Tag Archives: wind farm Richmond

Wind farm still a concern in Ottawa

20 Wednesday Aug 2014

Posted by in Ottawa, Renewable energy, Wind power

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People attending a community meeting in North Gower last evening expressed continuing concern about the wind power project that was proposed in 2008 for North Gower-Richmond. The project application has been suspended pending a new application under the Request for Proposal process, which will open in a few weeks.

According to documents obtained by Ottawa Wind Concerns via the Freedom of Information process (thanks to donations from the community) the wind power developer Prowind, was informed of the application suspension in June, 2013, but advised to keep in touch with their contact at the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) about the new opportunity to apply. Prowind maintains a listing for the project on its website.

At that time, Prowind’s documents were “deemed complete” by the OPA, and the company was waiting for a connection to the grid, before the approval process could continue.

Prowind advised The Ottawa Citizen in August 2013, that the company would review the terms of the new process, and re-apply, if appropriate.

In October of 2013, a legal petition bearing more than 1,200 signatures from area residents was presented to the City of Ottawa; council passed a motion that recognized the petition and further, asked the province for a return of local land-use planning powers.

Statements to the effect that the project is now dead are not correct; the OPA has not yet defined its “community engagement” requirement under the new process.

Meanwhile, the OPA has designated Eastern Ontario as a “green light” area for wind power development.

It is expected that the wind power project will be an issue in the upcoming municipal election; incumbent councillor Scott Moffatt wrote a report on the project in last week’s Manotick Messenger, and candidate Dan Scharf has stated he is opposed to it.

The South Branch project, also developed by Prowind and sold to US-based EDP Renewables, has been operating south of Ottawa since March; the turbines are the first 3-megawatt power generators in Ontario.

Email us at ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com 

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Nepean-Carleton Libertarian candidate statement

02 Monday Jun 2014

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

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We have already published the statements from candidates for the Ontario election from the Liberal, NDP, Ontario Progressive Conservative and Green parties; we contacted Libertarian Party candidate Coreen Corcoran, who provided us with the following, as relates to large-scale wind power generation in Ontario and in specific, the only project currently proposed for the Ottawa area, in North Gower-Richmond.

Ms Corcoran writes:

Ontario Libertarian point of view
We do not believe that any industry should be given preferential treatment by the government over another industry, to the extent that the government should be out of the subsidy business all together. There are no private companies willing to stick their necks out to fund and own the risk of running wind farms 100%. They are relying on government subsidies to create an industry that is not wanted or even viable at this point in time. We would stop risky energy programs and leave it to the market to test unproven technologies. If it could survive in a free-market, let it, but it is doubtful the current technology would have any support. If a free-market wouldn’t support it, why should the taxpayers of Ontario?

My personal point of view
I saw the documentary Windfall a couple of years ago, and after seeing that film, I knew that wind power in its current form wasn’t sustainable. The physical impacts on the people who live near the turbines, the many birds and bats that are killed by the blades, and the huge government grants required to sustain this industry are all reasons why we need to stop it in its tracks. Maybe someday there will be a way to harness wind power on a large scale, but giant turbines covering our landscape and taking people out of their homes is not the way to do it.

You have my support.

Thank You,
Coreen Corcoran

 

Email us at ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com or write to us at PO Box 3, North Gower K0A 2T0

We write to OFA rep Straathof

21 Friday Mar 2014

Posted by in Health, Renewable energy, Wind power

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We learned this week that Ontario Federation of Agriculture Executive Member Debra Pretty-Straathof made remarks that our community is “split” over the proposed wind power development.

Really.

So, Ottawa Wind Concerns wrote to Ms Straathof to correct her. Here is an excerpt of that letter.

It is possible you have not seen the news stories about this particular project, and in specific, the fact that the majority of voting age residents last year signed a legal petition which was then presented to and accepted by the City of Ottawa at Council; Council then went on to pass a resolution of support, and to demand that local land-use planning powers be returned to Ontario municipalities.

The petition was the result of a three-week long campaign, which began with a public meeting attended by 300 communities members; in the weeks that followed, dozens of community members gathered signatures on the legal document, and we held a final public event which again, attracted hundreds more residents. The signatures on the petition numbered more than 1,230—this was equal to the TOTAL NUMBER of residents [in North Gower] voting in the municipal election in 2010, according to our Councillor.

The event was reported on by the Ottawa Citizen, the CBC and CFRA, among other media outlets such as the local community papers.

It will also interest you to know that our MP Pierre Poilievre prepared his own petition back in 2012, gathered hundreds of signatures from North Gower residents, and then rose in the House of Commons to present it, and demand that the North Gower wind power project not be approved, or at least wait until the results of the Health Canada study are known.

Our community has been involved in the fight against this inappropriate wind power project for more than four years. Here’s why:

  • Ontario has a surplus of power generation and does not need this wind power project.
  • The project as proposed before the pause in procurement of large scale power projects, was to be a 20-megawatt facility with 8 wind turbines; the turbines would have been within 3 km of more than 1,000 homes—this is completely inappropriate siting.
  • According to property value research done in Ontario, the projected property value loss for the North Gower area would be $134 million. This would pose a hardship for residents, particularly young families and seniors, for whom their home is their prime investment.
  • Reports of health effects due to the environmental noise produced by these machines are mounting throughout Ontario, as you must know; if only 10 percent of North Gower residents were affected, that would still be hundreds of people, many of them children. As proposed, this project would have meant that some children would be exposed to the noise 24 hours a day.

Again, the message this community has given is clear and without argument: a wind power project so close to the village and area residents is not appropriate, not necessary, and not wanted.

Any opinions to the contrary are uninformed.

We have not had the courtesy of a response from the OFA rep as yet. OFA members may wish to write to her themselves and express concern at her lack of awareness on this important issue.

Email us at ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com

North Gower readers write: “no qualms about suing”

08 Saturday Mar 2014

Posted by in Ottawa, Renewable energy, Wind power

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Many area residents wrote to Farmers Forum after last month’s edition in which North Gower resident and wind power proponent Ed Schouten made remarks about wind “farms.”

Four were published; we reproduce them here.

Will sue for property loss

I intend to get my house appraised now and re-appraised if wind turbines are erected. I will have no qualms about suing both the property owner and Prowind for loss of property value at the very least. I hope others will be prepared to do the same.*

Julian Hughson, North Gower

*Blog editor note, Oh, they are, they are. Ottawa Wind Concerns has legal counsel on retainer and we have already notified Prowind of the intent to take any and all legal actions available.

Need more wind power studies

It sounds to me like a match made in heaven. Companies offer always cash-starved farms substantial funds to be allowed to build windmills on their farms. They sell the power to Ontario Hydro for enormous amounts of taxpayer money. The farmer is happy with his steady income, the windmill company is happy with its profits. But there are a lot of questions that still need answers about the effects of these monsters. In Europe and the United States, most of them are offshore or in isolated areas. Let’s get some reports from other countries of wind farms located near homes, schools and farms.

J.A. Fournier, North Gower

Blog editor: first of all, the wind power developer had a contract with the Ontario Power Authority or OPA to sell power under the Feed In Tariff subsidy program (which is now halted–a new program begins this year). Second, the farm owners, many unwittingly, gave away many rights to their land as part of the contracts including first right of refusal. An Ontario mayor noted at the August AMO conference that in effect, farmers sold their land for the lease amount. The contracts also contain “gag” clauses so that if the farm owners experience health problems or are disturbed by the noise and vibration, they are not allowed to speak of it. Last, there are problems the world over with wind turbine noise. Denmark alone has 170 community groups, and citizens are opposed in the UK, Germany, France, and the US. The global wind lobby has gone to great lengths to discredit these groups, and currently has a campaign which is based on the idea that the activities of community groups themselves are causing symptoms among turbine neighbours.

My retirement affected by wind turbines

As a resident of the proposed wind farm in North Gower, I will be adversely affected as we will be one of the homes closest to the turbines (the minimum distance is 550 meters). I will no longer be able to enjoy my back deck as the turbines will be far closer to my home than the home of the farm planning on erecting the turbines. Along with the health issues associated with turbines, so will our planned retirement of selling our property be adversely affected. The farmer from this area who said keeping the wind farm small will have no negative effects is, oh, so wrong.

Turbines in Europe a dismal failure

I would never have purchased this home if we had known there would be a turbine so close. Never, never, never. Being of European background, I have kept up-to-date on the fall of turbine desire there. They are a dismal failure. Germany, a country on the front line of energy efficiency, has decided not to erect (more) turbines but is instead returning to coal-fired generation.

What more need I say?

Gerry Courtney, North Gower

North Gower wind project is too big

Farmer Ed Schouten’s comment that the Brinston wind power project (it’s not a “farm”) could be a test case for others is interesting: with 6,700 megawatts of wind power already contracted for in Ontario, I think we have quite enough “test cases.”

What we do have is people sick from the environmental noise near wind power projects at Kincardine, Amaranth and Ridgetown, to name a few. It’s really quite simple: if the noise is so loud people can’t sleep, they become ill.

1,200 of his neighbours signed a petition against the project, that was accepted by Ottawa

I disagree with Mr Schouten’s claim that keeping a wind power project small avoids problems. The one proposed by the  Germany-based developer for his farm was a 20-megawatt power plant with eight turbines close to 1,000 families. That’s not “small” in my books. It’s also the reason why over 1,200 of his neighbours signed a petition against the project, which was accepted by Ottawa City Council.

With lawsuits over property values on the rise, and concerns about the health of livestock exposed to the turbine noise and vibration, Mr. Schouten must have a few concerns he hopes the Brinston project will allay.

The question that remains, however, is why is Ontario doing this? Why are we paying millions for wind power projects that have such a high impact on Ontario communities, for power we don’t need?

Ontario never did a cost-benefit analysis on wind power, the Auditor General complained in 2011. That was the real “test case” we needed.

Jane Wilson, North Gower

Brinston not a test case, community not lab rats

08 Saturday Mar 2014

Posted by in Ottawa, Renewable energy, Wind power

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You may recall that in last month’s edition of Farmers Forum, North Gower-Richmond farm owner Ed Schouten (the proponent in the North Gower wind power project) said he looked forward to the start-up on the project at Brinston, as it would serve as a “test case” for people who had doubts about how great wind power is.

Lots of letters flew in to the Editor, and we will reproduce them all. First though, the letter from Brinston resident Leslie Disheau who wants to put Mr Schouten straight on a few issues.

Brinston divided on wind turbines

Letter, Farmers Forum March 2014

I am going to begin with setting the record straight on the use of the term “wind farm.” This term is a skewed way of making the industrialization of farming practices more palatable to the general public by international wind development companies.

Farming practices and the farming industry have quietly moved into industrial practices while still enjoying the government subsidy/benefit programs to help sustain their bottom line, and keep their competitive edge with fluctuating world markets.

These healthy government subsidy/benefit programs are not available to any other sector of industry in Ontario. If you are going to industrialize then you should have to play by the same industry standards and requirements which currently govern all industry in Ontario.

Farm lands are now being used to host electricity producing machines, not growing food to feed cities. So let us term these industrial electricity projects correctly and allow this industry to be taxed accordingly, and without lucrative FIT contracts for 20 years.

We, the people in Brinston, Dixon’s Corners and Hulbert, directly affected by the siting of 10 30-megawatt industrial wind turbines, have every right to be upset and speak out. The Green Energy Act has stripped us of our rights to say “no” and our right to protect the well-being of our families; allowed for the devaluation of our homes; permits wildlife to be killed, harmed and harrassed; and takes top qality farmland out of food production. The rural community of Brinston is very much living with and feeling divided by this South Branch wind project.

“I am not a test animal, and my community is not a ‘test case,’ Mr Schouten”

I personally take great offence to Mr. Schouten’s comment that the “Brinston turbines will be a good test case for the rest of the area.” I am not a test animal. I am a person and my community should not be referred to as a “test case,” like a lab study.

As for Mr. Winslow’s statement about “negative publicity” and “far too much emotion,” I speak up with passion because I value my family’s health and well-being, take pride in my home and property, and understand what stewardship of the land and animals really means. I get emotional when someone makes a decision, without my consent, which directly changes life for my family and the community.

I have spent three years reading and looking at the research for both sides of this issue, from around the world, and can say I sit on the negative side of the fence–I made an educated decision to do so.

Leslie Disheau

Brinston, Ontario

The writer has one 3-MW turbine 836 meters from the front of her family home, and another 900 meters from the rear.The South Branch project, initiated by Germany-based Prowind,and purchased by US-based EDP, began operations March 4.

BrinstonTurbine BaseAerial shot of base for one of the Brinston turbines, prior to construction last year. Brinston is 30 minutes south of Ottawa, Ontario

 

North Gower farmer still wants turbines on his land

08 Saturday Feb 2014

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

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Here from the current edition of Farmers Forum, a story on the differing views of farm owners on having turbines on their property. One farmer interviewed reacted to the concerns of the community, the other persists in believing that community opposition is wrong.

Farmers face off over wind turbines

Wind farm at Brinston will be test case for others

 By Tom Collins

PETERBOROUGH — As 10 new wind turbines were to start spinning at Brinston — about an hour south of urban Ottawa — the tide of public opinion about wind farms is changing, pitting farmers against one another.

The Brinston wind farm has been controversial, so much so that South Dundas council has since passed a resolution that it will not support further turbines until it sees a need for it. Some wind power supporters have seen communities turn on them.

When M.K. Ince and Associates Ltd. decided to build five wind turbines in Cavan Monaghan Township near Peterborough, Don Winslow immediately jumped on board. In spring of 2013, he signed with the wind company to allow them to build a wind turbine on his 500-acre cash crop farm. Three months later, after immense public pressure and hostility, he told the company he couldn’t do it anymore.

“It relieved our stress tremendously (to cancel the contract),” said 70-year-old Winslow, who estimated that less than five per cent of the community is in favour of wind turbines. “We don’t have to sneak around the neighbours hoping to not run into them.

“There is always an element of society that is going to go overboard,” he said. “But people I respected were just as upset as the real radicals.”

Winslow is still a big believer in wind technology. But many Ontario municipalities are not. As of late January, 78 of 444 municipalities have declared themselves unwilling hosts of wind turbines — along with 33 concerned municipalities — despite the fact the designation has no teeth.

Five or six years ago, wind companies were offering farmers an agreement where they could earn $10,000 or more per year to allow a turbine to use up a half-acre of land. Now that price has almost doubled, Winslow said. A farmer signing an agreement today could make about $400,000 on a 20-year agreement.

Winslow said his neighbours were concerned about property values, health risks, and a flicker effect caused by shadows from rotating blades in the setting sun.

These wind turbine issues are still hotly debated. While the Ontario Superior Court of Justice said last April that wind turbines do reduce property values, many of the health issues have seen studies that support both sides of the argument. Health Canada has been studying the issue and expects to release the results this year.

Ed Schouten of North Gower: “I will host a couple…”

Ed Schouten has long wanted wind turbines on his dairy farm in North Gower. He doesn’t believe turbines are as much trouble as some make them out to be and would host a couple if a wind farm company decided to build in the area.

“I’m not afraid of them, let me put it that way,” he said. “I don’t think it’s going to harm the farm. I never thought in my life people would be against this.”

Schouten thinks the Brinston turbines will be a good test case for the rest of the area. If wind farms are done right — like the one in Brinston — then no one will complain, he said. The trick is to keep the wind farm small. If there are a few turbines, they look nice, but if there are hundreds, they become an issue.

Winslow said the negativity in the news media has played a big role in people shifting away from wind turbines.

“You don’t hear much except for negative publicity,” he said. “It’s hard for the average citizen to take anything but the view they keep hearing over and over in the press. There’s far too much emotion into it now.”

……….

Editor’s note: despite Mr Schouten’s claim that keeping the “wind farm small” would avoid issues with the community, the truth is, the proposal for his property and one other that is now on hold, was for eight turbines that would have been the largest in North America, and would have affected more than 1,000 homes. As for “small,” the 20-megawatt wind power generation project would have cost the citizens of Ontario $4.8 million a year, had it achieved a Feed In Tariff contract, or $96 million over the life of the contract. Prowind of Germany, the company putting that proposal forward, told Ottawa Wind Concerns that it is reviewing the requirements of the new procurement process for for large renewable power projects, and will decide to apply. The result is, North Gower-Richmond remain in “limbo” for months to come.

 

New procurement plan for large power projects

14 Saturday Dec 2013

Posted by in Ottawa, Renewable energy, Wind power

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As we’ve been saying, the new “procurement” process for large-scale power projects (over 500 kW) has not yet been announced, but there are enough clues in the recently released Long-Term Energy Plan that we have an idea of what’s coming.

First of all, the Feed In Tariff program is gone for large projects; in its place is a Request for Proposal or RFP system, in which applicants will have to meet a number of requirements and rack up points. Those of us who respond to government RFPs will be familiar with the process.

The LTEP outlines several principles that will be applied when launching future energy procurement programs:

  • follow provincial and/or regional electricity system need;
  • consider municipal electricity generation preferences;
  • engage early and regularly with local and Aboriginal communities;
  • provide opportunity for a diverse set of participants;
  • identify clear procurement needs, goals and expectations; and
  • encourage innovative technologies and approaches, including consideration of  proposals that integrate energy storage with renewable energy generation.

As stated in the 2013 LTEP, the government plans to make available up to 300 MW of wind, 140 MW of solar, 50 MW of bioenergy and 50 MW of hydroelectric capacity in 2014.

Note that the wording is that the government will “consider” municipal generation preferences, but that doesn’t mean that if you don’t ant a wind power project, for example, you get to say “no.” Note the importance of the regional energy plans, and also the need to “engage” with local communities.

Again, Prowind has indicated to us that they will be reviewing the new requirements and then reapplying.

The people of Ottawa, and specifically North Gower and Richmond, are ready to act to protect our community, our health, our local economy, and our property values, from a subsidy-seeking power project that is NOT NEEDED.

Email us at ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com

P O Box 3 North Gower ON  K0A 2T0

Green Energy Act violates human rights, say lawyers

18 Monday Nov 2013

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

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Garth Manning, QC, has written an article for the Sun media network, accusing Ontario and its poorly thought out Green Energy and Green Economy Act of violating the human rights of Ontario citizens. He quotes human rights lawyer Julian Falconer of Toronto, who refers to the growing body of research into the health effects from the noise and vibration produced by the wind power generation projects.

The Ontario government heard from plenty of experts who warned them against the downside of rushing into wind power, Manning says, but they didn’t want to hear it.

Today, citizens are left with the option of using their after-tax dollars to take legal action, which they are doing, both at appeals of wind power project approvals by the government, and in private legal actions. Municipalities remain without local land use planning control, which was removed the by the act.*

Read the entire article here.

Email us at ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com Donations for legal advice, and expenses welcome at PO Box 3 North Gower ON  K0A 2T0

*Last week, Ottawa City Council acknowledged a petition signed by North Gower area residents declaring themselves Not A Willing Host to a proposed wind power project, and passed a motion asking the province for a more substantive role in siting wind power plants.

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

Mayor Watson’s letter to our community

05 Monday Aug 2013

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

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Back in May, after the decision by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in the case of Wiggins et al vs wpd, we wrote to the Mayor of the City of Ottawa to inform him of the importance of the Court’s decision: that it was acceptable for property owners who live as neighbours to property being leased for industrial-scale wind turbines to sue for property value loss and nuisance at the time of approval of a wind power project (i.e., they do not have to wait until the power project is built), and that the Court accepted that property value loss had already occurred simply with the announcement of the power project near Clearview Ontario, on the order of 22-50 percent.

The effect of the proposed wind power project in North Gower-Richmond will be significant, we wrote , in terms of the potential danger to health (also acknowledged by the Court) and property value loss, which we estimate to be approximately–and conservatively–$70 million.

We received a reply from the Mayor, in which he repeats that this is a provincial responsibility (that was written in all capital letters so we wouldn’t miss it), and that the “regime” [sic] in place for renewable energy approvals is “quite onerous.”

“Should a wind power developer* seek a renewable energy approval in Ottawa,” he wrote, “the City will review all documentation and information relating to the proposed development and fully participate in any such consultative process. …the City will be in a better position to assess its response…and to address any concerns and needs of the public.”  Note he does not say that the City will ensure people are not harmed; he does not say, the City will ensure that its residents are protected.

The letter is here: MayorWatsonLetterJuly17

We wrote back–sorry to take up more of his time–and said that we had recently participated in “dialogue” sessions with the province and found that we, along with other stakeholders, believe the renewable power (they keep saying ‘energy’ because it sounds nicer than power plants, but that’s the truth) planning process is deeply flawed and Ontario needs a completely new process. There was NO ONE from the City of Ottawa at the evening session we attended, and as far as we know, NO ONE from the City of Ottawa at the morning session, hosted by the Ontario Power Authority.

We told the Mayor that we demanded a return of local land-use planning powers to municipalities (removed by the Green Energy Act) and also a cost-benefit analysis including the impacts, financial and health, on local communities.

Many analysts are now describing the province’s “green” energy plan as a monumental policy failure that has already run electricity prices so high it is affecting businesses’ ability to be competitive (let alone survive) and has had an astounding effect on Ontario’s rural and small urban communities.

All we ask is that our City protect us from a power plant that is not needed, which uses an invasive, expensive and unreliable technology,  and which will doubtless negatively affect this community.

NWH-Ottawa.jpg large

Not a Willing Host demonstration, Ottawa City Hall, April 2013; MPP Lisa MacLeod and community members.

Ottawa Wind Concerns

*the Marlborough 1 project is on “hold” until the province announces its new procurement process; wind developer Prowind, headquartered in Germany, told the Ottawa Citizen recently that it intends to reapply when the new process is in place.

ottawawindconcerns@gmail.com

Donations welcome at PO Box 3, North Gower ON   K0A 2T0