Response to CAW and Samsung
December 10, 2012 | www.shorelinebeacon.com
A few weeks back I wrote a summary of the efforts our group has made over the past year to inform the CAW National Executive of issues related to citizen’s health and property value at risk. The risk is due to the closeness of the CAW turbine to 117 homes, some as close as 200 m. The normal safety setback for an 800 kW nameplate power rated turbine like that of the CAW would be 550 m from homes. But because the CAW promise to run it at 500kW, our Ministry of the Environment approved the turbine.
This was one point in our article:
CAW National Executive are aware that;
“Samsung, Ontario’s largest wind developer, admitted through their health expert under oath that annoyance from noise from wind turbines causes harm to health.”
Samsung responded the next week in a Letter to the Editor denying this was true and saying their expert has said turbines don’t make people sick.
Let’s let the readers be the judge.
For our readers’ information Environmental Review Tribunals (ERT ) are the only chance a citizens’ group has of opposing an industrial wind turbine project since the McGuinty government’s Green Energy Act removed a municipality’s right to determine the appropriateness of a wind power project through its normal zoning authority.
These tribunals are conducted under oath. At the recent Halldimand ERT a three member group of citizens, unable to have their lawyer present, cross examined the Samsung safety expert. Here are his qualifications as submitted to the tribunal by Samsung’s lawyers;
“Expert in environmental and occupational health science and expertise in evaluating potential risks and potential health effects to people and ecosystems particularly in association with environmental issues from wind turbines.”
The expert’s own literature stated “annoyance related effects can be managed and mitigated through behavioural and cognitive interventions” was read into court to which the expert added “the annoyance was from noise from wind turbines.”
On three occasions Samsung’s lawyers attempted to have the topic of noise thrown out.
The tribunal judges allowed it to continue as the expert himself was the one who said the “annoyance from noise from wind turbines.”
So then this question was posed to the expert by one of the lay people doing the cross examining, herself a clinical nurse;
“If annoyance is so severe that it requires therapeutic intervention (read doctor help) of cognitive and behavioural therapy (read psychotherapy to change attitudes and behaviour) is that not serious harm to human health?”
To that question Samsung’s expert in health science, with expertise in evaluating potential risks and health effects to people from annoyance from noise from wind turbines, answered, “Yes”.
Credibility is very important to any citizen advocacy group and thus the reason for our response.
The wind industry, of which the CAW is now a part, is extremely powerful and capable of arming themselves with teams of experts and lawyers as they go against the will of the citizens and their elected officials across rural Ontario with the provincial government having their backs.
Whether or not you choose to believe wind power harms health or property value, one fact is undeniable and being withheld from the people of Ontario and that is the cost.
Quoted is the Oct. 2012 report from Aegent Energy Consultants, an independent company specializing in the energy industry:
“At the end of 2015, hourly scenarios exist whereby wind could produce up to 6,500 MW – with none effectively consumed in Ontario but at a cost to Ontario of $705,000. By 2016 surplus base load generation (read excess power) is forecasted to occur in 50 percent of all hours.”
They go on to call for consumer transparency by government so we will know what our future electrical costs will be.
Imagine telling Bruce Power to throttle back its newly refurbished fleet yet pay them as if they were running full power. Same with Niagara Falls being told to spill water past their turbines. At the same time we now guarantee foreign companies like Samsung and Nextera (Florida Power and Light) huge premiums for 20 years for unused wind power costing us up to $705,000 hourly driving our economy towards bankruptcy with a debt larger than the sum of all the other provinces combined. We lay down in silence under the blanket of comfort called sustainable, clean energy as Ontario is driven to have not province status by failed energy policy.
CAW/CEP, Canada’s new superunion, gorges on their personal wind turbine profit of $175,000 per year at the expense of the Ontario taxpayer while lobbying for the wind industry results in Ontario having the second highest electricity costs in North America.
CAW/CEP members and residents of Saugeen Shores alike connect the dots – high electricity costs due to wind waste hits us all, hurts our province – we all lose.
Believe your monthly electric bill even if you don’t believe Samsung’s health expert that wind turbines can harm your neighbour’s health in Saugeen Shores.
Greg Schmalz,
STOP
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/12/10/response-to-caw-and-samsung/