[Photo: Drew Nash/AP]
Hundreds gather in the U.S. to protest huge ‘desecration’
April 13. 2023
A wind “farm” proposed in Idaho was the subject of a protest by hundreds of citizens, according to news reports. According to Big Rapids News,
“…the wind farm would be the second-largest in the U.S., producing up to 1,000 megawatts and doubling the amount of wind energy produced in Idaho.
“But the plan has drawn widespread opposition from government leaders, local ranchers and people who say the project endangers the Minidoka National Historic Site, which commemorates the thousands of people with Japanese ancestry who were ordered by the U.S. government into prison camps around the country starting in 1942.”
Citizens complained not only of the impact the power project would have on the environment and landscape, they said they had been virtually left out of the planning process:
“They come here because they thought we were a bunch of dumb hillbillies,” [citizen]Looper said. “They were going to slide it through … and they were going to walk out of here rich.”
Others at the rally talked about the impact the turbines might have on wildlife — the draft impact statement estimates 10,000 bird fatalities each year — and said minority groups had been left out of the planning process.
According to energy commentator and author Robert Bryce, now 500 communities have either restricted or outright rejected wind and solar power projects across the United States.
Source: RobertBryce.com
The Independent Electricity System Operator or IESO in Ontario recently closed a Request For Proposals in February, none of which appear to have been for new wind power.
Another RFP is scheduled for later in the year.
“And we’re ready,” says Wind Concerns Ontario president Jane Wilson. “We know a lot more about wind power now than we did in the McGuinty-Wynne government years. We know now that wind power is a weather-dependent, out of phase with demand, land-gobbling, lower power density source of power generation. Ontario can do better to maintain and grow its mostly emissions-free grid.”
“We will fight against the industrialization of our rural communities for an inefficient power source.”
contact@windconcernsontario.ca
4 Comments
Richard Ganton
Jane Wilson is completely in error. The peak of Solar Power is about 3 hours out of Synch from the peak demand but this can be fixed through storage. Wind can run 24 hours and often does. Yes the wind dies down but Wind is the cheapest energy source around. It doesn’t take up much land because the land around it can still be farmed. The opposition to wind power is just NIMBYism at its most selfish. There is only 40 years of petroleum left at our current consumption levels. There is only 67 years of Natural Gas left at our current consumption levels. We have to change now because of climate change or we will be forced to change later by reality. But I guess that’s not your problem is it. Leave it to your grandchildren to figure out how to deal with the economic cataclysm.
admin
Thank you for the comment. Not sure why you focus on solar when it did not feature anywhere in the comments and indeed is not our focus. With all due respect, many of your “facts” are incorrect: wind is NOT the cheapest source of power if you factor everything in. Sure, turbines are cheap to whack up on the landscape and are a political “feel good” solution, but wind is intermittent, weather-dependent, and very impactful on the environment. A cost-benefit study of wind power (which is never done for obvious reasons) would never result in selection of wind over technology like nuclear. As to the claims that there is only “40 years” left of petroleum, again, this is not our focus but about 6 seconds on the Internet results in a summary from the Canadian Energy Centre, which proves you wrong. Read it here: https://www.canadianenergycentre.ca/worldwide-oil-reserves-and-investments-key-facts/
As to the comment “opposition to wind power is just NIMBYISM”, anyone who uses the term NIMBY is uninformed and insulting. There are many important reasons to choose other sources of power generation, not least of which is the impact on people who are forced to live near these industrial power complexes.
You may wish to scroll back and see the presentation by Dr Chris Keefer on the “Just Transition” and hear his comments on wind power…just 5 minutes of your time.
You may also wish to read this recent summary of the Ontario challenge by the Power Workers Union: note that they talk about the need for work on the grid as a whole, to improve reliability and stability of supply. To the contrary, wind and solar destabilize the grid. That cannot be “solved” by battery energy storage. Read the summary here: https://www.pwu.ca/submissions/submission-on-nrcan-grid-modernization/
In summary, we refer you as well to eminent professor Vaclav Smil who cautions that energy transition will take a long time to be successful. His book Power Density is very instructive.
The reason terms like “catastrophe” or as you put it, “cataclysm” are used is because the business forces at work here want to push fast, easy solutions that get them the most money. They don’t want us to take the time to make the right decisions, based on full independent analysis. Evidently they have caught you up in their giant multi-million-dollar PR scheme.
Happy to engage further, but without the insults, please.
Mike Jankiwski
Regarding your comment “The opposition to wind power is just NIMBYism at its most selfish.”, having experienced one type of issue in my home, as did 3 others in my family and 3 of my neighbours, I respectfully submit that you do neither possess the perspective nor the information to be making statements in attempts to represent our experiences.
Further, I have no kind words for those who seek to trivialize what I endured and the consequences of being left alone to fend for myself and young family.
Have you measured Infrasound in a community where these operate? Have you employed any diagnostic criteria in seeing a patient displaying a potential negative health response while being exposed to wind turbine Infrasound? You probably don’t know that NASA released a study on Wind Turbines which stated “In order to determine if people will response with a negative health reaction from exposure to wind turbine Infrasound, (Note: they are not ASJING if it is possible) the following variables need to be considered; the structural rigidity if the materials used to construct the home, the size and shape of the rooms and the individuals themselves. (None of the preceding are included it considered in any “protections”.)
The truth is: you know few of the questions, yet believe you have all the answers. You would probably do better for yourself to ask questions here rather than make statements
Truly I tell you, those whose only view of science is through the rear view mirror are in possession of evidence that they possess the least scientific minds.
Susan
Wind power is totally dependent on fossil fuels at every stage, and would cause them to be used up sooner. It is also horribly destructive to ecosystems and life around it. Get the facts.