| Township of Wainfleet “Wainfleet – find your country side!” |
MEDIA RELEASE
Municipalities Call for Ontario to Stop Issuing Wind Turbine Contracts
WAINFLEET – March 4, 2016 – Fifty-one municipalities have endorsed the resolution passed by the Township of Wainfleet Council in late January 2016 that calls on the Ontario government not to award more Feed-In-Tariff contracts for power generation from wind.
The resolution was based on December’s Auditor General Report which reported that Ontario has a surplus of power generation capacity and, under existing contracts, is paying double what other jurisdictions are paying for wind power. Adding more surplus generation capacity would add to the already high costs of disposing of surplus electricity.
The cost of electricity is a key concern for many Ontario residents as it is adding strain to already stretched household budgets. 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. 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.
April Jeffs, Mayor of the Township of Wainfleet, is very 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 centre as an important issue in rural Ontario,” stated Mayor Jeffs.
She reports that at least one of the two projects in the area is the cause of citizen reports of deteriorating health that started when the turbines began operation. She is particularly concerned about the second project currently under development in her area which involves 77, 3.0-megawatt wind turbines being installed in Wainfleet, West Lincoln and eastern Haldimand County. The more powerful turbines are located in areas with a sizeable residential population with an estimated 2,000 households living within 2 kilometres of these turbines. 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, 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.
Clauses in the 2015 RFP documents issued by the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) do not commit the government to issue any wind contracts, so the government is protected against law suits from the bidders should it change course at this time.
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Contact: Mayor April Jeffs (905) 899-3463 ext. 227 ajeffs@wainfleet.ca
Municipalities that have supported the Township of Wainfleet’s resolution calling on the Ontario government not to award more Feed-In-Tariff contracts for power generation from wind:
1. Coleman Township
2. Loyalist Township
3. Municipality of Bluewater
4. Municipality of Brooke-Alvinston
5. Municipality of Charlton and Dack
6. Municipality of Dutton-Dunwich
7. Municipality of Grey Highlands
8. Municipality of Kincardine
9. Municipality of Morris-Turnberry
10. Municipality of North Middlesex
11. Municipality of North Perth
12. Municipality of Northern Bruce Peninsula
13. Municipality of Red Lake
14. Municipality of Tweed
15. Municipality of West Elgin
16. Municipality of West Grey
17. Municipality of West Perth
18. Norfolk County
19. Town of Amherstburg
20. Town of Blue Mountains
21. Town of Bruce Mines
22. Town of Erin
23. Town of Gananoque
24. Town of South Bruce Peninsula
25. Town of Thessalon
26. Township of Alberton
27. Township of Amaranth
28. Township of Armour
29. Township of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh
30. Township of Blandford-Blenheim
31. Township of Calvin
32. Township of Carling
33. Township of Cavan Monaghan
34. Township of Chatsworth
35. Township of Enniskillen
36. Township of Havelock-Belmont-Methuen
37. Township of Howick
38. Township of Huron-Kinloss
39. Township of Ignace
40. Township of La Vallee
41. Township of Macdonald, Meredith and Aberdeen Additional
42. Township of North Frontenac
43. Township of North Kawartha
44. Township of Otonabee-South Monaghan
45. Township of Pelee
46. Township of Perth East
47. Township of Severn
48. Township of South Algonquin
49. Township of Warwick
50. Township of West Lincoln
51. United Counties of Prescott and Russell
8 Comments
Pat Cusack
Note to Parker and the WCO President – if more signatures are needed to go to Wynne, suggest using Change.org
Wind Concerns Ontario
This is a municipal resolution that started with Wainfleet. It has been circulated to all municipalities in Ontario, and is presented at Council meetings either as correspondence or as a motion by a councilor.
It is not a petition, and signatures are not required from the public.
Pat Cusack
My current hydro bill just in, divide total dollars by total KWH and I get 28.33 cents per kwh. Split the bill any way you want the enbd result is the same. Bernie
Sommer
With this much support for this resolution, it is obvious that Municipalities in rural Ontario are waking up to the threats they face.
I hope that compassion for the innocent residents in communities that already have these turbines and who are now dealing with the adverse health and economic impacts will be brought sharply into focus as more and more people speak out on their behalf. Dealing with the stress of having one’s rural home inundated with both noise and infrasound radiation is a cruel and exhausting reality. These people need help now!
David Roy
Have 5 i.w.t. with in 1 km. of our home and have not lived in it for over a year and a half .We need to keep up the fight against any more being built . Also need the companies to pay up for this problem , or our government look after this problem .
Wind Concerns Ontario
Are you dealing with the company through a lawyer? (No details in public, please, just asking)
Bonnie Beier
At the Feb 8/16 Township of McKellar Council meeting – Resolution 16-45 was carried supporting the Township of Wainfleet’s Resolution. Another municipality to add to the list.
Wind Concerns Ontario
Thank you!