Tag Archives: Not a Willing host

Ottawa decision of interest to all Ontario

24 Sunday Nov 2013

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Here from the Manotick Messenger, is an excerpt from Ward 21 Councillor Scott Moffatt‘s account of the North Gower-Richmond Not A Willing Host petition effort and inclusion in a City of Ottawa motion–which passed unanimously at council.

Other municipalities have been demanding a return of local land use planning powers–in fact, since before the Green Energy Act–but Ottawa, as the second largest city in the province, is the most populous municipality to do so.

The Not A Willing Host communities now number 75: to see the list and map, go to www.ontario-unwilling-hosts.org

2013 is turning out to be a year where issues under provincial jurisdiction are coming up time and time again.These issues give the City of Ottawa a minimal role in the final approval, whether it is the approval of a landfill expansion on Carp Road, or the proposal of expanding gaming within City limits. One of these issues, renewable energy projects, is not new to our area and stems from the…Green Energy Act, which gives municipalities no role in the approval of solar projects or wind power projects.

Nowhere in Ottawa is this issue more prevalent than in North Gower. In 2008, a wind developer came forward with an application for ten industrial wind turbines to be installed between North Gower and Richmond. It is important to note that this project has never been approved and there has not been an opportunity for them to apply since 2010*, but with a new application process being developed and the continuing interest of this wind developer, the potential does still remain.

[*Editor’s note: this is not quite accurate. At the time the province suspended applications for its Feed In Tariff subsidy program, Prowind’s North Gower project, Marlborough Wind Farm, was already on the list of applicants and was awaiting an economic connection test. Just two weeks ago, Prowind sent an email to Ottawa Wind Concerns to say it will be reviewing the requirements in the new application process, and would likely re-apply.]

The challenge for municipalities for these applications is that they do not have the ability to weigh in on the topic, conduct a meaningful consultation process or make any substantive recommendations on applications. This has led to over 70 municipalities across Ontario declaring them as Not A Willing Host to a wind power project. Residents of North Gower and the surrounding area recently came together and submitted a petition to the City of Ottawa that included 1,228 names declaring North Gower as Not A Willing Host.

… This led to the unanimous approval of a motion I put forward at Council last week that asks the Province of Ontario to make the necessary legislation and/or regulatory changes to provide municipalities with a substantive and meaningful role in siting wind power projects. City Council, in a 24-0 vote, sent a strong message to the Province that we should have a real voice in approving these projects.

This is a motion not just for North Gower or Ottawa, but for every municipality in Ontario.

Energy Minister Chiarelli, in testifying before the committee looking at the gas plant cancellations, said last week that it will be “virtually impossible” for a wind power proponent to receive approval without “significant” involvement or support from a municipality. Until we see the new process, we don’t know exactly what that means, but can it be the province really has been “listening” to the municipalities? MPP Lisa Thompson told the Minister in the same hearing session, “You better start listening to the 75 municipalities–you know what I mean.”

Email us at ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com

City wants say on windmills:Ottawa Citizen

14 Thursday Nov 2013

Posted by in Ottawa, Renewable energy, Wind power

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From today’s Ottawa Citizen, an account of yesterday’s vote at Council on Councillor Scott Moffatt’s motion, acknowledging the 1200+ signatures on the petition from North Gower, and telling the province the City wants a stronger role indecisions about siting wind power generation projects.

“With more than 1,200 signatures, the petition is a strong message that politicians say is worth listening to,” says the Citizen.

Note also comments from former Green Party candidate now Ottawa Councillor David Chernushenko: “I’ve always felt people need to have a say…legislation that prevents them…is not healthy in any way.”

City wants a say in where windmills will be located

By Derek Spalding, OTTAWA CITIZEN November 13, 2013
City wants a say in where windmills will be located

Communities need to be consulted about windmill projects near them, city council says.

Photograph by: Tyler Brownbridge , Windsor Star

OTTAWA — City council is urging the Ontario government to give municipalities more say in choosing locations for proposed windmill projects in their communities.

Coun. Scott Moffat drafted the motion that council supported on Wednesday asking for legislative changes that would guarantee local residents have more influence about projects pegged for their neighbourhoods.

The province has already promised to add stringent public consultation requirements to its Feed-in Tariff program, which encourages the development of renewable energy with government funding. Anyone looking to build a project would have to have “significant municipal engagement,” when responding to request for proposals (RFPs), said provincial Energy Minster Bob Chiarelli, just a couple hours before the council meeting.

“The bottom line is it will be very difficult for an energy proponent to be successful in the type of RFP that’s being created without a significant municipal engagement,” he said.

His government has faced public opposition from around Ontario for such projects.

More than 70 communities have joined a coalition of “unwilling hosts” for wind projects, declaring they do not want such developments. The Ottawa motion does not put the city in this same group, but instead asks the government to ensure residents have a say in choosing the location for such projects.

Moffat introduced his motion at council a day after receiving a petition from residents of North Gower, a community in his Rideau-Goulbourn ward, who oppose the large-scale wind-power project.

With more than 1,200 signatures, the petition is a strong message that politicians say is worth listening to.

“What you need is the ability for communities to be engaged in the process, and right now that’s not really happening,” Moffat said. “Mr. Chiarelli seemed to indicate that there would be a process going forward that would allow for community engagement and put it upon the wind developer to have community buy-in.”

Chiarelli said the substance of Moffat’s resolution reflects what the province has been doing over the past few months. Earlier this year the Ontario government removed larger projects from the Feed-in Tariff program and added the RFP process, but details about exactly is required for public consultation have yet to be identified.

Coun. David Chernushenko, a strong wind-energy proponent, supported Moffat’s motion.

“This offers the opportunity now for people to make a real decision about what’s going to affect them,” he told his council colleagues. “As much as I am troubled by the anti-wind hyperbole, I’ve always felt that people need to have a say and legislation that prevents them from having that say is not healthy in any way.”

Chiarelli also confirmed communities will not be able to outright reject projects.

“There is no veto. We’ve said that very, very clearly,” he said. “There is no veto because there are circumstances in the energy planning of Ontario where a veto might be totally unadvisable, but the general thrust is that there must be an engagement with the local municipality.”

dspalding@ottawacitizen.com

Motion passes at Council; energy minister repeats: no veto

13 Wednesday Nov 2013

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In a surprise move by Ottawa City Council today, Council voted to hear the actual Motion presented by Ward 21 Councillor Scott Moffatt in his required Notice of Motion … and passed it. The motion made note of the petition filed with the City on behalf of North Gower residents, declaring the community Not A Willing Host to a proposed 20-megawatt wind power project, and then asked the province for a substantive role in siting power projects.

Energy Minister (and former Ottawa Mayor) Bob Chiarelli, who was at Ottawa City Hall to talk pipeline, told The Ottawa Sun that Ottawa could not unilaterally veto a wind power project. Both Minister Chiarelli and Premier Wynne have been saying for weeks that the province will give municipalities more “say” in siting power projects.

One thousand, two hundred and twenty-eight area residents signed the petition in a two-week petition drive; over 800 Ottawa area residents also participated in an online poll with 94.56% saying “No” to the Ottawa area wind power project.

 

Public petition signing in North Gower TODAY

09 Saturday Nov 2013

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

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11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Alfred Taylor Recreation Centre

Sign the petition!

Tell the City of Ottawa that North Gower and area is NOT A WILLING HOST to a wind power generation complex that is too close to homes!

ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com

Why we are doing the Not A Willing Host campaign

08 Friday Nov 2013

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Apparently, there are some people (not many; very few in fact) who question working toward declaring North Gower and the parts of Richmond that would be affected by the proposed wind power project Not A Willing Host.

It is a valid question and here are some points.

Q:Is the Not A Willing Host action simply a symbol? There is nothing in the Green Energy Act that says it will do anything.

A: That’s right BUT if we all simply sit quietly by and do nothing, nothing will happen. The fact is, the 73 Not A Willing Host communities represent a significant portion of the Ontario communities that are vulnerable to wind power development. The changes to the government’s stance on how much “say” communities have is directly related to these actions by municipalities, in their resolutions and motions at Council, their meetings, work through the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, and more. The result of doing nothing is to get nothing.

Q: The North Gower project has been on the books for years and has never gotten anywhere; why think it will now?

A: We have written confirmation from Prowind that they fully intend to apply once the subsidy program application process reopens, if they are able to meet the requirements. The new process has not been revealed, but we believe that key components of it will be community support, and community ownership. To demonstrate as best we can the lack of community support can be effective.

To quote the lawyer for the couple in France whose legal action against a wind power project that caused noise and visual pollution,

“Today we are saying no: justice has been done and this shows all those who suffer wind farms with a sense of powerlessness that the fight is not in vain, that one can have one’s life respected–one’s right to peace.”

Democracy doesn’t just happen: we have to make it work.

Email us at ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com

 

Energy Minister Chiarelli says Ottawa support needed for North Gower wind power project

07 Thursday Nov 2013

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In an interview with Ottawa-area radio station CFRA, Ontario Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli stated that it will now be very “difficult” for a wind power proponent to get approval, without “significant” support from the hosting municipality. Ottawa is where a 20-megawatt wind power project has been proposed for over five years, and where residents of the North Gower community have been working on a petition to be recognized as “Not A Willing Host,” as the potential “host” community within the City of Ottawa.

Speaking on CFRA this morning, Ottawa Wind Concerns chair and Wind Concerns Ontario president Jane Wilson said the community needs to see what the new application rules are, in black and white, and determine what “significant” support from a city would look like.

When told by the CFRA host Steve Madely that there is pushback on Council to a motion being put forward by the councillor for the area, she said, “I would hope that Ottawa City Councillors would do the right thing for all citizens of the city.”

The report on the interview with Minister Chiarelli is here.

 Chiarelli: approval not likely for North Gower wind farm without city support
By: Alison Sandor

Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli says without the city’s consent, it’s unlikely Prowind Canada will be able to build a wind farm in North Gower.

   Chiarelli told CFRA they’ve changed the regulations for companies applying to build wind turbines.

“We have set up a process for wind farm applications now that require the proponent, the energy proponent, to actually have an engagement with the municipality and have some level of consent or cooperation with the municipality before they can actually even submit an application for the approval,” said Chiarelli.

   Several city councillors have expressed worry about wind farms being built within city limits.

Opponents of wind farms say the turbines have negative health effects.

To contact Ottawa Wind Concerns, email ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com

November 5 update: What YOU can do today

06 Wednesday Nov 2013

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

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Our volunteer canvassers are out EVERY NIGHT and we are delivering paper petitions daily to the citizens of the North Gower area who will be affected by the proposed wind power generation project, should it be approved and constructed.

STATUS of the project: all large wind power project applications are on hold until Energy Minister Chiarelli announces the new application process, expected to be January. Prowind has told us they plan to reapply, once they’ve seen the new requirements.

KEY: community ownership and approval will be a factor. That’s why our Not A Willing Host effort has meaning: we will show that this is NOT a “willing host” community for very good reasons. We must speak up and take action: doing nothing results in nothing.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

-attend the last public signing of the petition Saturday November 9, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Alfred Taylor Recreation Centre

-download the petition here NG-PETITION-final

The petition MUST have your signature on an actual paper document, and be witnessed; return it to us at PO Box 3 North Gower ON  K0A 2TO or email us at ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com for pickup

-email us for a petition to be delivered to you

-plan to attend the Not A Willing Host event in Toronto at Queen’s Park later this month, details to follow

-our online poll is still active for another day or two. Please have residents of Ottawa go to https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LZSDL9N

The petition will be taken IN PERSON to the City Clerk at the City of Ottawa.

 

5 days til our petition event!

21 Monday Oct 2013

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North Gower launches our Not a Willing Host legal petition on Saturday October 26th at the Alfred Taylor Centre on Community Way.

Can’t make it on the 26th?

email us at ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com and we will get a petition to you, RIGHT NOW if you wish

OR

come to the Alfred Taylor Centre on November 9 between 11 and 1, to “vote” and sign the petition.

Your friends and neighbours are signing already—let’s get the message out to Ottawa and the provincial government:

North Gower is NOT A WILLING HOST to a huge wind power project!

Print

 

North Gower plans to be “Not a Willing Host”

16 Wednesday Oct 2013

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When Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne held her first interviews after being elected the Ontario Liberal Party leader, and thus, Premier, she was asked about the controversy over wind power projects in Ontario. She said, her government would not be forcing the power projects on communities that were not “willing hosts.”

Today, 72 Ontario municipalities have declared themselves to be “Not a Willing Host” ( see windconcernsontario.ca Not a Willing Host tab for the list of communities).

North Gower is not a legal municipality since amalgamation with the City of Ottawa, but residents plan to be declared Not a Willing Host by using a legal petition to the City of Ottawa.

“This petition is a legal document, signed and witnessed by members of our community,” says Ottawa Wind Concerns chair Jane Wilson. “We will take this petition to the City of Ottawa and make sure the City overall knows that there is no support here for a wind power generation utility so close to homes, and our school.”

Wilson notes that Ontario often has a surplus of power and has sold excess for a loss to neighbouring jurisdictions such as Michigan or New York State, and that the Ontario government recently announced it is paying wind power companies NOT to add power to the grid. “So why build another one?” she asks. “Why subject yet another Ontario community to the dramatic impact of a wind power project it it’s not even needed?”

The proposed 20-megawatt wind power project will be within 3.5 km of more than 1,000 homes, Wilson explained. A conservative estimate of the average property value loss is over $130 million.

MPP Lisa MacLeod, now energy critic for the opposition has often spoken against the wind power project; MP Pierre Poilievre has said it makes no sense financially, and commissioned a Library of Parliament study to show that subsidies for the project from Ontario taxpayers would be about $4.8 million per year.

The petition-signing debut for North Gower residents is Saturday October 26th at 10 a.m. at the Alfred Taylor Centre on Community Way. Special guest Parker Gallant, frequent contributor to the Financial Post series “Ontario’s Power Trip,” will deliver a presentation “What’s in your electricity bill?” by videolink at the event.

Residents who are unable to attend will be able to sign the petition when volunteer canvassers come to their door, or on a special “voting day” at the Alfred Taylor Centre on Saturday November 9 from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m.

For more information, email Ottawa Wind Concerns at ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com

South Branch wind project footprint visible

16 Wednesday Oct 2013

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From the October edition of The AgriNews, an update on the South branch wind power project. You recall that Prowind, the same developer as for the Marlborough project in North Gower, began this project by leasing land from local farm owners, and then sold it to Portuguese energy giant EDP. Construction is ongoing now.

Here is an excerpt of the story by Lois Ann Baker.

BRINSTON–Now that the wet weather is out of the way, construction on the South Branch Wind Farm* is well underway. The sites of the 10 turbines that will be scattered throughout the Brinston area have been excavated and access roads have been created to allow the many trucks and equipment to access the sites.

Within the next week or two the foundations for the turbines will be poured, paving the way for installation of the turbines.

The main site located on Brinston Road just south of the hamlet, will also be home to the substation that will be used to maintain the turbines. A building consisting of meeting rooms and storage space will also be located on that site.

Project manager Ken Little said … the turbines [will] be installed in November and they should be producing power for Hydro One by the new year.

The controversial wind farm has sparked interest among the locals, said Little and EDP Renewables has tried to keep up “fairly regular communication” with both supporters of the project and those that oppose the turbines.

Ralph Butler of Williamsburg expressed his concerns over the wind farm by saying that the area of farm land being wasted is unbelievable.

BrinstonAerialSB“I think it’s the biggest waste of money since the gas plant,” said Butler. “I’ve been complaining about this ever since it started.”

Butler added that with new regulations brought in by the Ontario government stopping the turbines from producing power when there is an abundance of power on the grid, it’s possible these turbines will never turn a blade to produce power. He also added that the municipal government should have done something to stop the project.

[EDP’s] Little didn’t seem overly concerned with the regulations saying that…they will be compensated. “If we are asked to shut them down, after a certain amount of time we will be paid,” said Little.

In light of these new regulations, South Dundas council passed a resolution at the first regular council meeting held after the groundbreaking of the turbine sites to not support any future proposals until the supply and demand for electricity demonstrates a need. Council had previously turned down a resolution by Councillor Evonne Delagarde requesting that the municipality become known as “Not a Willing Host” to industrial wind turbines.

At the same council meeting, council felt the need to defend themselves when long-time Brinston resident Robbie Giles gave a presentation on how he felt council had no been open and acted in the best interests of residents of South Dundas, with regards to the South Branch project. Giles claimed too many informal meetings with a lack of follow-up was a big issue.

Giles said he felt the biggest lesson learned from the South Branch project was that revealed a lack of public contact or consultation and urged council to take responsibility for “access, transparency, honesty, respect for all voices, and courage to change position and challenge authority, if it is the right thing to do.”

Mayor Steven Byvelds** responded with “I think we are an open council. We do not have informal meetings and do not discuss council issues away from the council table.” ***

 

*They are not “farms”

**Remember that name, especially in the next municipal election, October 2014

***Because that would be ILLEGAL under the Municipal Act, wouldn’t it?

Aerial photo of South Branch wind power plant by Ralph Butler