Reaction to Ontario’s Deal with Samsung
Ontario’s deal with Samsung is unprecedented and has even those in support of building industrial turbines in Ontario taken aback. The fact that a Cabinet Minister entered talks with a foreign corporation and negotiated a $6 billion dollar deal with unheard of exceptions and preferential treatment should have all Ontarians concerned. Even Cabinet is split. Samsung’s deal will see grid capacity held for them in two counties where they want to install turbines, preventing other projects. Samsung will be allowed to construct a 100 MWs of solar panels over prime farmland, where all others are not allowed to by law.
Samsung has been allowed to cherry pick where they would place industrial turbines. Local municipalities and citizens with valid concerns have been shut out, because Ontario’s Green Energy Act strips municipalities of their right to participate in planning decisions for renewable energy projects, and prevents citizens from playing a meaningful role as well.
Ontario electricity users will pay Samsung even more than the current subsidized rates given to other wind or solar producers, meaning this project make even less economic sense than the others. The increased cost of electricity will hurt working families and chase even more manufacturing jobs from Ontario to other, more competitive jurisdictions.The 4,000 jobs being proposed doesn’t even come close to replacing the 350,000 manufacturing jobs lost in Ontario since 2003 or the others we can expect to lose when consumers start paying for this.
Over 100 Ontarians report adverse health impacts from improperly placed industrial wind turbines. The Government is in court where they trying to defend their decision to refuse to conduct an independent health study on the impacts of these industrial devices or regulate internationally recognized setbacks for turbines from people, making this deal even more inappropriate.
This isn’t about climate change. Even the President of the Canadian Wind Energy Association recognizes that because just 12% of carbon emissions in Ontario come from energy production, turbines can’t play a significant in addressing climate change.
Wind Concerns Ontario, a coalition of 42 groups in 27 counties, will not make this easy for Samsung. We have members in the counties put aside for Samsung, and residents in 25 other counties who are prepared to stand up and fight to ensure Samsung isn’t the latest to build a profit driven project, that ignores the legitimate negative health, environmental and economic impacts they cause.
John Laforet is President of Wind Concerns Ontario, a coalition of 42 groups in 27 counties standing up to irresponsible industrial wind turbine developments facing their communities. For more information on Wind Concerns Ontario please visit http://www.windconcernsontario.org
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Tags: Green Energy Act, Green Energy Samsung Deal, Ontario Samsung Deal, Samsung, Wind Concerns Ontario
