities have fought against that in the past.

We also know that there are other renewable energy sources that have no opposition, that are quite popular and are effective.

So, just a quick question to staff whoever might be here, whether it’s Janice Ashworth or Andrea Flowers

or whoever, that what we’re doing here doesn’t change what we’ve said in the past when it comes to wind in the rural area.

The response was provided on behalf of the City by Andrea Flowers, Section Manager, Climate Change and Resiliency:

What we put forward as part of this motion as a broader picture is, if there are sufficient resources, we would look at a Distributed Energy Resource for city-owned facilities and land. We have explicitly said that would include renewable energy generation both wind and solar as we have specified in Energy Evolution. That doesn’t necessarily mean that we are supporting turbines in backyards where it’s not being asked for and it doesn’t necessarily mean that we are going to end up with that in this motion, but we need to understand what our options are because technology is getting better in low wind areas and the technology is changing and some of those technologies [interference] concerns that we’ve heard from people.

So with a combination of working with zoning and the Distributed Energy Resources we will [unintelligible] work through those files [?].

Mr. Moffatt seemed not to understand that Ms. Flowers’ response was YES, the City is planning wind power. He commented:

I think that’s where I want to make sure as a city we aren’t making those same mistakes that previous governments have made and that we don’t have situations where rural communities feel that they’re left out of the conversation and that the City is just going to come in and do whatever we feel is necessary, from that one perspective on wind.

Because honestly, I don’t get the feedback on any other energy generation technology. It is specifically about wind and I know that my rural colleagues hear the same.

So we just want to make sure that we’re one city, I don’t want to see us pitting communities against one another and that is inherently what happened in the past on this file.

If your next question is, how much land does the City of Ottawa own and is it possible to put wind turbines on it, the answer is unknown. A call to the City of Ottawa today to ask about a directory or map of publicly owned lands got the answer that yes, there is such a map—but the general public can’t see it.

While wind power developers boast—falsely—that wind turbines only need an acre or so of land, the fact is that with the huge foundations, and the associated infrastructure such as access roads, transmission lines, electricity cabling and transformer substations, more land than that is needed.

The other question that arises from Ms Flowers’ comments (who it must be said, grinned when talking about citizen concerns about wind turbines in “backyards”) is her reference to zoning and “new technology.”

The City will be developing new zoning with regard to the siting of grid-scale wind turbines; the new zoning bylaws will be presented for public comment at some point this year.

As to “new technology” which Ms. Flowers says will help with resident concerns, unless there are magic wind turbines in development that do not actually use wind to generate electricity, we’re afraid she is

mistaken. The technology of wind turbines is such that as the blades pass the mast or tower, noise is created; noise is created as well from the equipment in the nacelle.

Current “new technology” in wind turbines is aimed at squeezing power out of wind resources even in low wind areas such as Ottawa and Eastern Ontario—NOT at reducing noise emissions for hapless neighbours of the power plants. The newest turbines were installed at Nation Rise just south of Ottawa. Noise complaints began while the turbines were in their testing phase and in a matter of months after commercial operation began, there were so many complaints that the local public health unit has asked to review the reports.

Ottawa staff spoke a year ago about the need to “get this right.”

So far, there is little in the behaviour of City staff to reassure rural residents that their communities will not be industrialized by the huge noisy wind power generators that city folk seem to think will solve all their problems.

Fact: wind power is intermittent, unreliable and weather dependent, as well as a low density power source (it takes up a lot of land to produce minimal power). As such it will not support the City’s goals of massive electrification, nor help it on its way to the Net Zero goal.

Wind doesn’t work.

ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com

#noise #windenergy #environment #PartTimePower #WinddoesntWork

See Ottawa Wind Concerns comments to the Environmental Protection Committee here

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Put distance between wind turbines and homes, Ottawa Wind Concerns tells City

07 Thursday Apr 2022

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Current regulations inadequate to protect health, safety, Ottawa standing committee told today

Turbines and home inside Nation Rise power project

MEDIA RELEASE
PUT DISTANCE BETWEEN WIND TURBINES AND HOMES, COMMUNITY GROUP
TELLS CITY OF OTTAWA
April 7, 2022, Ottawa—

The only way to prevent or mitigate problems with industrial-scale or grid-scale
wind turbines is to put distance between the huge, noise-emitting machines, community group Ottawa
Wind Concerns told Ottawa’s Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committee (ARAC) today.


It is well known that the large, 60-storey wind turbines produce noise which can affect sleep and health;
the machines can also pose a safety risk if located too close to roads, and a risk to wildlife such as birds
and bats.


Ottawa Wind Concerns board member Mike Baggott of North Gower, asked that City Planning staff
adopt a 2-kilometre setback between the power generating equipment and homes.


The recommendation is based on a recent statement by community group coalition Wind Concerns
Ontario.


There are more than 2,000 wind turbines in Ontario presently, and the provincial government has more
that 6,000 formal Incident Reports, documenting complaints about noise, many associated with health
impacts.


Ottawa is currently engaged in developing new zoning bylaws following completion of the city’s new
Official Plan. Ward 21 Councillor Scott Moffatt, a member of ARAC, said that there would be opportunity
for rural residents to engage in the development of new bylaws to protect citizens, should wind power
projects be proposed for Ottawa in the future.


CONTACT: Jane Wilson, Chair, OTTAWA WIND CONCERNS

ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com

Ontario government lags on wind turbine regulations: Ottawa business newspaper

25 Friday Mar 2022

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Other jurisdictions choosing greater setbacks between homes and industrial wind turbines; Ontario has not changed since 2009. New setback of 2 km recommended

Turbines more than 600 feet or 60 storeys high in South Dundas [Photo: Tom Van Dusen for OBJ]

March 25, 2022

Complaints about wind turbine noise and environmental damage have never wound down in Ontario yet regulations to protect people and the environment have not changed since 2009, according to a story in this week’s Ottawa Business Journal.

While some landowners in the area signed up for “easy cash” by leasing land for wind turbines, they admit that the machines are noisy and may bother some people.

The need for wind power must be balanced with concern for health and safety, which is why greater setbacks have been recommended by Wind Concerns Ontario. The community group coalition recommends setbacks for any new wind turbines should be a minimum of 2 kilometres.

The Ontario setback currently is just 550 metres.

Other jurisdictions around the world and in the U.S. are now moving to greater setback distances.

Another issue of concern noted in the story was brought forward by Ontario’s MUlti-Municipal Wind Turbine Working Group, a collection of municipalities with operating wind power projects and experience with impacts of the turbines.

The group is worried about the increasing number of wind turbine failures and says that setbacks from public roadways and property lines are inadequate to protect safety. The municipalities also say there is no process for alerting municipalities of a failure event, nor are the results of any engineering investigations shared.

After completion of its Official Plan, the City of Ottawa is now working on developing new zoning bylaws. Ottawa Wind Concerns has been sharing information with city staff, and hopes that new setbacks for wind turbines in the Ottawa area will reflect the trends to greater distances.

Ottawa’s rural politicians claim there are no plans for industrial-scale or grid-scale wind turbines, but city staff say the Energy Evolution calls for wind and solar to provide electricity for Net Zero goals.

ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com

https://www.obj.ca/article/regional/turbine-issues-are-still-blowing-wind-across-province

Ottawa planning docs show wind turbines for City

09 Thursday Dec 2021

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City Councillors say no, no, no, but illustrations on City publications say yes, yes, yes

That’s a turbine, right? [Ottawa Climate Action newsletter]

December 9, 2021

After emails and telephone calls to their offices during the development of the new Official Plan this fall, which allowed wind turbines on prime agricultural land, Ottawa City Councillors claimed that the City has “no plans” for wind turbines.

Ward 21 Councillor Scott Moffatt, also the Chair of the Environmental Protection Committee, wrote in his constituent column in the Manotick Messenger that:

“A big part of that [the city’s climate action plan] will be renewable energy One of our Modelling documents shows what that looks like and includes mention of 700 industrial wind turbines. This has led some to believe that the City is planning on developing that many wind turbines in rural Ottawa. That could not be farther from the truth.”

But then, there is this: an illustration from the City’s Climate Action newsletter, which clearly depicts a wind turbine.

And, the City’s Planning department has this illustration on slide 10 of a recent public presentation, designed to show its various functions. It includes wind turbines as an example of land use planning.

illustrationplanningprimer-ii-december-2021Download

Mr. Moffatt also said that the City was not “finding locations where wind development could occur.”

An email from staff, however, says this:

“Staff are currently undertaking a preliminary assessment of renewable energy generation potential within the rural areas identified in the new Official Plan to better understand how the potential compares to the Energy Evolution model requirements.  This study is expected to be complete this summer …”

It is also worth noting that an illustration of the site plan for the Tewin development also features a depiction of wind turbines. (Apologies for the size of the image.)

The debut of Official Plan discussions shocked more than a few people back in July when Manager of Planning Policy Alain Miguelez revealed in an online public meeting that wind turbines were coming to Ottawa’s rural area—being “directed” there, he said. Because, he said, Ottawa was estimating an increase in population and as power demand rose, “that energy has to come from somewhere.” In other words, the rural communities.

In subsequent presentations staff tried to assure residents that they would “get it right” by developing protective zoning bylaws for wind turbines.

But councillors still say that’s not happening, and anyone who says it is, is fear mongering. The City did revise the renewable energy part of the Official Plan so that it now says “large-scale” wind turbines will not be permitted on “agricultural resource areas,” but that does not prevent applications for Official Plan amendments.

Councillors also say that while Ottawa is not actively planning wind turbines (in spite of Planning staff public comments and various illustrations that indicate the City is open to wind power), if proposals were to come along, Ottawa cannot say “No.” This is not correct, but more on that later.

Why the concern? Wind turbines are a highly invasive form of power generation, using a significant amount of land , creating noise pollution, and posing a serious risk to wildlife including birds and bats. Ottawa’s Energy Evolution plan does not include any mention of developing new nuclear, despite the fact that the federal government has spent millions on new nuclear, and Canada is a global leader in clean, reliable, emissions-free nuclear energy.

So, which is it, Ottawa?

ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com

Ottawa Official Plan amendment now protects prime farm land

01 Monday Nov 2021

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farmnotfarm

Earlier draft failed to include statement on protecting prime farmland from industrial uses like wind turbines

November 1,1021

Ottawa City Council approved the draft Official Plan last week, on October 27th, and included a new paragraph relevant to wind power development in the rural areas of the City.

Ward 21 Councillor Scott Moffatt acknowledged last week in his constituent newsletter that the change had been made. The new paragraph in Section 4.11 of the Official Plan reads:

“6)  Large-scale provincially regulated wind turbines are not permitted on lands designated Agricultural Resource Area.  This policy does not apply to small-scale wind generation associated with a permitted principal use.”

Ottawa Wind Concerns (OWC) noted previously that there appeared to be no express intent to protect prime agricultural land in the Plan, dealing with “renewable energy facilities” which would include large-scale wind power. The community group had consulted a municipal law specialist lawyer who confirmed the group’s concern.

OWC filed a 30-page submission to the Joint Planning and Agricultural Affairs Committee, of which Councillor Moffatt was Co-chair, in advance of the Official Plan being submitted to Council. A motion requested that protection of prime agricultural land be expressed in the Plan (as is directed by Ontario’s Provincial Policy Statement).

When Councillor Moffatt put forward the new paragraph at the Joint Committee meeting reviewing the Official Plan, other councillors said they had had many calls and emails about wind turbines, and welcomed the new addition.

“This is an important step forward,” says Jane Wilson, chair of Ottawa Wind Concerns. “The previous version of Ottawa’s Official Plan stated that large-scale wind turbines could go in Ottawa’s rural areas, including our best farm land. Power generation from wind is an industrial land use, and not appropriate for valuable food-producing land.”

But it’s not the end of the fight for Ottawa’s rural communities.

“Turbines or wind power generators are not an appropriate land use near homes, either,” Wilson said. “That will be addressed next.”

The community group has asked specifically that the Plan include a requirement that any form of renewable energy generation undergo a full cost-benefit and impact analysis. That was not included in the addition to the Official Plan but will be important in the development of zoning bylaws, Wilson said.

Councillor Moffatt claimed in his newsletter that

“… there are no planned industrial wind turbines within the boundaries of the City of Ottawa at this time.”

In the Ottawa climate action strategy focused on energy use, however, there is a list of 20 projects to be worked on before 2025—Table 7 in the document states that the City must install 20 megawatts of wind as well as new hydro, solar, and electricity storage.

Also in the document is a statement that the energy “model” should include 3,218 megawatts of wind power as part of “minimum results” to achieve Net Zero by 2050.

ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com

 
 

Public health investigation launched into noise, health effects at Nation Rise wind farm

08 Friday Oct 2021

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Turbines at Nation Rise: despite their size and power rating, they were approved under old rules by the Wynne government [Photo: D. Larsen for Wind Concerns Ontario]

October 8, 2021

The complaints started even before the wind “farm” did.

While turbines were being constructed and tested, residents of North Stormont filed complaints with the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks about construction noise, dust, vibration and then, the noise from the actual turbines once they were running.

By the time the project was formally commissioned—despite dozens of citizen complaints—there were many indications that the Nation Rise wind power project was causing problems for some people.

Now, the Ontario government is conducting an investigation into the noise complaints and allegations of adverse health effects, according to a news report yesterday. In Ontario, it is a violation of the Environmental Protection Act to cause adverse effects including disturbing quiet enjoyment of property and causing health to be affected.

The problem is, the “investigation” will likely (we hope not) follow Ontario’s outdated and flawed noise protocol for wind turbines. Prescribed measurement use only dBA and calculates the averages, but doesn’t punish exceedances for individual days or nights, or even a small range of dates.

Complaints from residents include reports of not being able to sleep, which as anyone knows, will cause long-term health effects.

The people of Nation Rise were shocked when the Wynne government awarded the Renewable Energy Approval days before the 2018 election began, and surprised again when it got a Notice To Proceed (the last step) after concerns about the environment, wildlife and health.

Now this.

Ontario needs to conduct a complete overhaul of all the regulatory processes related to wind power. With the City of Ottawa proclaiming its wish to have industrial-scale wind, the same old rules and lack of enforcement will not do.

ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com