Posts Tagged ‘Toronto Hydro Anemometer’
Media Summary of Executive Committee Debate of Wind Moratorium Motion
Below is the print media coverage from yesterday’s debate. Global and CTV news also covered the meeting.
680 News: Councillors try to delay the building of wind turbines off the Scarborough Bluffs
Toronto Star: Wind farm opponents blocked again
Toronto Sun: Wind turbine plan blows in controversy
National Post: Windmills get support from executive committee, despite residents concerns
Daily Metro: Wind farm’s foes frustrated again
My Reflection on the Motion and Outcome:
I questioned why Councillor Ainslie would move a motion to the Executive Committee where he doesn’t have a vote, and after watching his fellow Councillors flip his motion into one endorsing Toronto Hydro’s anemometer and off shore wind power, it was clear — he lacks basic political judgement.
You never move a motion you don’t have the votes for. This wasn’t even close. It got zero votes and resulted in a motion explictly supporting Toronto Hydro. The exact opposite of what the community wanted. It was even worse than nothing. Ainslie couldn’t even speak to the new motion, because he wasn’t a member of the committee he moved his motion to. It couldn’t have been more poorly planned.
Ainslie voted for Toronto Hydro’s offshore wind testing (the Anemometer) and wind turbine proposal in December 2009 – as did every other member of the committee his doomed motion was moved to. Again – the judgement of his apporach needs to be questioned.
It isn’t lost on me that he’s had a change of heart since I’ve filed to run against him and literally took the exact wording of a motion that a Wind Concerns group passed at their Council in March.
The City owns this project though and if we had a competent Councillor they could stop this project at the Council level, not fail in an attempt to go to the Province with a request that wouldn’t even impact Toronto Hydro.
Based on Ainslie’s motion, residents were trying to get Council to ask the Province for a moratorium the Minister had already refused to accept, even if the motion passed. It was symbolic at best, which makes no sense because this Council can act to stop Toronto Hydro.
The motion should have been calling on Toronto Council to stop Toronto Hydro and prevent them from exploring offshore wind projects off the Scarborough Bluffs in the future or anything else related to the fact that the City of Toronto, not the Province of Ontario owns and controls what Toronto Hydro does.
That being said, as President of Wind Concerns Ontario, I did speak in favour of the motion as I was supportive of the identical motion that Paul Ainslie literally copied from Clearview Ontario where it passed unanimously. I do believe a health study is important based on the negative impacts we know of so far.
Guildwood residents need the City of Toronto to stop the City of Toronto owned Toronto Hydro and unfortunately our Councillor’s voting record has been entirely supportive of this project at the municipal level. It is clear he can’t influence even a single vote to our side and it’s time to let someone else try.
No Comments »Daily Metro: Wind farm’s foes frustrated again
Wind farm’s foes frustrated again
TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE
April 20, 2010.
Opponents of a proposed wind farm off the Scarborough Bluffs huffed and puffed at city councillors yesterday but failed to get even a symbolic call for a halt to the politically-charged project.
The executive committee of council heard more than three hours of deputations, mostly from Guildwood residents vehemently opposed to a Toronto Hydro proposal to install about 60 turbines in an offshore ribbon from roughly the Leslie Street Spit east to Ajax.
One after another, they beseeched the 12-member committee to pass along to full council a motion by Scarborough Councillors Paul Ainslie and Brian Ashton to ask the Ontario government for a moratorium on wind-power development in Ontario.
Energy Minister Brad Duguid has said such a motion would have no impact on the province’s drive to boost green energy production.
But the wind farm opponents, thwarted so far at every turn, gave it everything they had.
John Laforet, president of Wind Concerns Ontario and a challenger in the city election for Ainslie’s council seat in Ward 43, Scarborough East, said that nowhere in the world are there so many turbines so close (two to three kilometres offshore) to a populated shoreline.
Nobody really knows the turbines’ effect on human health, on fish habitat or on shore erosion, he said.
No Comments »680 News: Councillors try to delay the building of wind turbines off the Scarborough Bluffs
Councillors try to delay the building of wind turbines off the Scarborough Bluffs
Neil Kumar, 680News staff and Global News
TORONTO, Ont. – There is growing concern among Scarborough residents over the possibility of dozens of wind turbines being built off the Scarborough Bluffs.
The province has approved a study of the wind turbines, but city councillors are trying to delay the process.
Some councillors and area residents feel the turbines carry too many possible risks such as health concerns, damage to water and property value.
John Laforet, president of Wind Concerns Ontario, told 680News the debate at city hall on the issue of turbines was a disappointment. “It was council calling on the Provence to do something that the city of Toronto controls. They own Toronto Hydro and they own the project. Residents are furious at the process and are really concerned about the negative environmental effects, the risks to human health and the risks to the environment that just come with a really bad planning process.”
According to Laforet, the turbines have been in the works for some time “The City of Toronto has been working on this since 2003. It didn’t involve residents until 2008 when they put an add in the paper. So they were already on this for five years before they told a single citizen about it.”
Anthony Hains, CEO of Toronto Hydro said the Scarborough Bluffs is an idea location due to its proximity to the city and the water, while being a substantial distance from residents.
However, Laforet says, drinking water would definitely be effected by the turbines due to the disturbance that would occur to the lake beds.
Laforet added that it is not just health that is an issue but the substantial cost the turbines would come with. “The installation of the turbines would cost about a billion dollars and the biggest issue is that there isn’t enough wind there to pay it back so it wouldn’t be a money making endeavour.”
Mayor David Miller told Global News, Monday, that global studies have shown there are no health risks associated with turbines.
If the turbines are built at the Bluffs they could produce 500 megawatts of power, which would be enough energy to power most of the downtown core.
City council has rejected the request from residents to delay the process however they have confirmed that they will continue to find more ways of developing sources of green electricity.
1 Comment »
