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Tag Archives: Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry

“Cosmic math”: wind developers hold open house in Eastern Ontario

09 Thursday Jul 2015

Posted by ottawawindconcerns in Renewable energy, Wind power

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Champlain Twp, community opposition wind farms, cost-benefit wind farms, David Thornton, eastern Ontario counties, Eatsren Ontario wind farms, EDF, FIT contracts Ontario, Gary Barton, Glengarry, Ian Cumming, Ontario, Ontario Farmer, RES Canada, St Isidore, Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry, wind energy, wind farm, wind power

Ontario Farmer

By Ian Cumming

St. Isidore–With a September 1 deadline to apply to the Ontario government for a share of the provincial allotted windpower megawatts (MW), four wind companies held public information open houses in three eastern Ontario counties, detailing their area proposed projects.

Two of these were: the RES Canada presentation in Vankleek Hill for the 15-turbine, 40 MW Gauthier project on June 22, and the EDF EN Canada presentation for the 14-MW project in St. Isidore on June 23.

With EDF having a large number of solar and wind proects in 19 countries throughout the world, including scattered throughout the United States plus Alberta and Quebec, the company is looking to expand its presence in Ontario, says David Thornton, from stakeholder relations at the company.

Wind developer exec former McGuinty staffer

Thornton started as a staffer in Premier McGuinty’s office, was the former campaign manager for the Ontario LIberal Party, and over six years at Queen’s Park, was senior policy advisor for renewable energy at the Ministry of Energy, and also senior policy advisor for land use planning and municipal affairs at Municipal Affairs.

Thornton and his staff fielded questions from the audience.

“Who do you work for?” Thornton asked Sylvia [sic] Gagnon. “I work for no one,” Gagnon replied. “I live in North Glengarry and I’m against the invasion of our beautiful farmland by these monstrosities.

“I came here for answers and instead I’m talking to a lot of slippery people.”

The over 160 farmers signed up for the St. Isidore project “are more than who will get windmills,” said Thornton to Ontario Farmer. “That’s the way these projects work.”*

However, “all these farmers who sign up will be paid something, whether they get a windmill or not,” added Mark Gallagher from EDF.

The concept of also paying local supportive residents who have signed up a minimum of $1,000 per year** “was something I brought from Ireland,” said Gallagher. “They do that over there, pay people on a per acre basis.”

EDF pays the municipal taxes on the windmills, said Gallagher *** which would come to $150,000 per year on a project smaller than what they are proposing in St. Isidore.

He noted that, on top of that, they are committed to invest heavily in sports grants and other community projects over the next two decades. ****

The one farmer who held out from EDF, having 700 acres in the St. Isidore area as part of his 5,000 acres in two counties, gave a quick walk through scanning the posters and [said] “I’ve seen enough, I’m going home,” he told Ontario Farmer.

This is going to end badly

He said his instincts are telling him “this is going to end badly.

“It’s a business model based on a falsehood that can’t sustain itself. Some day people won’t be able to pay more on their hydro bills.”

The night before, in Vankleek Hill, the RES Canada presentation had fewer posters but the issues and the concerns for those attending were exactly the same.

“I have no idea where the Liberal government is getting the money for these things,” said local mayor [Champlain] Gary Barton at the RES presentation. Barton, unlike his counterpart in St. Isidore is not embracing the proposed project in his area.

However, under the Green Energy Act, “there is nothing I can legally do,” said Barton.

He recalled a specific face-to-face meeting several years ago [that] involved him and another local mayor with then Ontario Energy minister George Smitherman, expressing concerns about a large solar project in their area.

“He told us there is nothing you can do,” said Barton.

Electrical engineer Stan Thayer was at the RES presentation noting, “I’m not against anything. When I was at McGill in the 1970s we worked with solar panels and wind mills. I understand all this.

“But, I can’t afford it,” said Thayer. “Plus, the BS being presented to the public is wrong,” he said.

Cosmic math

“No one has shown me facts from any windmill, no matter the size, making a profit,” said Thayer.

“They are using cosmic math,” he said. “Because we don’t know where they are getting their numbers. They don’t add up, multiply or divide.”

 

EDITOR NOTES:

* It’s the way they work now: the new procurement process requires sign-off from adjacent landowners so developers are paying people.

** $1,000 a year for noise, vibration and changed property value?

*** Taxes on wind turbines (they are NOT “windmills”) are capped under the Green Energy Act at $40,000 per megawatt, in spite of the fact the turbines cost $2-3 million. The property tax revenue is less than 20 or so houses.

**** The wind developers get to choose where the money from their “vibrancy” or community funds go, and they like to choose sports so they can have their name plastered all over it as advertising.

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More wind farms for Eastern Ontario: Casselman, St Isidore to see 150 MW proposal

11 Thursday Jun 2015

Posted by ottawawindconcerns in Renewable energy, Wind power

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Casselman wind farm, Eastern Ontario wind farms, EDF, green energy, IESO, Prescott-Russell, St Isidore wind farm, Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry, wind farm

Wind power developer EDF has announced it intends to bid for 150 megawatts of wind power (50 turbines) on 10,000 acres of land it has optioned near St-Isidore, Ontario. Bids under the 2015 Large Renewable Procurement process are due September 1st. The company is promising 250 jobs “at the height of construction” and a total of four full-time jobs after the project begins. EDF is also promising $150,000 per year in municipal tax revenues and a further $150,000 per year in community benefits. (Taxes on wind turbines are capped at $40,000 per megawatt under the Green Energy Act; municipal benefits in the form of “vibrancy funds are typically less than 1% of the developers’ revenues; full-time jobs for wind “farms” are for highly trained technical staff). This proposal follows announcements by EDP Renewables and Invenergy, both proposing projects in Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry. The Independent Electricity Systems Operator or IESO has said there is no capacity on the grid in Eastern Ontario for these projects, at present. A public Open House is being held June 23rd in St Isidore; see the notice here.

South Dundas wind power plant target

26 Tuesday May 2015

Posted by ottawawindconcerns in Renewable energy, Wind power

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Brinston, Cornwall Standard-Freeholder, Evonne Delegarde, Invenergy, North Dundas wind farm, North Stormont wind farm, Not a Willing host, South Dundas, South Dundas wind farm, Standard-Freeholder, Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry, wind farm Eastern Ontario, wind power, wind turbines

Not the photo the Standard-Freeholder used, of a turbine alone in a field. THIS is reality: a house and turbine near KIncardine, Ont.

Not the photo the Standard-Freeholder used, of a turbine alone in a field. THIS is reality: a house and turbine near KIncardine, Ont.

U.S.-based Invenergy is trying to persuade South Dundas to reverse its unwilling host resolution and put its stamp of approval on a proposal for more wind turbines for the area.

Cornwall Standard-Freeholder, May 25

South Dundas remains a magnet for wind power developers, despite an earlier proclamation the municipality is “not a willing host” for the controversial turbines.

Just on the heels of a presentation made by the township’s only resident turbine developer, EDP Renewables, a second firm wants in on the action. South Dundas council heard last Tuesday from James Murphy and Ryan Ralph, who were representing Invenergy, reputed to be the continent’s sixth-largest green energy entity.

Invenergy is proposing its Nine Mile Project, which would be considerably more ambitious the current South Branch project that is now operating in the Brinston area. It would also spill into North Dundas.

If developed, Nine Mile would produce between 50-90 megawatts/hr. South Branch delivers 30 megawatts, but EDP is hoping to expand its operations in the township.

Invenergy needs council’s blessing in order to arm itself with a best-case argument to get provincial approval as it competes with some 40 other companies. One of the requirements that South Dundas wants projects to satisfy is to show there is a demand for more electricity.

Invenergy has indicated by 2019, more energy will need to be produced in Ontario, reversing a current trend of selling power at loss to other jurisdictions.

Mayor Evonne Delegarde said the new council welcomes new presentations in order to analyze their individual worth.

One of the social spinoffs for hosting a turbine project is the community donations the township receives annually – $1,000 for every megawatt produced, so Nine Mile would provide $50,000 to $90,000 per year for 20 years.

As for her opinion, the mayor said the community investment would not be a factor in view of whether to accept the proposal. Several property owners have already signed up to receive $500,000 in lease payments if the project goes ahead.

twitter.com/GregPeerenboom

NOTE: Ottawa Wind Concerns has learned that a community group opposed to the wind power project may be forming in North Stormont–we will keep you informed.

ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com

Conservation area within North Stormont wind farm

13 Wednesday May 2015

Posted by ottawawindconcerns in Renewable energy, Wind power

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

at-risk species, bird deaths wind farms, bird species, birds Ontario, Conservation Area, Crysler, EDP Renewables, endangered species Ontario, environmental damage wind farms, North Stormont, South Nation, Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry, wind farm, wind turbines

The Bobolink is an at-risk species in Ontario

The Bobolink is an at-risk species in Ontario

More than 100 bird species will be at risk from wind turbines

 

When multi-national wind power developer EDP Renewables revealed the project map at its Open House in Crysler last week, many attending were surprised to note that the project area covers and includes the Reveler Conservation Area.

The conservation area shelters more than 100 species of birds and offers a place for them to rest on their migrations twice a year. The spot is popular with bird enthusiasts and others who enjoy Nature.

Wind turbines are known for killing birds and bats, both of which are necessary parts of the eco-system. The wind “farm” at Wolfe Island is responsible for “shockingly high” numbers of bird deaths, said a report in the Globe and Mail.

The wetlands and woodlands of the South Nation watershed attract many species of wildlife.

EDP plans to erect 30-50 wind turbines in Stormont Dundas and Glengarry.

Wind developers typically claim that cats kill more birds than wind turbines, but the fact is that wind turbines are responsible for the death of many raptor species such as hawks and eagles, who are unlikely to be preyed upon by cats.

EDP Renewables bulldozes holdout landowner home

11 Monday May 2015

Posted by ottawawindconcerns in Renewable energy, Wind power

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Brinston, EDP, EDP Renewables, EDP Renewables North America, lawsuits wind farms, North Dundas Ontario, North Stormont, North Stormont Ontario, signing leases for wind farms, South Branch wind farm, Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry, Wind energy companies, wind farm, wind farm neighbours, wind farm property, wind turbines

 

 

Courthouse News Service, May 11, 2015

House Bulldozed for Wind Farm, Family Says
By REBEKAH KEARN

ShareThis

     LOS ANGELES (CN) – Wind energy companies bulldozed a black family’s house because they were the sole holdouts who refused to sell out to a huge wind farm, the family claims in court.
Darlene Dotson and her sons David and Daniel sued EDP Renewables North America, Horizon Wind Energy Co., Rising Tree Wind Farm, CVE Contracting Group, and Renewable Land LLC, on May 7 in Superior Court.
The family wastes no time in getting down to specifics. “Plaintiffs in this action are the victims of a multinational energy developer who refused to accept ‘No’ for an answer,” the 32-page complaint begins.
“The heart of the issue is that the Dotsons own property in Mojave that is sought after by EDP Renewables for windmills, and they refuse to sell,” the family’s attorney Morgan Stewart told Courthouse News.
Mojave, pop. 4,300, is 50 miles east of Bakersfield, below the Tehachapi Mountains, on the edge of the immense Mojave Desert.
“The home on the property was a family home they used for family vacations and gatherings. EDP pressured them to sell, but they still refused,” Stewart said.
“The house was damaged several times when they were away. And then one time when they went back to the house they found that it had been demolished, scraped to the foundations, along with all of their belongings. The companies did it.
“We see it as intentional because EDP needed the property for the wind farm, but the Dotsons wouldn’t sell,” Stewart said.
EDP Renewables is building the Rising Tree Wind Farm about 3 miles west of Mojave in Kern County.
Project leaders estimate the wind farm will generate 199 megawatts of electricity when it goes online sometime this year – enough to power around 60,000 homes and take 33,000 cars off the road.
The Dotsons say the defendants first approached them about the wind farm in 2009, claiming they needed to buy the surrounding parcels of land, including the Dotsons’ land, for the wind farm.
The Tehachapi Mountains, which top out at 7,992 feet, generate nearly constant winds, as the cool air on top and the Pacific Ocean to the west suck the superheated desert air through the mountain passes.
“Like the infamous Daniel Plainview from Paul Thomas Anderson’s Film, ‘There Will Be Blood,’ defendants held themselves out as friends to the local community and a source of prosperity for its residents. Among other things, defendants promised Mrs. Dotson and her neighbors that the wind farm would stimulate the local economy and generate energy revenue for cooperating landowners. All that Mrs. Dotson and her neighbors had to do was to sign over the rights to their homes,” the complaint states.
But Darlene Dotson says she resisted the sales pitch, telling the companies she was not interested in selling because her family “cherished” their home and its underlying history more than the companies’ offers of money.
“The house had been in their family for 20 years, and was one of the original homesteads built by African Americans in the early 20th century,” attorney Stewart said.
The Dotsons used the home for family gatherings, vacations, barbeques and birthday parties. Daniel and David Dotson grew up playing in the house and then took their own children to play there. It was “hallowed ground” to the family, according to the complaint.
In addition to memories, the house contained the Dotsons’ family mementos, including photographs of deceased family members, family heirlooms and antiques.
Though all of their neighbors agreed to sell or lease their land, the Dotsons held out and “respectfully declined” the companies’ numerous offers, according to the complaint.
When the companies realized the family was adamant about keeping their home, they became aggressive and hostile, the Dotsons say. Mrs. Dotson claims the companies’ agents insulted her and spoke to her disrespectfully, and told her that “the home was worthless and that the Dotsons should take the money because it was the best they would ever get for the land.”
They harassed her sons and tried to bully them into persuading her to sell the house by threatening to “surround the home on all sides with the wind farm, restricting the Dotson’s access to the home and causing the home’s property value to plummet,” the complaint states.
Stewart said the companies wanted the property so badly they approached the Dotsons’ neighbors and asked them how to persuade the Dotsons to sell.
Then the defendants vandalized the house, breaking windows and patio furniture, the Dotsons claim. “In essence, the Dotsons were being terrorized in their home,” the complaint states.
In February this year the defendants started demolishing the surrounding homes to develop the land for the wind farm.
When David Dotson went up to the family home in late March to do some maintenance, he discovered that the home was “literally wiped off the face of the Earth,” that all the furnishings and family belongings “were simply eviscerated,” the complaint states.
Stewart said the family is not sure exactly when the house was demolished, but suspects it was around the time the companies started knocking down the other homes.
The Dotsons say several people from the companies called and left messages admitting that they had demolished the Dotson’s home and insisting that it was a mistake.
But the Dotsons claim it was a deliberate ploy to make them sell their land.
“The pressure to sell from EDP, the strong-arm tactics leading up to the demolition, and coming along afterward and trying to buy again, all indicate that this was not an accident,” Stewart said. “This was an intentional act by a company that thought it could strong-arm these people.”
Though there is no direct evidence of racism, Stewart thinks the Dotsons’ race had something to do with it.
“They are the only African American family in the area, the only ones pressured very hard by the companies, and the only ones who had their house demolished when they refused to sell,” he said.
Stewart said it takes a deliberate effort to destroy a house because the gas and water must be turned off, among other things.
“It’s especially sad because they described how they built parts of the house with their own hands. It’s ugly,” he said.
Representatives with the companies did not reply to requests for comment.
The Dotsons seek punitive damages for trespass to land, violation of the Bane Civil Rights Act, intentional infliction of emotional distress, conversion, nuisance, unfair business practices and negligence.
Attorney Stewart is with Manly, Stewart & Finaldi, of Irvine.

[NOTE: EDP Renewables is the power developer proposing a 150-megawatt, 50-turbine wind power project in Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry, and currently operates the South Branch wind “farm” in Brinston, Ontario]

MPP Jim McDonell launches wind farm petition

08 Friday May 2015

Posted by ottawawindconcerns in Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Eastern Ontario, Jim McDonell, Not a Willing host, Ontario government, Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry, wind far, wind farm Crysler, wind farm petition, wind farm Winchester, wind power

A photo on Flickr

MPP for Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry Jim McDonell has launched a petition asking to Ontario government to return full consultation for the community regarding a proposed 30-50 turbine wind power project, and further, to do a complete study of any impacts of the proposed power project.

The petition MUST be printed out, signed, and mailed or delivered to Mr McDonell’s office as a legal document. Fax or scanned versions are not legal.

Obtain the petition here: Petition

Contact Mr McDonell’s office at 613-933-6513 or visit his website at: http://jimmcdonellmpp.ca/

 

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