Wind Power News: Canada
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They are the products of the organizations or individuals noted and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch.
Tumbler Ridge Wind Project back on track
After being put on hold in late August 2011, Finavera Wind Energy’s Tumbler Ridge Wind Project is back under review by the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office (EAO). The project was put on hold after a request for more information from the EAO, who were looking for more information about the project’s effect on birds and bats, noise concerns, visual effects, and impacts on a guide outfitter are among the areas The project was halted 147 days into the 180 . . .
Plans to ship early proves (mostly) baseless for Quality Wind Project
The first Wind Turbine bases for the Quality Wind Project rolled past Tumbler Ridge Monday, February 6 after an adventurous trip from Portland, Oregon. Turbine manufacturer Vestas has 19 bases completed and planned to ship them over the next few weeks, well in advance of schedule. However, spring-like conditions in Southern Alberta means that the Alberta Ministry of Transportation has implemented thaw bans. Only the first three trucks were able to make it into the province before the ban took . . .
Rural Ontario needs a unified voice now
Ontario has to thank the OFA for stepping up to the plate on the Industrial Wind Turbine issue. They join the Christian Farmers Federation also calling for a halt. Now the National Farmers Union needs to speak out clearly as well. Now more than ever rural Ontario needs a unified voice. It’s becoming clearer daily that the Green Energy Act is very flawed. Whether it’s the recent Auditor General’s report that blasted the gov’t for billions wasted with no cost . . .
WCO Exclusive: Scientist, university prof: “some of the worst possible places for wind projects”
Scientist and Executive Director of Long Point Waterfowl, Dr. Scott Petrie, says that after years of trying to encourage the corporate wind power development industry to do the right thing to protect important bird habitats in Ontario, the companies are now not only refusing to cooperate, they’re not even returning his calls. Dr. Petrie was particularly involved with AIM PowerGen prior to the Green Energy Act, providing advice on industrial wind turbine (IWT) placement at the company’s project at Long . . .
Wind Concerns group issuing warnings
Middlesex Lambton Wind Action Group wants people in Lambton Shores to be aware of what they’re facing as industrial wind turbines begin to dot the landscape. The group is holding a public meeting Thurs. Feb. 16 at the Grand Bend Public School to talk about the effects of turbines on human health, real estate values and local wildlife. Lambton Shores will soon be a hotbed for wind energy. The largest project by NextEra Energy will put 92 turbines near the . . .
Ontario green energy prices under review behind closed doors
In closed rooms at Queen’s Park, bureaucrats and policy-makers are poring over submissions about how much you should pay for renewable energy. Many of the submissions have not been publicly released. And while the policy-makers labour in private, discussion among non-government officials has also been muted. For example, a coalition of green energy groups assembled dozens of like-minded “thought leaders” for a discussion of Ontario’s renewable energy policy late last year. They decried the lack of public understanding of energy . . .
Anger in Loyalist Country
More than 200 people packed the main hall of St Andrews Presybyterian Church In Picton last night to hear a star-studded roster of speakers talk about the Gilead Power project proposed for Ostrander Point, on the southernmost tip of Prince Edward County. Representatives of local naturalist groups spoke about the importance of the area to birds, noting that as many as 750,000 birds travel through the area each spring and fall. “There is no ‘mitigation’ for the damage that will . . .
Don’t blow it, Ottawa: Mimicking Ontario’s guidelines for wind turbine setbacks is a bad idea
Ottawa is drafting guidelines for wind turbine setbacks from homes, apparently using Ontario’s minimum 550-metre separation as a model. Based on Ontario’s disastrous experiment with wind energy, this is a bad idea. That’s because the province’s plunge into renewable energy, aside from being a financial disaster as documented by Ontario’s Auditor General, has been a social disaster as well. Canadians, especially those living in rural areas, should be on guard from the moment provincial governments and wind developers show up . . .
Wind power sector eager to deliver on promise
As Christy Clark’s Liberals tie British Columbia’s economic future to an unprecedented natural gas boom, proponents of the province’s renewable energy resources hope for an opportunity to join in. B.C., predisposed to both massive and small-scale hydro-electric power development, has been one of the world’s laggards in terms of wind energy. Independent power producers say B.C. has tremendous potential for wind power development – but so far, BC Hydro’s preference has been for small-scale hydro projects in the private sector, . . .
Local wind farm opponents determined to fight project
SOUTH DUNDAS — The group opposed to a large wind turbine farm isn’t about to give up, despite failing to twist the arms of township council. South Branch Wind Opposition Group (WOG) spokesperson Leslie Disheau said WOG will continue efforts to stop ProWind from erecting 14 625-foot towers on land around Brinston, north of Morrisburg. South Dundas council passed their endorsement of ProWind on Jan. 17. “I am stunned council has decided to wash its hands of this issue, an . . .
