Posts Tagged ‘CanWEA’
Perth-Wellington Has a Message for John Wilkinson – Sayonara!
I’m writing this from the front seat of our vehicle as the ‘Winds of Change Tour’ barrels down the highway from Stratford, en route to Searchmont for tomorrow’s rally with folks in Algoma-Manitoulin.
It has been an amazing two days in Perth-Wellington! Seeing so many supporters of the local Wind Concerns Ontario groups come out to send a message to John Wilkinson, followed by a canvas for his PC opponent Randy Pettapiece was a real treat. We had a great turn out in Stratford, turn out was much closer t0 300, not the 150 estimated by media. We’ve seen chronic under-reporting of crowd sizes, but based on the number of signs that we went through and signatures on petitions it is clear what it was.
CanWEA and OSEA sent their funded ‘Friends of Wind’ supporters – all four of them – hundreds of kilometres from Kincardine to try to stir it up, but once again it didn’t work. It’s a sad statement when the industry has to pay people to support their position, and even then can only find someone who also has a lease with a wind developer to do it.
We covered a lot of ground today in Stratford during the canvas, and it was a pleasure to meet and speak to so many people last night in the parking lot at Wilkinson’s office as we unveiled a ‘final eviction notice’ for him. The coward chose not to come, but did have his paid staff lurking from the otherside of the parking lot.
His bizarre and shameful press conference at the Stratford Hospital earlier in the day failed to turn the media message and further re-enforced how unqualified and unable Wilkinson is of the tasks assigned to him as Minister of the Environment.
I look forward to coming back again soon for future canvasses and rallys. Wind Concerns Ontario will be working very hard with our local supporters ot unseat Wilkinson especially.
No Comments »Is the Air Out of the Industrial Wind Lobby Sails in Ontario?
The announcement that the Ontario Liberal Government recognized the merits of the position Wind Concerns Ontario and its member groups from Lake Superior to Lake Ontario, on Lake Huron, the Georgian Bay, Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair had been advancing is good news. It vindicated our arguments and recognized the flaws in the government position.
By agreeing with our position, the government recognized all these ‘wind welfare’ special interests and industry representatives the government either funds or that receive money from special interests tied to the wind industry, just aren’t credible and can’t be relied on for reasonable, responsible advice. Simply put, the Government of Ontario acknowledged by backing down that all of those who irresponsibly convinced them they didn’t need to do science in the first place were wrong and not credible for setting policy going forward.
Is it any wonder then that groups like Environmental Defence found out about the announcement from a reporter – not the government? Frankly, if I were the Minister of Energy and had been receiving such bad, self interested, incomplete advice from an orgy of special interests who came together to become the “Green Energy Act Alliance” I wouldn’t want to talk to them either as I cleaned up their mess.
The fight on land continues and will be won there as well, because these same special interests who were anti science, anti democracy and pro corporate welfare offshore hold the same views on land and offered even worse bad advice there. We will continue to fight for those who are being harmed on land, to restore local democracy and end the bizarre notions put out by pro industrial wind special interests.
Wind energy isn’t green, it isn’t reliable and it shouldn’t be considered a genuine form of power production because it can’t stand on its own and virtually every form of power production in the grid today besides wind and large scale solar can and don’t need subsidies to do it.
Electric generation from wind dates back to 1887 and scientists have been saying since 1865, that wind is an admirable form of energy production and favourable to coal, but the matter of storage (reliability) needs to be sorted out if it is to be a viable alternative. This is a problem that has been worked on and studied for the last one hundred and forty years with no meaningful improvement. Instead, the game plan is to pay for the power even when we don’t need it at multiples of what it’s worth, to back up 100% of wind energy’s capacity with fossil fuels to make up for the dips and surges and build them dangerously close to people because it’s convenient. The jobs arguments are just lies. The economic impact of wind energy is absolutely negative because of the harm it does to real, private sector, unsubsidized honest work.
In short, instead of becoming a viable form of energy production, industrial wind is an expensive PR statement government’s make, that has nothing to do with generating clean energy – because wind turbines can’t on their own without fossil fuels burning in the background. The negative effects on people, the environment and economy are unconscionable and cannot be allowed to stand.
Those who push industrial wind can’t honestly claim they care about the environment. They support fossil fuel expansion, oppose environmental assessments, local democracy and refuse independent science on the impacts and benefits of the technology. They are mere puppets for someone’s profit – incidentally those who often fund their misinformation campaigns.
This has become a losing battle for the industrial wind industry and its special interest groups. It’s a battle we need to continue to fight, if our province is to have a bright future and citizens, not special interests and corporate welfare seekers are to control the destiny of our province.
1 Comment »Your Ottawa Region: Wind turbine info session draws concerned residents
Your Ottawa Region: Wind turbine info session draws concerned residents
Wind Turbine discussion. Theresa Clemen of North Gower and Laforet of Scarborough distribute “No Turbines” buttons during the Jan. 23 turbine information meeting at the Alfred Taylor Centre in North Gower which was filled to capacity. Laforet spoke about the effects the Green Energy Act is having on Ontarians. He is the president of the Wind Concerns Ontario. LJ Matheson
By LJ Matheson
Three Ottawa-area communities concerned about proposals for industrial scale wind turbine developments held a public meeting on Sunday Jan. 23 at the Alfred Taylor Centre in North Gower.
About 150 people were in attendance at the centre where they heard personal stories from three people whose lives have been changed by turbine projects in their areas.
The North Gower Wind Action Group, the South Branch Wind Opposition Group, and the Beckwith Responsible Wind Action Group hosted the event.
“It’s a way for us to get information out to people so they can make informed decisions about wind turbines,” said Jane Wilson of the North Gower Wind Action Group.
Posters dotted the walls of the community centre, outlining some of the issues residents are concerned about – like health risks of living close to a wind turbine, and how property values will be affected.
Posters to stop the wind turbine projects and buttons declaring “No to Turbines” were also prevalent.
One of the guest speakers was Ian Hanna of Prince Edward County who has launched a lawsuit against the Ontario government and the Green Energy Act.
He says he has travelled extensively throughout Ontario and doesn’t feel any of those communities should be home to a cluster of wind turbines.
“There isn’t a community in Ontario that I want to see destroyed by an enormous industrial disaster,” he said.
Hannah says that the government failed to comply with the Precautionary Principle, as it is required to do, when it established the Green Energy Act regulations.
The Precautionary Principle requires that, in situations where there is scientific uncertainty about environmental or human health effects of a proposed action, the proponent should not proceed until the uncertainty is satisfactorily resolved.
“If there is a health risk to people, animals or the environment, then there is cause for further study,” he said.
“We need to try and stop things (the progress of wind turbine projects) until we can find out what those health risks are.”
Hannah said he will continue with his efforts, regardless of the court’s decision.
Wolfe Island resident Janet White was one of a few people who were against the wind turbines in her area.
The passionate advocate and stay-at-home mother and wife said she and her family were hounded for 10 years to lease part of their heritage property to Canadian Hydro.
“They didn’t understand when we said ‘no’ we meant ‘no’,” she said. “What they offer (in terms of rental fees) and what we receive… there is no comparison. They spent billions on our island and there is not one millionaire.”
White urged those in attendance to not sell out and to learn the health risks above all else.
She spoke about a time when her children were outside when the turbines were running.
“Within 15 minutes, both their noses exploded with blood,” she said.
“It makes you wonder, but can I prove it… I’m just a housewife and no Kingston lawyer will take on the case. They don’t want anything to do with it… I have to go to Toronto to find a lawyer.”
The third speaker was John Laforet, president of Wind Concerns Ontario, a coalition of more than 50 community groups.
Laforet spoke about the effects of the removal of local democratic powers under the Green Energy Act, and what Ontario’s energy plan is doing to electricity bills.
“We are having an impact,” he said. “Projects are being slowed down. But we have to wake up the government… they need to get real and listen.”
“The province and industry say these industrial machines don’t make noise, but they do,” noted Wilson.
“They say property values won’t decline, but we know from other places in Ontario that they can. Worst of all, we’re told there will not be health effects from the constant noise and vibration, yet we’re learning that people all over Ontario are getting sick and some are having to leave their homes. We want the truth. ”
Gary Thomas of North Gower says he’s feels more information is needed before decisions should be made. His home will be close to about three proposed turbines.
“There should be proper health studies done,” he said. “Delay the projects for a year and implement the precautionary measure… if it’s delayed a year, then the health studies can be done.”
Another North Gower resident Stephen Nourse says he’s been at public meetings since the proposed projects started two years ago.
He says these turbines “have a habit of mushrooming” and he wants to know why they can’t be located farther away from homes.
“Why do they have to be practically on top of homes?” he asked. Each of the three communities is facing an industrial wind turbine project with as many as 10, 190-meter or 60-storey tall turbine towers.
Wilson added that more than 70 municipalities in Ontario are demanding that the province halt wind turbine development, and return planning powers to communities for renewable energy projects so they can protect their citizens.
No Comments »Orangeville Citizen: Wind turbine fight looking more like war
Orangeville Citizen: Wind turbine fight looking more like war
(Note: Mr. Keller states that WCO had held a symposium of its own. WCO did not organize the recent Health Symposium. It was sponsored by The Society for Wind Vigilance which is an international federation of physicians, engineers and other professionals promoting the development of authoritative wind turbine guidelines to protect the health and safety of communities. WCO is a separate organization.)
By WES KELLER Freelance Reporter
A second public information meeting on the proposed Whittington wind project is set for the Amaranth Township hall at Laurel next Tuesday, Jan. 25, from 5:30 to 8 p.m., apparently at the behest of township council, as the first meeting, on Oct. 12, 2010, was held outside the township.
This second meeting comes at a time when Wind Concerns Ontario (WCO) has posted numerous letters and news items on its website, indicated widespread opposition to the Green Energy Act generally and to wind turbines particularly.
It also comes at a time when the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) is about to release its recently completed Best Practises guidelines for member proponents, and follows an expert panel review of published, peer-reviewed studies of turbine effects on humans.
Whereas the panel found no physiological effects from the proximity to industrial wind farms, WCO had held a symposium of its own in which its chosen experts had found the opposite.
On the studies of effects, WCO members largely dismissed the panel’s findings on the bases that the panel has been funded by the Canadian and American wind associations, and that the panel had not interviewed persons claiming adverse effects from the turbines.
Best Practises – which advocates “consultation” with proposed host communities rather than simply presentations of information – is a document that WCO president John Laforet says should have come sooner, and CanWEA should take some control over its members.
Mr. Laforet is quoted in a news release as saying John Andrews, the president of IPC Energy, had referred to WCO as “a group of terrorists.”
“As a member of (CanWEA), John Andrews should be held to some standard by the industrial wind lobby, which represents his interests on his behalf.
“This violent rhetoric damages the image of the industry as a whole,” Mr. Laforet said.
Locally, the opposition to wind farms is specifically related to a proposed 6.9 megawatt, three-turbine installation north of 15 Sideroad and between the Mono-Amaranth townline and the Amaranth Second Line, but Dufferin County Council appears to have reached a consensus in opposition to the Green Energy Act and wind turbines.
At the council last Thursday, past warden Allen Taylor reported from a recent wardens’ meeting that provincial representatives had indicated at the meeting that there would be no backing down from Ontario’s stance on the Act.
Mr. Taylor quoted the official as holding the opinion that Ontario regulations are not only appropriate but are the most stringent in the world.
Melancthon Mayor Bill Hill pointed out that the setbacks mandated by the Act will be challenged in a Prince Edward County court.
As well, approval of a wind farm in Chatham- Kent goes before the Environmental Review Tribunal next month.
Amaranth Mayor Don MacIver said one house near the turbines vibrates so badly it has become uninhabitable.
“The reality is people are suffering,” he said. He did not specify the location of the house.
East Luther Grand Valley Mayor John Oosterhof, referring to the Assessment Review Board’s 50% reduction of Paul Thompson’s assessment because of the nearby transformers, said the wind farms make “no economic sense. The township loses. Everyone loses,” he said.
If the opposition were to win its overall case against turbines, one has to wonder what happens with respect to the provincial deal with Samsung of Korea.
That aside, some politicians are predicting the downfall of the Dalton McGuinty government over the imposition of the Green Energy Act.
No Comments »Welland Tribune: Meeting critical of wind turbines
Meeting critical of wind turbines
Local News
By ALLAN BENNER/Tribune Staff
WAINFLEET — If huge industrial wind turbines are really as safe as the companies building them say they are, John LaForet wonders why those same companies are so averse to the idea of independent scientific studies to support those claims.
The solution to the issue is pretty simple, said LaForet, who is president of provincial lobby group Wind Concerns Ontario. He said if the wind generation industry “doesn’t want to believe what we’re saying, let’s agree to disagree and have an independent third-party study” to prove once and for all whether the 400-foot-tall wind turbines popping up across Ontario have adverse effects on health.
His group asked wind industry representatives if they would agree to such a study.
“They refused. Independent science, apparently, is a problem,” he said.
“Just do the science, prove us wrong.”
LaForet said his group is asking for a moratorium on further wind turbine installations until that research is done.
LaForet was in Wainfleet on Saturday morning to discuss plans by various companies to build industrial wind turbines in the township, including two on Station Rd., three more on Brawn Rd. and several others throughout the community.
LaForet said his group is asking for a moratorium on further wind turbine installations until that research is done.
LaForet was in Wainfleet on Saturday morning to discuss plans by various companies to build industrial wind turbines in the township, including two on Station Rd., three more on Brawn Rd. and several others throughout the community.
Close to 200 people made their way through a snowstorm to spend about three hours discussing concerns during a meeting organized by Mike and Tara Pitt, owners of Skydive Burnaby.
Cam Pritchard and Neil Switzer from the West Lincoln Wind Action Group, an organization fighting plans to install industrial wind turbines in that Niagara community, were also at the meeting, along with members of Wainfleet Township council, Welland MPP Peter Kormos and the riding’s member of Parliament, Malcolm Allen.
Two wind turbines are proposed for Station Rd. by Wainfleet Wind Energy Inc., a partnership between IPC Energy Inc. and Loeffen Farms Ltd., a few kilo-metres west of Skydive Burnaby.
The Pitts said if those two wind turbines are built, it will mean the end of their business and a drop zone for parachuting that has been in use for more than 50 years. Tara Pitt said the skydivers that use their facility usually jump from planes on the far side of Station Rd., and the wind blows them back to Skydive Burnaby as they descend.
If the wind turbines are built, those Skydive Burnaby jumpers would be expected to descend over a 122-metre-tall wind turbine, rotating at speeds up to 200 km/h, and that “is of grave concern” to Tara Pitt.
“Not only are (the skydivers) our customers, but they’re tourists who come here and they’re our friends.”
She said she finds it “appalling” that the company representatives said they’ve listened to concerns raised by the business, “and we feel you are a non-issue.”
“As a community, I think we need to come together and support one another to figure this out,” she said. “There has to be a solution that we can all live with.”
Meanwhile, LaForet said the provincial Green Energy Act has taken away the abilities of municipalities to control where the wind turbines will be located, and that is having a devastating impact on residents as well as businesses across Ontario, such as Skydive Burnaby.
In addition to IPC, St. Catharines-based Rankin Construction has also applied for permission to build wind farms in Wainfleet over the past few years.
Jordan Beekhuis from Rankin attended the meeting in the hope of discussing the issue from the developer’s perspective. He said he visited Spain to talk with people about the wind turbines that were added in their communities.
He said people in Spain had no complaints, adding that they told him they suffered no ill-health as a result of the structures.
“Obviously, I disagree with a lot of the conclusions that (Wind Concerns Ontario) have come to. I think renewable energy is important from an environmental perspective,” he said.
Beekhuis was concerned that no one from the wind-energy industry was invited to speak at the meeting.
“I’m a little distressed that it’s as one-sided as it is at this meeting,” he said.
LaForet told him the meeting was being held to allow residents to discuss their concerns about industrial wind turbines.
“The reason we have to hold these on the weekends is to counter the spin of your industry’s lobby. Even if your company is an honorable wind developer, you’re in a very messy industry. I don’t think this is going to be the right venue for you … ” LaForet said before the rest of his comments were drowned out by applause.
LaForet read an e-mail sent to him from IPC president John Andrews in response to information posted on the Wind Concerns Ontario website.
“The e-mail reads, ‘I’m tired of your organization misleading the public with propaganda that has no relation to reality. This latest drivel about $4,000 a year electricity bills is just one more demonstration of the real agenda of your organization. If you really think that the government is lying about the benefits of the Green Energy Act, do you think telling another lie is the best way to deal with this? Unfortunately, reading your presentation is 10 minutes of my life I will never get back. However, it just confirms that you are an uneducated bunch of self-indulgent bullies.”
LaForet read a second e-mail Andrews sent to the Pitts when he learned about their plans for the meeting Saturday.
“If we can resolve this issue and cancel this meeting then it should be possible to mend the relationship between the Loeffens and Mr. Pitt. If the meeting is to go ahead, however, then we can only advise the Loeffens to continue with this project as planned,” LaForet read.
“In other words, if the community is brought in … if local democracy is attempted, local democracy is off the table,” LaForet said.
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