February 23, 2011
Letters, Ontario

Stop turbine project before it is too late

The Manitoulin Expositor, www.manitoulin.ca 23 February 2011

Before the windmill factory is constructed, there are many questions that should be asked.

Why would anyone want to take one of Manitoulin’s landmarks and turn it into an industrial site? I live in Bruce County. What was once beautiful countryside is now covered with massive, mechanical towers and blades with red strobe lights blinking all night.

Has anyone asked the local landowners what they think of their property values decreasing because of this proposal? Property values fall in the vicinity of the towers. Who wants to sit on the veranda to watch the blades go around—or do nothing when there is no wind?

Though the health issues are yet in question, what about the strobe effect the blades have with sunlight? Friends, who have adjacent property to these windmills, have had to pull the blinds to stop the strobe effect of the blades and sunlight during the morning or evening hours.

Extra income? For whom? Someone has to pay for the outrageous cost of wind power and that would be the average power consumer: you and I.

If the UCCM wants these windmills, build them where they live. There’s a real nice bluff nearby that would be perfect for these things. You want the green power? Pay for it.

I’m sick and tired of those supporting the feel-good technology of windmills. To construct them uses more energy then they will ever produce. They are inefficient, only producing a maximum output when the conditions are right. They use power when the wind isn’t blowing. As my grandmother used to say, “They look uglier then sin.” There is a health issue in question. Surrounding property values are decreased. Wildlife such as birds and bats are at risk.

The list goes on.

Benefits? Somebody out there makes a pocket full of money at the expense of the average consumer.

With conscience, stop this before you end up with another Bruce County or Shelburne situation. After they are built, it’s too late to change. What you once had will be lost.

Keith Guy

Port Elgin

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/02/23/stop-turbine-project-before-it-is-too-late/