by Brad Holden
There is a rising resistance to the Ontario government's approach to wind power in this province, and its epicentre last Saturday was at Station on the Green.
Before a standing-room-only crowd of at least 250 people, local ratepayer group Clearview WAIT enlisted a convincing group of speakers, culled from the province-wide anti-wind movement, to lay out its concerns with the Green Energy Act and its push toward what it refers to as "industrial wind turbines."
These turbines can be 425 feet tall, and as WAIT spokesman Colin Huismans pointed out at the meeting's outset, there are currently three areas within Clearview Township where these towers might appear in the future. Skyway 124 has been granted 10 MW of capacity and is currently halfway through its environmental review for an area near Maple Valley, and while the review is currently on hold, if it is restarted under the new Green Energy Act construction could begin as soon as this summer. WPD Canada has secured land leases just west of Stayner near the intersection of Fairgrounds Road and County Road 91 and has applied for capacity under the Province's latest intake - if that application is granted and an environmental review goes well, construction could begin there as early as the summer of 2011. And Suncor has about 800 acres under lease at the top of Ten Hill, just west of Fairgrounds Road. While nothing has been applied for on those lands, WAIT figures there is room for more than 20 turbines there if and when Suncor goes ahead.
"That is the development we really need to get out in front of," said Huismans. "If it happens, it will tower over Creemore."
Speaking first on Saturday was John LaForet, president of Wind Concerns Ontario, a growing coalition of 44 grass-roots groups in 27 counties across the province, all of which are questioning the Green Energy Act and protesting the push toward wind power.
LaForest called the Green Energy Act the "most undemocratic legislation" in the history of the province, criticizing it mainly on three fronts: the setback requirements that would prohibit turbines from being built any less than 550 metres from any dwelling are insufficient, he said; the removal of any local planning authority is offensive; and the lack of public process altogether is wrong.
"The Premier has attacked our communities with this legislation," said LaForet, using the fiery language that Wind Concerns Ontario and its member groups have become increasingly known for as the wind debate has progressed.
Taking the microphone next at Saturday's meeting was local farmer Jim Steed, who recounted a visit he received from representatives of Suncor four years ago, as that company was signing up many of his neighbours to long-term leases.
Offered $5,000 a year to sign, Steed said he told the company to come back when it could offer him ten times that much. He never received a second visit.
Now, with the possibility of turbines being built on neighbouring farms, Steed raised the real, though often downplayed, concern of lowered property values.
"We're at the point in life where we'd sell out," he said, "but right now with these windmills there's no one interested."
Steed was followed by Michael Trebilcock, a professor of law and economics at the University of Toronto who has been vocal in his opposition to wind power, writing several op-ed pieces criticizing the technology in national newspapers.
"Even if health effects are zero, I am opposed to turbines onshore, offshore, anywhere," he proclaimed.
Trebilcock's objections come in three areas: economics, environmental effects and employment.
Economically, Trebilcock takes issue with the feed-in tariff system used by the Green Energy Act to encourage companies to invest in wind power infrastructure. Under the new system, wind turbine developers are guaranteed 13.5 cents per kWh for the next 20 years, despite the fact that conventional electricity typically costs around 6 cents per kWh. The rationale is that as more wind power is added to the grid, the demand for conventional sources of energy should decline, leading to a drop in overall prices, but Trebilcock disagreed with that theory, calling it a "potential timebomb."
Environmentally, Trebilcock asserted that most wind turbines are only able to operate at 25 per cent of their capacity, meaning the necessity for conventional back-up generators does not go away. While the government maintains that a mix of energy sources are necessary to ween our society off a strict carbon-based diet, Trebilcock stated that wind power does not warrant being part of that solution.
The Province predicts that wind power projects will create 50,000 new jobs, but Trebilcock questioned the financial responsibility of that statement. In other countries, he claimed, studies have shown that new jobs in the wind energy sector are so heavily subidized that they end up costing taxpayers more money than the new employees are paid.
Saturday's fourth speaker was Carmen Krogh, a retired pharmacist who has been at the forefront of the lobby requesting further studies into the health effects of wind turbines. While the Province has claimed that enough work has been done to prove there are no adverse health effects from low frequency noise (though it does admit it may cause annoyance), Krogh has started a group called the Society for Wind Vigilence that is hiring independent experts to review the situation.
She cited several examples of "people suffering" as a result of wind turbines being built in close proximity to their homes.
The final speaker of the day, and the one who might provide the clearest way forward for those in the anti-turbine camp, was Ian Hanna, a resident of Prince Edward County who is singlehandedly asking the courts to demand a judicial review of the Green Energy Act. Hanna's lawsuit is centred on the UNESCO Precautionary Principle, which states that if an action or policy has suspected risk of causing harm to the public or to the environment, in the absence of a scientific consensus that harm would not ensue, the burden of proof falls on those who would advocate taking the action.
Hanna's lawsuit was launched in October of 2009 and is expected to go before the courts in the next few months. It's expected to cost upwards of $250,000, and a hat was passed around at Saturday's meeting for donations to the cause.
"The beauty is that we don't have to prove anything," said Hanna. "As long as (the courts) are prepared to invoke the Precautionary Principle, then we win."
The question period that followed the five speakers was fairly short and did not generate a lot of debate. Green Party president Bill Hewitt spoke briefly, confining his comments to the fact that the Green Party also opposes the Green Energy Act, instead favouring a community-based small scale approach to green energy.
Clearview Councillor Thom Paterson also spoke, announcing his intention to bring a motion to Council on Monday, March 22, urging the Province to slow down on the wind power file until health questions can be answered.
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