“Propaganda with a falsehood in every paragraph”
Energy analyst Steve Aplin takes aim at an Op-Ed piece published recently in the Toronto Star, on his website Canadian Energy Issues.
The Star article, which contained a hilarious error right in the headline, was written by Bruce Lourie, whose connections throughout the Liberal Party of Ontario and the renewables industry are legendary.
“The body of the op-ed constitutes about the worst litany of error-laden BS I have come across in my forays through the Ontario electricity file,” Aplin writes. “It was written by Bruce Lourie, a former director of the Ontario Power Authority and Independent Electricity System Operator, and most importantly, drafter of the Ontario Green Energy Act.”
“It is rare to encounter propaganda that contains a falsehood in just about every paragraph. The Lourie op-ed contains twelve paragraphs. Each one contains at least a minor falsehood, and at least seven contain major ones.”
Aplin also directs readers to a 2012 article on Mr Lourie and his connections written by Parker Gallant, and an analysis by Scott Luft of some of Mr Lourie’s statements.
“We can make electricity cheap again,” Aplin says, “by cancelling the contracts Bruce Lourie got us into.”
27 Comments
Tracy
No doubt in my mind the lies are deliberate and are intended to cover the Liberals.
This guy should be embarrassed to spew such a load of BS, but is not. “Loser” and “ass” comes to mind.
To deliberately mislead as such, is this legal?
winds got to go
Please go to batcon.org Latest news seeking answers in the wind . Conservative figure at 128,000 hoary bats killed by turbines.threatening the survival of these bat in Canada and USA . Get ready to fork out more tax dollars for them to sit Idol During migration !!
Maks Zupan
I have not been subjected to such cynical, deliberately misleading lies since my youth under the communist system. Hi time to impeach the individuals who have caused so much harm to the people of Ontario.
They have disregarded the opinion from the professional engineers and other critical thinkers and chose to serve to the public only the propaganda lies from the wind industry.
I am not sure my previous comment was processed so I repeat: As a professional power engineer I sent two reports on the “efficiency” of wind turbines to Ms Wynne -understandable to the average person – and never received an answer. Obtainable from the web as : “Letter to Miss Kathleen Wynne : 11 reasons for Ontario to end its wind turbine program ” and “Wind, solar have had chance” by Maks Zupan.
Sommer
Please take this information very seriously:
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2017/02/25/richard-lindzen-petition-to-president-trump-withdraw-from-the-un-convention-on-climate-change/
It truly is time to put an end to all of this.
Barbara
Poyry’s Global Pellet Market Report, 2015
Black & white pellets can and are being used by OPG for green electricity generation in Northwestern Ontario.
Biomass/wood pellets market development & expansion depends on government political decisions to support or not to support this industry.
Black wood pellets are used as a substitute for coal. Thunder Bay GS uses black pellets.
http://www.poyry.com/sites/default/files/poyry_pellet_report_2015_flyer.pdf
Poyry’s has an Ontario office in the GTA.
Barbara
the NORWEGIAN american, Feb.7, 2017
‘From coal to biocoal’
Re: Arbaflame & Thunder Bay GS
ENOVA granted NOK 128 million to the production plant at Follum, Norway. ENOVA is a public enterprise owned by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy Norway.
Read at:
http://norwegianamerican.com/business/from-coal-to-biocoal
Barbara
Poyry, Jan.15, 2014
‘Is Biocoal a bioenergy game changer?’
“Biocoal introduces a new class of sustainable, biomass fuel for global power and heat generation”
Link: read the full report.
http://www.poyry.com/news/articles/biocoal-bioenergy-game-changer
Barbara
The development of the Biocoal industry depends on being able to obtain financing and long-term contracts to sell this product.
Jjoe
Headlines are usually written by someone else not the person who wrote the article. So any mistake there is probably someone else’s. I am in favour of stopping all wind and solar projects that have not yet been approved. However, cancelling contracts will only lead to lawsuits and major costs to the taxpayers of Ontario.
Sommer
How would you suggest to protect all of the people who are being harmed by turbines that were sited too close to their homes and are still running?
Jjoe
Firstly, we need good unbiased research. Then we have to locate which wind turbines are too close. Then, I suggest, we buy those out and tear them down. It won’t be cheap.
Sommer
Are you familiar with this information? People who have noticed/are noticing changes in their health since turbines were turned on in their neighbourhoods can go to this information and learn what is causing their symptoms.
Sommer
For some reason this link to the Waubra Foundation did not appear. Here it is again.
http://waubrafoundation.org.au/health/symptoms/
Jjoe
If the windfarms are compliant with the regs then they are legal. Unbiased measurements need to be taken. Unbiased health studies need to be taken. The defensible actions can be taken. Shutting down turbines/windfarms without rock solid will create lawsuits we, the taxpayers, will lose.
Barbara
Pick the low hanging fruit first!
Rural101
Jjoe. First of all virtually all wind turbine are too close to someone’s home since almost all of these projects are sited in rural residential areas. And you can’t just start tearing the ‘too close’ individual turbines down and have a viable functioning project left. Your suggestion is impracticable. Secondly contracts can be cancelled by a change in legislation (not as a directive as McGunity did, thereby creating a $1B buy-out, in order to save his Liberal seats.)
On March 14 2014, WCO issued this statement:
ENERGY MINISTER CAN CANCEL WIND POWER CONTRACTS
Despite statements made to the media by Ontario Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli that it would be “illegal” to cancel Feed In Tariff contracts with wind power developers, court documents show that the opposite is true, Wind Concerns Ontario states in a letter to the Minister today.
“The decision in Trillium vs. Ontario, 2013, clearly states that governments are free to alter policies in the public interest,” says Jane Wilson, WCO president. “As well, a legal opinion from Osler Hoskins Harcourt advises that companies in the renewable power business participate in government subsidy programs ‘at their own risk.’ (if the following link doesn’t work, then just Search on this site under the name of the law firm and you will find the WCO release.)
http://www.windconcernsontario.ca/the-energy-minister-can-cancel-fit-agreements-he-just-doesnt-want-to/
Jjoe
That’s why an unbiased study about the health impact of turbines is needed. If not, every turbine will be declared a health hazard by someone. Contracts can be cancelled. Outright cancellation would bring court and NAFTA action. Potential billions in damages. Buyouts, again, potential billions. Windfarms would expect to be compensated for future earnings. The windfarm case near Wolfe Island highlighted the risks. NAFTA ruling found in favour of the wind farm promoters. Gas plant cancellation was the preferred option of all three main political parties. Again NAFTA would over rule any provincial law.
whooper
Many turbines could likely be turned off without compensation to the wind companies simply based on noncompliance with their existing REA …IF the government was willing to actually test and enforced a maximum 40 dBA noise limit.
Jjoe
The proof would be in the lawsuits after. Judges may not agree. Or again, straight to NAFTA.
whooper
Even with the sliding scale with inc. wind speed, many turbines are out of compliance, especially if the MOECC applied the 5 dBA tonal penalty to those turbines that produce a sickening tonal “wooooooooooo” along with the whomping and swooshing. It appears the MOECC gives the wind industry a “free pass” for noncompliance whenever the wind is “gusty”, or one hour prior to and one hour after precipitation events and during precipitation events and whenever it is over 90% humidity etc. etc. To make matters worse, the MOECC equipment will not work below 0 C. The original MOECC wind turbine compliance protocol was written by a firm called “Aercoustics” – which works for the wind industry. Go figure!
Jjoe
It looks like the noise limit is on a sliding scale. It can go up to 51dbA. See section 5.1
https://www.ontario.ca/page/noise-guidelines-wind-farms#section-4
whooper
Tonal analysis conducted by Bill Palmer of a recording taken today Feb. 28, 2017 in the K2 Wind project:
“We see the usual (for K2) tonal spike around 450 Hz. A quick (uncalibrated) analysis by Audacity shows the spike at 450 Hz is 14 dB higher than the sound surrounding it. The fact that it is uncalibrated means that the exact values are not necessarily correct, but the 14 dB difference IS correct as calibration would only result in adjusting both values up or down, while the difference would be unchanged.
The Ministry of Environmental publication NPC-104 requires a 5 dB penalty if a sound is tonal or cyclic.
4. Adjustment for Special Quality of Sound
(1) Tonality
If a sound has a pronounced audible tonal quality such as a whine, screech, buzz, or hum
then the observed value shall be increased b y 5.
(2) Cyclic Variations
If a sound has an audible cyclic variation in sound level such as beating or other amplitude
modulation then the observed value shall be increased by 5.
A Sound that is 14 dB above the surroundings is certainly a pronounced tonal quality.
The compliance protocol notes:
“Tonality”
means a pronounced audible tonal quality of the sound such as a whine, screech, buzz
or hum.
In general terms:
A 3dB tone is audible,
A 10 dB tone sounds twice as loud as the surroundings.
A 14 dB tone is even higher, and would clearly meet “a pronounced tonal quality.”
While the MOECC declined to apply the cyclical variation adjustment for wind turbines, they have agreed that tonal characteristics would be considered.
Curiously, the MOE Wind Turbine Compliance Protocol ONLY requires the adjustment if the Manufacturer says the turbine is tonal. In this case, the manufacturer says the turbines are NOT tonal, yet repeatedly monitoring shows the turbines clearly ARE tonal. By my humble assessment, the array is operating outside it’s issued Renewal Energy Approval which was based on statements that the turbines are not tonal.
This is just more ongoing evidence that this array is tonal, and that the adjustment should apply, If a 5 dB penalty was applied to all of the K2 turbines, only homes with a rated sound level below 35 dBA should be permitted by the MOE guidelines. Many homes in K2 are rated at higher than 35 dBA. This would require shutting down some turbines.
Hence, action should be required by MOECC guidelines.”
Barbara
Shell Canada
Partnerships With NGOs
Read at:
http://www.shell.ca/en_ca/sustainability/environment/partnerships.html
Barbara
The WINDPOWER, Updated 10/2016
List of wind farms owned by Shell Wind Energy.
http://www.thewindpower.net/owner_en_337_shell-wind-energy.php
None owned in Canada according to this list.
Barbara
Wind Energy Update, Feb.28, 2017
Click on: ‘PJM grid can handle 35 GW offshore’
Scroll down and read at:
http://www.windenergyupdate.com
Barbara
Science Daily, Feb.17, 2017
Science News
University of Delaware: ‘U.S. grid can handle more offshore wind power, cutting pollution and power costs’
Scroll down to: Archer said: “Wind power is a very good idea — for people’s health and their wallets.”
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/02/170221150743.htm
More links included in this article.
Barbara
Renewables Now, Feb.23, 2017
‘Study shows PJM can handle 35 GW of US offshore wind’
Study by University of Delaware and Princeton University.
“Work on the project started five years ago. It has been supported by the US Department of Energy (DOE).”
https://renewablesnow.com/news/study-shows-pjm-can-handle-35-gw-of-us-offshore-wind-559245
Study appears to be based on wind forecasts.