Tag Archives: North Dundas

20-25 MORE wind turbines for Brinston area south of Ottawa

20 Wednesday May 2015

Posted by in Ottawa, Renewable energy, Wind power

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Cornwall Newswatch May 20, 2015

Invenergy wants 20-25 windmills west of Brinston

Posted on May 20, 2015 by in News, North Dundas, South Dundas // 1 Comment

James Murphy, left, and Ryan Ralph, senior manager of business development for Invenergy, make their presentation to South Dundas council May 19, 2015 for a proposed wind farm west of Brinston. The 20-25 windmill site would be west of the existing EDP Renewables’ South Branch Wind Farm. (Cornwall Newswatch/Bill Kingston)

SOUTH DUNDAS – Another company is looking to cash in on wind energy in the Municipality of South Dundas.

Representatives from Chicago-based Invenergy made a presentation to South Dundas council Tuesday night – a presentation very similar to EDP Renewables’ last month.

Spokesman James Murphy told council they’ve already secured land leases with 30 landowners for a total of 11,000 acres in South Dundas.

The company says it has paid out $500,000 to date for the leases.

“We get asked a lot, well, how big is the project? Is it big, is it small? In general, we think it’s going to be around 50-90 megawatts, using a similar unit on the South Branch (Wind Farm) project….somewhere between 20-25 positions (windmills) on that 11,000 acres,” Murphy told council.

The wind farm would be west of Brinston and south of Irish Headline Road.

Answering a question from Deputy Mayor Jim Locke on where the exact locations of the windmills would be, Murphy said that wouldn’t come until late 2016 if they were successful in their bid this year.

Murphy says they also have a smaller land footprint in North Dundas but, when they asked to make a deputation to the council there, they were refused. North Dundas is also a non-willing host. Instead, a public meeting is being held at a nearby community center.

Murphy also stressed there would be public meetings on the proposed project this summer, which has to be submitted to the government by September.

Much like EDP Renewables, Invenergy would have a community reinvestment fund.

Invenergy and EDP Renewables are both trying to woo support from council is order to score better on a points system for the request for proposal (RFP) process, despite the fact South Dundas committed to being a non-willing host in October 2013.

South Dundas listened but made no commitments Tuesday night.

The Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) is expected to outline the capacity for wind power on the hydro grid in two days (May 22) and, at that point, both companies will have a better idea how big their wind farms will be.

 

Wind farm questions at info night in SDG

07 Thursday May 2015

Posted by in Health, Renewable energy, Uncategorized, Wind power

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“Why us?” was one of the questions raised, as more than 125 people gathered in the North Stormont Community Arena Hall in Finch on a fine spring evening in the middle of busy planting time, to hear a panel discuss various aspects of wind power in Ontario.

Speakers for the Lions’ Club event were:  Tom Levy, Director of Technical and Utility Affairs, for the Canadian Wind Energy Association/CanWEA, the industry lobby group;  Jane Wilson, president, Wind Concerns Ontario; and Don McCabe, president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture.

Tom Levy went over the numbers for wind power in Canada and showed wind power development is growing as a source of power; Ontario currently has over 4,000 megawatts of installed wind power. Wind is cheaper than other forms of power generation, he said, fast to build, emissions-free, and–because power contracts are for 20 years–provides price stability whereas prices for other forms of “fuel” such as natural gas, can fluctuate, he said.

Wilson called for balance in the approach to wind power development in Ontario communities: “If a community wants a wind power project, that’s fine,” she said, “but you have to be assured that no one single person is going to be harmed by it.” Wilson said the recent Health Canada study showed health impacts (“annoyance” is a medical term meaning distress, she said) and called the Ontario setbacks of 550 metres into question.

Quoting a document from CanWEA, Wilson said, “You have a right to ask questions, you have a right to have concerns, and –based on what you learn–you have the right to oppose.” Wilson also mentioned the charge of lease possibility in wind power contracts which meant developers can obtain financing based on the leases on farm properties for turbines.

OFA president Don McCabe pounded the lectern with his fist on the contract issue, saying, Get a lawyer, get a lawyer, get a lawyer. It is up to each property owner to obtain proper legal advice before signing contracts, he said. His view was that farm owners contemplating leases need to get an agreement that will get the most benefit for them.

Mr McCabe made no mention of farm communities, or the effect of farmers’ decisions to lease on their neighbours.

The issue of Ontario’s power supply and electricity bills came up through the evening as Wilson asserted Ontario does not need more power, and has already sold off surplus power cheap in the first quarter of 2015, for a $450-million loss for ratepayers.

McCabe joked that he didn’t think there was excess surplus power at night, and that there was no real surplus of power, only mismanagement “in Toronto.”

The question, “Why us?” was answered by Levy and Wilson. Levy said it was a number of factors that motivated developers to choose an area for power development, including access to the power grid, willing landowners, available wind resource. “Mr Levy hit the nail on the head,” said Wilson; “willing landowners. The real question is, why are power developments not located closer to cities like Toronto where the power is being used?”

The power developer proposing a project for Stormont Dundas and Glengarry, EDP Renewables, will be holding an open house tonight in Crysler at the Community Centre, between 4 and 8 PM.

More turbines planned for south of Ottawa

14 Wednesday May 2014

Posted by in Renewable energy, Wind power

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We’ve seen this before: wind power developments start off with a few turbines and then become dozens, or as in the case of Armow, 45 turbines became over 90.

In this month’s edition of the AgriBusiness News is a report on the wind power development at Brinston, which was started by Prowind, and is now owned by U.S.-based EDP Renewables.

Brinston turbines plug in for pay

Carolyn Thompson Goddard

The AgriNews May 2014, page 4

BRINSTON: It’s official–the South Branch wind farm in Brinston is on the grid.

Ken Little of EDP Renewables Canada Ltd. told The AgriNews that as of March 4, the Commercial Operating Date granted by the Ontario Power Authority, the project’s 10 wind turbines were producing a combined total of up to 30 megawatts. [sic. Editor’s note: we think the writer means producing power]

An on-site substation changes the power frim 34.5 to 44 kilovolts, which allows it to travel to a Morrisburg substation on Flegg Road, and onto the grid.

According to Little, at peak construction there were over 105 people on site, but presently on average there are 10 workers completing this phase. In April, a team will begin site acclamation [? Ed note: reclamation?] which should take about a month.

During a site tour March 14, Little provided information on the Siemens wind turbines deployed at the site. He explained there are a number of regulations governing the noise level (which can’t exceed 40 db) location of the tower (minimum of 550 meters from human habitation) and require a number of scientific studies that need to be completed prior to construction. A drive in the Brinston area allows one to see the standing towers producing electricity from their long rotating blades.

Little told The AgriBusiness News it had been a very windy week so there had been a lot of testing done at the site. While it didn’t appear too windy at ground level on Friday, March 14, the wind speed up above turned the blades at 10-12 revolutions per minute–just short of the 14 rpm maximum–the tips soaring more than 500 feet at their highest point.

Standing at the base of a tower, a slight whistling sound was heard but no other noise was detectable.

The towers are located on land leased for 20 years–the life of the EDP contract–from local landowners. EDP will receive 13.5 cents per kilowatt-hour produced.

If the contract is not renewed, the towers would be removed and the land returned to its original condition , with access roads left for the use of the owner if so desired.

The wind farm is located on land already under cultivation. Little explained .75 to 1.5 acres were used per turbine and that farmers could till up to the edge of the access road and boundary ring around the turbine itself.

Little confirmed there are negotiations set to begin with the Municipality of South Dundas and the Township of North Stormont for the construction of additional wind farms in those townships.

With talk of a provincial election in the air, the project’s Houston Texas-based developer appears undaunted by the stance of Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives. The official opposition party promises to review existing wind and solar operations and impose a moratorium on new ones if elected.

Editor’s notes:

First, these are power generation projects, not wind “farms.”

Other points:

-the quietest place to be is exactly below a wind turbine; the noise and infrasound can be experienced as far as 3 km

-the noise level in the regulations is 40 decibels or dB on AVERAGE: that means there are some very noisy days (and nights) allowed

-the significant problem with turbines is sound pressure; the province does not have any regulations pertaining to infrasound or sound pressure and will not even have a protocol for measurement until 2015

-at 13.6 cents a kilowatt, EDP is reaping the benefits of provincial subsidies, paid for by Ontario electricity customers–that is over $10 million a year, or $200 million over the life of the contract

-the amount of land used for the wind project is under-estimated

-the land can NEVER be returned to its original state: the concrete foundation remains

-the PCs are saying they will not fulfill wind power contracts which are not already constructed–no one said they will stop existing operating projects

Letters to the Editor of AgriBusiness News may be sent to rm@agrinewsinteractive.com

 

Electricity technologist details turbine woes

26 Monday Nov 2012

Posted by in Health, Ottawa, Wind power

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About 50 people gathered in the Mountain Agricultural Hall in South Mountain yesterday (what a pretty village!) to hear David Colling, former dairy farmer now feed supplier from the Ripley area.

Mr Colling explained that he now measures electricity “pollution” in homes and on farms, and has done more than 500 farms over the last five years. he was visiting three clients in the Eastern Ontario area.

When a Ripley area family came to him several years ago with concerns about the wind power project near them, he said he didn’t believe there could be a problem, but he went out and measured the electricity anyway. His advice: Get out of this house, now. The electricity pollution was so bad, he said it would have destroyed a herd of dairy cattle within six months.

Several families became ill after a wind power project started in the Kincardine area: the source of their problems seemed to be not just the turbines themselves but the substation* that was located across the road from them. Two of the families have now abandoned their homes, while the third family remains–they can’t afford to leave their home behind.

“The government of Ontario only cares about the big corporations producing wind power,” he concludes after speaking with people who have to live near wind power projects all over the province. “They clearly don’t care about you and me.”

One interesting fact about the turbine projects is that earthworms disappear in the area. Sonic vibration and electricity force the earthworms to leave, farmers tell him; the impact zone is a stunning FIFTEEN ACRES.

For more information go to his website HERE: http://www.electricalpollution.com/windturbines.html

Prepare to be stunned by what you read.

You can email us at ottawawindconcerns@yahoo.ca and please, donate to help us with the cost of legal advice. When the Feed In Tariff subsidy program opens again, Prowind will be in a position to re-apply. We’re going to need to step up our activities to protect this community.

PO Box 3, North Gower ON  K0A 2T0

*The substation for the proposed North Gower-Richmond wind power project is to be located just west of Fourth Line Road.

North Dundas votes NO to turbines

01 Thursday Nov 2012

Posted by in Wind power

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Just a few minutes south of the Ottawa area, the community of North Dundas is facing a wind power development proposed by Germany-based Prowind…which has now been sold to U.S. wind power developer EDP.

A motion was brought before North Dundas council this week…and the council voted AGAINST municipal support of the wind power project.

“This was a resounding NO,” says resident Theresa Bergeron.

The vote was unanimous.

Final recorded vote will take place November 13.
Email us at ottawawindconcerns@yahoo.ca

Donations may be sent to PO Box 3, North Gower ON K0A 2T0

NEXT DATE: November 25 in North Dundas, Ripley area farmer and farm electricity expert Dave Colling travels to Eastern Ontario to talk about experiences with farming and wind power projects.