Huron County Board of Health to consider collaboration on health investigation

June 2, 2016

At the June meeting of the Huron County Board of Health meeting today, the (acting) Medical Officer of Health suggested collaborating in an investigation with the University of Waterloo as a means of addressing the Board’s concerns with the current follow-up project.
Collaboration with the University of Waterloo would provide a wider purpose to the proposed Huron Health Unit investigation of health complaints.
Wind Concerns Ontario has been exploring the possibility of investigating health/noise complaints with the University of Waterloo for some time.
 As the work being done in Huron County would provide good input into the investigation, Wind Concerns approached the Medical Officer of Health as requested by the University of Waterloo during a recent teleconference, to see if there was interest in a collaborative approach.
Though more discussions are pending, we see this as a positive development. More information will be provided when available.
Jane Wilson, RN
President
Wind Concerns Ontario

Ontario wind power contract process trounces democracy

No one is forced to have wind turbines on their land; communities shouldn’t be, either.

Ontario Farmer, May 17, 2016

By Jane Wilson and Warren Howard

Recently, a Mitchell, Ont. resident wrote to Ontario Farmer saying that the wind turbine siting process seems fair to him: “no one [has been] forced to have a wind turbine.”

We beg to differ: with almost 2,600 industrial-scale wind turbines now operating or under construction, the fact is thousands of Ontario residents have been forced to live with wind turbines, without any effective say in the matter.

The decision to host wind turbines should not rest with the few individuals who lease land for the project, but also with the entire community; many people can be affected by this decision.

The Green Energy Act of 2009 removed local land-use planning for wind power projects, at the same time as it overrode 21 pieces of democratically passed pieces of legislation, including the Planning Act, the Heritage Act, the Environmental Bill of Rights — even the Places to Grow Old Act.

Can’t say NO

The result is a process in which citizens and their elected governments now have no “say” whatsoever. Ontario Minister of Energy Bob Chiarelli said this past March that it would be “virtually impossible” for a power developer to get a contract in a community that did not support turbines, but that’s exactly what happened.

It's 'impossible' to get a wind power contract without community support, Minister Chiarelli said. Turns out, it wasn't.
It’s ‘impossible’ to get a wind power contract without community support, Minister Chiarelli said. Turns out, it wasn’t.

Even a community that held a formal referendum, in which 84 per cent of residents said “no” to wind power, is now being forced to have turbines.

Compare this to the procedures for other forms of development: they are relatively open, in which the community is presented with detailed information and opportunities to comment on the type and scope of development proposed.

The opposite is true for industrial-scale wind power projects. Municipalities are asked for support with very little information on environmental, economic, or social impacts. In some cases, where the developer has determined formal municipal support is unlikely, the company simply files a document saying it “tried” to get municipal support but failed — the truth is, municipalities will meet with anyone. Failure to meet on such an important project should be a red flag to contracting authorities about the nature of the development and the degree of opposition to it.

The public information meetings held by developers often occur after municipal support is requested. A paper produced by a team of academics published this year termed these meetings “dog-and-pony shows” which is an indication of how much real information is offered.

Municipal support must be mandatory

Wind Concerns Ontario submitted a series of recommendations to the Independent Electricity Systems Operator (IESO) on the contracting process, which included: a requirement that all documents related to the project should be released prior to any public meeting or municipal consultation; the precise location of turbines must be revealed as well as a broader set of site considerations; there must be a process through which municipal government, community groups and individuals can comment on these documents and their accuracy; and last, municipal support must be a mandatory requirement of any contract bid.

It may be true as the letter writer suggests: no one is forced to have a turbine on their own property, but communities and neighbours should not be forced to have them either.

Before people sign for lease turbines, they need to talk to their neighbours (because the whole community will be affected by the decision to lease) and learn from the experiences in other communities where turbines are operating. They may discover that the small lease payments offered are not worth the impact on the community, and on their friends and neighbours.

The fact is, wind turbines result in high impact on communities for very little benefit. The Ontario government needs to respect the right of Ontario citizens to make decisions on wind power developments for themselves.

Jane Wilson is president of Wind Concerns Ontario. Warren Howard is a former municipal councillor for North Perth.

 

NoMeansNo_FB (2)

Wind turbines an invasion of Ontario’s power grid, says engineer

Wind turbines are not just an eyesore in Ontario says retired engineer Jim McPherson, they are responsible for unreasonable increases in electricity bills, affecting quality of life and business competitiveness.

An excerpt follows:

Toronto Sun, May 8, 2016

In his April 26 Letter to the Editor, Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli wrote that “for the first time the cost of producing electricity from wind is below the average cost of producing electricity in Ontario.”

Using this Orwellian “doublespeak”, Chiarelli failed to mention that under his 20-year “Feed-in Tariff” (FIT) contracts, we pay wind energy corporations much more, not less, than the rates we pay for each kilowatt of the hydro, nuclear or gas-generated electricity that wind energy replaces. In addition, in Ontario, most wind and solar energy is generated when not needed.

In fact, wind and solar “farms” have become troublesome “gridmonsters”. They are uncontrollable, cruel and unreasonably costly.

Gridmonsters have a licence not only to kill, but also to bill.

Enabled by Ontario’s Green Energy Act , they drive up electricity prices while ravaging rural neighbourhoods and wildlife. They are malignant tumours attached to our electricity grid. They will continue to force electricity rates to rise unless we act now to bring them under rigorous control.

When gridmonsters were in their infant stage, we were able to store their fluctuating output in rechargeable batteries for later use in electric cars or household power. But they have grown much too big for batteries, and they keep growing because governments keep feeding them subsidies.

Gridmonsters were created by huge wind and solar corporations that lobbied governments for subsidies that guaranteed ongoing profits. That was the beginning of the scam, to which governments and citizens succumbed because of our fear of climate change.  But unlike other energy sources, the sun and the wind cannot be turned on and off when demand fluctuates.

On dark and still nights, gridmonsters lurk in rural fields. Then, when the sun shines or the wind blows, they invade power transmission lines. With government permission, they replace cheaper electricity from hydroelectric power, nuclear, or gas plants. Electricity rates then rise. When the wind dies or when the sun is obscured, the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) routinely fires up recently-added backup natural gas power plants.

Rates routinely rise again.

Whenever we can’t find consumers for this unneeded electricity, we pay solar and wind energy producers to not produce power. Rates rise more!

Gridmonsters keep metastasizing. Ontario is exporting more and more excess green energy to Quebec or Michigan, at a loss of millions more dollars every month.

Rates keep rising.

Amazingly, the Ontario government recently invited proposals for even more subsidized, unneeded and unreliable wind factories and solar farms. …

Read the entire article here.

Wynne government: keeping truth in the dark (or disguised)

WEEKEND READING

 

Randall Denley writes in the Ottawa Citizen about the current ad campaign by Ontario Power Generation (started in advance of the latest increase announcement). Eliminating coal was done in the most expensive way possible, Denley says. But here’s the kick: with wind and solar needing backup by natural gas, Ontario is still producing greenhouse gases (we’ll produce more with wind and solar, Ontario’s engineers say) but it’s done by private companies, so the government’s hands are “clean.” Read the story here.

Community engagement in wind power siting is a myth, says columnist and veteran journalist Peter Epp in the current edition of Ontario Farmer.[Not available online]

Here is the column:

“Unwilling”or not, it’s a go

Peter Epp, for Ontario Farmer

The Ontario government is spouting fiction when it suggests that the renewable energy projects it approves are welcomed within the communities in which they are to be developed.

In the most recent round of approvals [WCO editor’s note: the projects are not “approved” they have contracts, but …] announced in early March, three of the five wind projects were approved for municipalities that have been consistent in their formal rejection of such projects, each of them adopting status as an “unwilling host.”

They include the Town of Lakeshore in Essex County, the Municipality of Dutton Dunwich in Elgin County, and the Municipality of North Stormont in Eastern Ontario. [Editor’s note: the Municipality of Nation also got a contract and is also an unwilling host.]

Yet Ontario Energy Minister Chiarelli continues to pretend that these projects  are welcomed. Earlier this year he said the government has changed the way in which it consults with communities, “and ensures that only the most cost-effective and locally supported projects get built.”

But that can’t be the case when 60 per cent of the most recent round of approved wind projects were awarded to jurisdictions that don’t want them.

Dutton Dunwich on the phone again? Warwick too? Kawartha Lakes? Prince Edward County? Aw geez...
Dutton Dunwich on the phone again? Warwick too? Kawartha Lakes? Prince Edward County? Aw geez…

Chiarelli used the same line on April 5 when his ministry announced it would be launching its next round of wind, solar and other renewable energy contract bids [procurement] this summer. A request for qualifications for 930 megawatts of renewable energy …is to be issued by August 1. The contracts for successful bidders are to be issued no later than May 1, 2018.

“By putting the emphasis on price and community support, the next phase of renewable energy procurement will save customers money by putting further downward pressure on electricity prices,” Chiarelli said in a press release.

Planning for renewable energy is in Toronto, and continues to reside there

This is again fiction. There has never been any emphasis on community support. When the Ontario Green Energy Act was approved in 2009, municipalities were purposely excluded from any participation in the approval process. Planning authority was concentrated in Toronto, and that authority continues to reside there.

The government did give a small concession to local governments three years ago, allowing them to contribute to the planning discussion, while suggesting that municipal support for a renewable energy project would contribute to its approval.

But at no time has the government ceded its real authority.

It still makes the final decision: even if that decision doesn’t have local support.

That Chiarelli would continue in this charade is curious, given the strong opposition that some municipalities continue to provide…Dutton Dunwich even held a referendum on wind farms, in which 84 per cent of its residents cited their opposition.

90 communities opposed–and they’re not going quietly

Like Dutton Dunwich, Warwick Township in Lambton County is one of almost 90 “unwilling hosts” in Ontario, and yet there are nine wind turbines within its boundaries. Its mayor on April 5 said it would continue to remind Chiarelli and his ministry that Warwick doesn’t want any more turbines.

“We were very strong sending that message during the last phase, and we’ll continue…”

 

Editor’s note: Last month North Frontenac passed a resolution demanding that municipal support be a mandatory requirement in the procurement process, not just a means for bidders to get more points and a higher price. Other municipalities are expected to join in.

Weekend reading: energy policy, Ontario, and more

A selection of articles from the week gone by.

When energy policy goes bad, Financial Post, April 7.

Canada can build pipelines and wind turbines to build public confidence: federal Minister of Natural Resources, Financial Post, April 6

Green energy in Germany: green is the new colour of “sleaze” Blog posting [Note we would like to post the original article but the international edition of Der Spiegel did not include it}

Motion for stay in White Pines wind farm granted by ERT

Devastation in Prince Edward County as power developer proceeded with unauthorized construction activity this week[Photo: APPEC]
Devastation in Prince Edward County as power developer proceeded with unauthorized construction activity this week[Photo: APPEC]
April 8, 2016, 5:45 PM

Just a few moments ago, the Environmental Review Tribunal released its decision in the matter of a motion for a stay of construction activities by power developer WPD Canada.

The decision is as follows:

“The Tribunal grants APPEC’s motion for an interim stay of the REA until the resolution of APPEC’s motion for a stay, with reasons to follow.”

The Alliance to Protect Prince Edward County (APPEC) will have a statement soon.

 

 

New federal budget to spend billions on ‘green infrastructure’

money

News media and others are puzzling over the new federal budget this morning, assessing what the proposed expenditures mean.

Of note for those watching how electricity is generated in Canada are statements about “green infrastructure” and actions to curb air pollution and fight climate change.

See a summary of Budget 2016 prepared by The Hill Times, here. SUMMARY FEDERAL BUDGET 2016

Ontario communities banding together to fight new wind power contracts

This is from the wind power industry’s own publication, North American Windpower

NAW Staff, March 8, 2016

Fifty-one Ontario municipalities are endorsing a resolution recently passed by the Township of Wainfleet Council that calls on the government of Ontario to stop awarding feed-in tariff (FIT) contracts for power generation from wind.

The resolution, passed in January, was based on December’s auditor general report that claimed Ontario has a surplus of power generation capacity and, under existing contracts, is paying double what other jurisdictions are paying for wind power, explains the Township of Wainfleet.

Thus, adding more surplus generation capacity would add to the already high costs of disposing of surplus electricity, says the township, which adds that the cost of electricity is a key concern for many Ontario residents.

The Ontario Chamber of Commerce has also reported the impact of high electricity costs on their members’ ability to grow their businesses and create jobs in Ontario. Thus, says Wainfleet, this suggests the need for a full, cost-benefit review of the renewable energy program before committing Ontario electricity users to even more surplus power.

According to Wind Concerns Ontario, the resolution also calls attention to the fact that wind power projects cause damage to the environment by killing wildlife.

April Jeffs, mayor of the Township of Wainfleet, is pleased with the support that her council’s resolution is receiving from across the province: “This quick response from other municipalities to the circulation of the resolution indicates that wind turbines are still front and center as an important issue in rural Ontario,” she says.

According to the township, Jeffs reports that at least one of the two projects in the area is the cause of citizen reports of deteriorating health. She is particularly concerned about the second project currently under development in her area – which involves 77 3.0-MW turbines in Wainfleet, West Lincoln and eastern Haldimand County.

The township says the more powerful turbines are located in areas with a sizeable residential population with an estimated 2,000 households living within 2 kilometers of the towers. The project will operate under one of the older, expensive FIT contracts criticized by the auditor general; the Wainfleet resolution asks the government to review options under the contract to cancel the project.

Now that coal-fired power plants have closed, says Wainfleet, the government should have met its carbon-reduction goals for the electrical power system in Ontario – which is now largely based on carbon-free hydroelectricity and nuclear power. This gives the province an opportunity to assess renewable generation alternatives that have less impact on the host communities, according to the township.

In addition, clauses in the 2015 RFP documents issued by the Independent Electricity System Operator do not commit the government to issue any wind contracts, so the government is protected against lawsuits from the bidders should it change course at this time, Wainfleet adds.

“Wind power is produced out of phase with demand in Ontario,” says Jane Wilson, president of Wind Concerns Ontario. “According to the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers, that can mean more greenhouse gas emissions, not less, because of the need for backup by natural gas power plants. Everyone wants to help the environment, but utility-scale wind power is not the answer.”

Brandy Giannetta, the Canadian Wind Energy Association’s (CanWEA) regional director for Ontario, calls the resolution a “political statement at the municipal level.”

Although it’s “unfortunate that it’s out there,” Giannetta tells NAW, she notes the importance of the province’s Large Renewable Procurement (LRP) process in showing the cost-competitiveness of wind power. The process calls for the procurement of utility-scale renewables projects; specifically, the LRP I requested up to 300 MW of wind.

The LRP, led by the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), aims to “strike a balance between early community engagement and achieving value for ratepayers,” according to the IESO. Giannetta says the LRP contracts will be awarded as soon as this week.

In March 2015, when the first request for proposals under the LRP was issued, Robert Hornung, president of CanWEA, said, “An important part of the RFP process will be early and meaningful community engagement. Effective community engagement is fundamental to the success of wind energy projects, and the wind industry values the right of individuals to have an important role in discussions about developments in their community.”

A full list of the municipalities supporting the resolution can be found here.

…

EDITOR’S NOTE: As of this writing the number of municipalities is now 59. See the list here.

Ontario municipalities call for no new wind power contracts

Wind Concerns Ontario, the coalition of community groups and individuals concerned about the impact of utility-scale wind power projects on Ontario’s economy and environment, and on human health, has issued a statement of support for the 50+ municipalities endorsing the Wainfleet Resolution, which calls on the Wynne government to not issue wind power contracts for the 2015 bid process, as planned.

The Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) plans to announce successful bids for 300 megawatts of new wind power generation soon. Ontario’s Auditor General pointed out in the recent report that Ontario pays double for wind power compared to other jurisdictions, and that a surplus of power means losses as the power is sold off cheap. The report also expressed concerns about environmental impacts, such as the effect on migratory birds, and the need for fossil-fuel generation back-up because power from wind is produced intermittently.

“Everyone wants to do what they can for the environment,” says Wind Concerns Ontario president Jane Wilson, “but with all the negative impacts, utility-scale wind power is not the answer.”

See the news release at Canada Newswire  March 7, 2016