Registered Nurses Association of Ontario co-opted by the Green “Spin”

The Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO) recently issued their “Position Statement: Healthy Energy Solutions for Ontario”. The drew the bulk of the information contained therein from the sustainable energy crowd that are responsible for the Ontario ratepayers suffering each and every time they open their electricity bills or have their health affected by the noise emanating from industrial wind turbines.

The RNAO's main source of information came from the Ontario Clean Air Alliance (OCAA), Pembina, the Ministry of Energy along with Greenpeace, Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer and a few others like the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) and the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association. Based on a quick count the foregoing represented 38 of the 71 citations listed.

Of the list above Jack Gibbons stands out as the principle purveyor of the information used to produce this 12 page “Position Statement” as he is the current chair of OCAA (16 citations), and is, or has been connected with Pollution Probe and has worked to produce studies for Pembina (6 citations). It is difficult to find a biography on Mr. Gibbons however it appears he is an economist (Queen's U), which presumably means he believes he is qualified to speak on energy matters.

The Toronto Twenty Two

The latest Google Earth files from Wind Farm Realities, where many files have been built to illustrate proposed turbine locations previously

The Toronto Twenty Two - Wind Farm Realities:

...3-D Google Earth KMZ file that shows 22 turbines placed in Toronto’s harbour.

Amherst Island: Cash offer ‘an insult’

Loyalist Township is reportedly being offered millions to allow Algonquin's turbine project on Amherst Island.  Assuming 247GWh annually (not 247MW as in the article), the figure amounts to 22.5% of revenues (at $135/MWh), half of which is reportedly slated for Amherst Island, with the remainder going to the rest of the county to allow this to happen to Amherst Island.  It's worth noting 247GWh would be an extremely high capacity factor for 75MW of capacity - perhaps the proposal also adds turbines.

Cash offer ‘an insult’ - The Whig Standard - Ontario, CA:

A company looking to build a controversial wind farm on Amherst Island has quietly offered Loyalist Township an payment of $7.5 million annually, the Whig-Standard has learned.

But the proposal doesn’t sit well with the head of a group opposed to the construction, who decried the payments as shameful.

Janet Grace, president of the Association for Protection of Amherst Island, said she believes the proposed payment is a response to mounting pressure from community members opposing the project.

The offer — which is conditional upon final approval from the province — would see the power company forward a voluntary payment of $7.5 million to Loyalist Township each year, beginning in 2014.

 The entire article can be read at the Kingston Whig Standard site

Nova Scotia: Kings County puts major wind turbine projects on hold

 Kings County puts major wind turbine projects on hold | The Chronicle Herald:

KENTVILLE — The door could soon be shut on large-scale wind turbine development in Kings County, at least for now.

The planning advisory committee for the Municipality of the County of Kings has passed a motion recommending further review of wind turbine issues. The committee also recommended that large-scale projects not be permitted in the meantime.

Council has not yet approved the motion. A public meeting has been set for May 10 at 5 p.m. in council chambers.

The existing wind turbine bylaw, which was approved last year and allows large-scale wind turbine development, will be amended to ensure development permits are not issued.

...

GuelphMercury - Wind energy predictions in Ontario hit new highs

The quote I've taken from this article is completely out of context - but so is agricultural communications teacher Owen Roberts grappling with economics.  

Ross McKitrick is a Professor of Economics at the University of Guelph.  Mr. Roberts might ask around campus to learn how spending vast amounts of money on something of little, or no, value isn't great for the economy - or the environment

GuelphMercury - Wind energy predictions in Ontario hit new highs:

In January, it issued a missive urging the province to stop approving new wind energy projects. The federation says wind energy pits rural Ontarians against each other. Escalating concerns about industrial wind turbines means the province should suspend further development until farm families and rural residents are assured that their interests are adequately protected, according to the federation.

Further, it says it’s worked with government on regulations, cautioned farmer members on the pitfalls of wind leases, and expressed concerns about pricing.

“Many issues have not been addressed, causing tremendous tension among rural residents and community neighbours,” says the federation. “We are hearing very clearly from our members that the wind turbine situation is coming to a head — seriously dividing rural communities and even jeopardizing farm succession planning. The onus is on our provincial government to ensure the interests of rural Ontarians are protected.”

The sorry lessons of green-power subsidies

The Globe and Mail has published an article, written by Gwyn Morgan, critical of  green-power subsidies. 

The sorry lessons of green-power subsidies - The Globe and Mail:

It isn’t only energy consumers and taxpayers who have been hit by the green-power mania. The Globe and Mail reported in February that 10 wind- and solar-equipment makers in China, India, Europe and the U.S. have seen their share prices collapse by between price of their shares collapse by between 85 per cent and 98 per cent since 2008. A combination of ineffectual environmental benefit, escalating power costs and debilitating government deficits have driven a precipitous drop in the outlook for green-power subsidies.

The lessons of the green-power debacle are clear. For governments, the message is that forcing consumers and taxpayers to subsidize any business almost always leads to economic damage and political unpopularity. For investors, the lesson is that companies living on government subsidies may die when the handouts stop.

Read the entire article at The Globe and Mail website

Wind farms can cause climate change, finds new study

A new study, published in Nature, notes the impact of wind turbines on "on local to regional weather and climate."  The warming 'trend' is described as 'significant.'

Wind farms can cause climate change, finds new study - Telegraph:

Satellite data over a large area in Texas, that is now covered by four of the world's largest wind farms, found that over a decade the local temperature went up by almost 1C as more turbines are built.

This could have long term effects on wildlife living in the immediate areas of larger wind farms.

It could also affect regional weather patterns as warmer areas affect the formation of cloud and even wind speeds.

The entire article can be read at the  The Telegraph website

Green isle forced to revert to diesel, and other tales of Wind Money is Scotland

An interesting article on a remote island that was 100% self-sufficient, for two months.  Then they went back on dirty generators with nightly blackout periods.

Green isle forced to revert to diesel - Environment - Scotsman.com:

THE residents of Foula, Scotland’s most remote inhabited island which achieved a remarkable first by becoming 100 per cent self-sufficient with renewable energy, are now forced to endure black-outs.

An all-night black-out has had to be brought into force for the 22 homes on the isolated Shetland community, because of teething problems in the island’s £1.5 million hydro and solar power schemes.

Foula’s three wind turbines have been out of action since Christmas, when 100mph winds damaged the blades of one of the turbines.

Now islanders are back to relying on costly diesel generator until the faults can be rectified.

Two years ago the islanders, who live 20 miles from the Shetland mainland, were awarded £200,000 in funding from the Big Lottery Fund towards their combination of wind, solar and hydro power, enabling Foula to become the first Shetland community to become self-sufficient in energy. The final phase was completed last October.

The full article can be read at Scotsman.com

The Bruce Peninsula - Wind Farm Realities

More graphics of proposed industrial wind turbine locations from Wind Farm Realities.

The Bruce Peninsula - Wind Farm Realities:

I recently posted about the eastern shore of Lake Huron and how a line of wind turbines roughly 20km deep snaked all the way up that coast. Unfortunately the snake doesn’t end there; it continues onto the Bruce Peninsula. Here’s a snapshot of the 200 turbines planned.

You’d think an area as unspoiled and scenic as the Bruce Peninsula would be safe from this type of industrialization.  You can imagine what would happen if just about any other industry set up shop over this large an area.  There are actually 2 projects included in the picture above:  Bruce Peninsula and Mar Silver Birch (or something like that).   One wonders how much of a transmission line will have to be built to carry it all to where people actually live and work.

The rest of this post is at The Wind Farm Realities Site, as are Google Earth files, freely downloadable, for many regions in Ontario.

'Big Wind' mobilizes to defeat motion at nurses' annual meeting

In spite of efforts to quash their initiative, a group of Ontario registered nurses including the entire Algoma Chapter of the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO) and WCO president and RN Jane Wilson, forged ahead at the Annual General Meeting.

They presented a motion asking for members to support a call for more research into the reported health effects from the environmental noise and vibration caused by industrial wind turbines. The resolution also asked members to consider a moratorium on wind development until such research was complete.

While the motion was defeated, several members in the room abstained. "Abstaining from a public vote sends a message that there are those who have doubts about the current RNAO position on wind turbines," said Jane Wilson.

100% Opposed

 John and Susan Zelasko, RR5 Belwood, wrote the editor of Wellington Advisor regarding the WPD-Springwood proposal.

The Wellington Advertiser - Letters:

Re: WPD – Springwood Wind Incorporated proposal north east of Fergus.

We have been residents at our rural farm address near Belwood in Wellington County for 24 years, and want it to be known that we oppose the wind turbine projects in this area 100%, as well as other similar projects all over Ontario.

These are the reasons: property value loss (proven), health effects (proven, but disregarded) economic feasibility (feedin Tariff is excessive tax payers will get the brunt of this).

We will see loss of Ontario industries due to rapidly rising electricity costs so loss of jobs (not gains as promised by Premier Dalton McGuinty), bird and bat decimation (proven, including species at risk).

We are in a densely populated rural area, not in a widely spaced population area; as well, we are in a designated heritage area and in the environmentally significant Grand River watershed.

The entire letter can is online at The Wellington Adviser site - and was previously referenced at Quixote's Last Stand

Nature Canada Blog: Ostrander Point Decision: Chance to enhance Ontario’s Green Energy Policies

Nature Canada has posted an article by Ted Chesky, which argues powerfully against surrendering more important bird areas to the IWT trend.

Nature Canada Blog: Ostrander Point Decision: Chance to enhance Ontario’s Green Energy Policies:

Prince Edward County Field Naturalists, Nature Canada, and Ontario Nature have repeatedly urged the Ontario Government to protect Ostrander Point, and reject a proposed industrial wind energy project there. As a final decision on this project from the Ontario Ministry of the Environment is pending, it's a good time to restate the key arguments for preserving this special place, and why the Green Energy Act would suffer a serious blow to its credibility if the project is approved.

Please read the rest of  article, starting at paragraph 3 at the Nature Canada blog (I've warning you on paragraph 2!)

Liberals and NDP cooperate to bypass Ontario’s Endangered Species Act

Liberals and NDP cooperate to bypass Ontario’s Endangered Species Act :

In the budget bill passed in the Ontario Legislature on Tueday, April 24, 2014, the McGuinty government included 49 amendments to environmental legislation which will excuse landowners and developers from having to take account of endangered species when building and operating wind turbines (or anything else for that matter).

The NDP government voted in favour of the budget bill, in order to avoid an early election. In exchange for their support, the Liberals, who also don’t want an election, agreed to significant changes demanded by the NDP. But this party, which purports to be green, made no attempt to obtain concessions on the environmental changes.

Read the entire entry at CCSAG's blog

“They want an easement, but I won’t give it to them. They will have to expropriate it.”

“They want an easement, but I won’t give it to them. They will have to expropriate it.”  Middlesex-Lambton Wind Action Group:

By Heather Wright Sarnia this Week

PLYMPTON-WYOMING – In a flood of people concerned about the effects of wind turbines, Paul Marsh stands out. And it isn’t just because he’s holding a picket sign.

Marsh lives in Sylvan – a community south east of Thedford just over the Middlesex County line. He, too, says he will be affected by the 62 turbine Cedar Point Wind Power project in Plympton-Wyoming.

Marsh won’t be too close to the turbines and it’s unlikely he’ll be able to see them since his 30 acre property is filled with trees.

What he will notice is a power transmission line which will run the length of his corner lot property.

“The transmission lines which are going to take the power from here will go right by my house,”

Read the entire article at the Middlesex-Lambton Wind Action Group website

Gillespie, NAPAW take on wind industry

Gillespie, NAPAW take on wind industry | www.citizen.on.ca | Orangeville Citizen:

By WES KELLER Freelance Reporter

The lawyer who represented Ian Hanna in a judicial review and appeal of a wind farm in Prince Edward County is now acting on behalf of North American Platform Against Windfarms (NAPAW).

In the Hanna case, Ontario’s Divisional Court found that Ontario’s Renewal Energy Assessment (REA) followed proper procedures in its approval of a wind farm, but also suggested that there needs to be more study of human health issues.

Now Toronto lawyer Eric Gillespie is saying that the desire for rapid deployment of wind energy facilities “appears to violate numerous Articles of The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and United Nations Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilites (UNCRPD) and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.”

In letters to all premiers and attorneysgeneral in Canada, Mr. Gillespie alleges on behalf of NAPAW that: “State and country decision-making processes for locating and operating industrial wind energy facilities are being driven by economic and political objectives; The health of individuals living in close proximity to industrial wind turbines is being compromised and the ability of families to care for their children and elders is being seriously undermined

Read the entire article at the Orangeville Citizen website

Lake Huron Pictures - Wind Farm Realities

As unpleasant as the threat is, Wind Farm Realities deserves a show of gratitude for mapping it out throughout much of the province.  

Lake Huron Pictures - Wind Farm Realities:

Earlier I posted pictures of the wind turbine projects slated for the Chatham-Kent area. I’ve continued onward, now creating pictures of the eastern shore of Lake Huron, specifically the Ontario counties of Lambton, Huron and Bruce. As ugly as Chatham-Kent is, I think Lake Huron is even uglier. The yellow cloud is 200km long and 20 wide and runs up the entire coastline. The picture is clickable, but even at full size it doesn’t do justice to what is planned there.

Read the article, and view additional graphics of other regions, at Wind Farm Realities

Property owners with turbines will face law suits, opponents warn

The very active 'Quixote's Last Stand' website posted a portion of a Tom Wilkinson, Editor of the West Niagara News, article regarding the resistance to wind turbines being brought to West Lincoln council

Property owners with turbines will face law suits, opponents warn | Quixotes Last Stand:

Signing contract for wind turbine will pave the way for opponents to sue proprty owners

West Lincoln property owners who allow wind turbines on their property may face lawsuits from those opposing them, West Lincoln council heard on Monday night.

Council also heard that West Lincoln can do more to keep wind turbines out of the township. Several residents took the opportunity to speak out against proposed wind farms in the township.

“There is something fundamentally wrong when a small number of land owners in a rural community can enter into a lucrative contract with a private for-profit corporation and none of the rules apply,” said Catherine Mitchell and John Dykstra.

The entire article can be read at the West Niagara News website

Renewable Energy Integration and Wind Challenges

The March newsletter from Aegent Energy Advisors is a great overview of issues connecting wind generation and natural gas and, particularly, coal-fired generation.

Renewable Energy Integration and Wind Challenges

Growing wind capacity will contribute to SBG and greatly increase ramping requirements, just as the Ontario grid's most flexible ramping resource - coal - is being phased out. This means that in terms of accommodating rapid wind fleet growth, the phase-out of coal-fired generation could not be happening at a worse time.

Coal-fired units are particularly valued for their output range flexibility, commonly being able to operate between 10% and 100% of their rated output. A theoretical 100 MW coal-fired unit can then run between 10 MW and 100 MW and is said to have 90 MW of "ramp depth".

Hey Toronto: You just had your pocket picked-someone took $128 million!

Parker Gallant has a public service announcement alerting Toronto's residents on rate hikes, present and future.

The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) just increased the rates that all Ontarians will pay for electricity, but it doesn't sound like much, right? The increase they announced will only cost the average ratepayer in the province $3.99 more per month.

That increase has been driven by the McGuinty Liberal government’s push to close coal-fired power generating plants by replacing them with wind and solar generation that is supposed to be clean and green. The trouble is, we have reduced our consumption and the province now has a surplus of electricity which we are forced to sell at wholesale rates (hourly Ontario energy price or HOEP). That HOEP has averaged only 2.05 cents per kilowatt (kWh) since January 1st but we are paying wind and solar developers from 13.5 cents per kWh to over 80 cents per kWh for their power (recently decreased by 15% and 20% respectively) so someone must pay the difference.

That someone is you.

W.A.I.T. First Town Hall Meeting

We're Against Industrial Turbines (W.A.I.T.) has a post on the Town Hall Meeting of April 19th, 2012.

First Town Hall Meeting:

Our First Town Hall meeting was.....amazing! In my mind, I thought we might be lucky to see 100 people show up. Realistically, I thought maybe 50 might actually be there. After Wednesday night at Camlachie Community Centre, I had more hope to see, possibly as many as 300, if I allowed my imagination to stretch a little. Never in my life did I expect to see this Community Centre filled to standing room only.

Bill Wright led the evening and started with a video slide show of scenes depicting various aspects of wind farms. The text in the audio accompaniment contained approximately 17 facts that described the negative side of what wind turbines bring to a community--illnesses, decreased property values, unsightly to tourism and resident's daily view, to mention a few. The video was put together by Nathan Watson, the son of our current acting Chairman, Keith Watson. This young student, Nathan, did an excellent job of choosing the best images to match the discussion, and the sequence timing was perfect. The author and speaking voice was also from one of our members.

Please visit W.A.I.T.'s website to read the full article, and view the referenced presentation material.

WHO IS PATTERN ENERGY?

Some background on the company doing the bidding of the Korean syndicate in Ontario.

WHO IS PATTERN ENERGY? | East County Magazine:

"Riverstone has a checkered record on the ethical front.  In 2009, the company’s founder, David Leuschen was ordered by New York Attorney General Andrew M. .Cuomo to “pay $20 million in restitution to resolve his role in an investigation of corruption involving the state pension fund.  Mr. Leuschen’s private equity firm [Riverstone] has already paid $30 million in restitution in the case,” the New York Times reported.
According to Cuomo, the state pension fund invested $150 into a joint venture between Riverstone and the Carylyle Group in what was described by ABC news as a “pay to play” corruption scandal.
Leuschen is a former director and managing director at Goldman-Sachs who reportedly was instrumental in advising Mobil Oil on its $81 billion merger with Exxon. According to the Louisiana Voice, it was through Carylyle that Leuschen became involved in technology investments in the Middle East; Riverstone and Carlyle partner in “using political connections to solicit the business of public retirement funds from all over the country."

Read the entire article at East County Magazine

Response To RNAO Position Statement

Parker Gallant has authored a response to a 'blinkered' position statement from RNAO

The Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO) on March 3, 2012 released a paper titled “RNAO Position Statement on Healthy Energy Solution” which effectively was a rehash of ideas and other papers issued by the likes of Environmental Defence, Pembina and Greenpeace Canada. In summary the RNAO suggests, nay recommends; that Ontario immediately close all coal-fired plants (well, not quite: they suggest we put them on standby while we erect more wind turbines), abandon any thoughts of building or refurbishing new nuclear plants, and use gas generation plants as peaking power until we have enough renewables (wind, solar and biomass) to supply our needs.

The RNAO also suggests wind could supply 20% of our needs while recommending closing down nuclear which supplied 57% of Ontario's consumption in 2011. Where the difference of 37% will come from is anyone's guess but perhaps they see the difference coming from conservation which they also push. A “tongue in cheek” report prepared by Aegent Energy estimated that Ontario would require approximately 12,000 industrial wind turbines (IWTs) to replace our existing nuclear plants and those 12,000 IWTs would use up 14,000 square kilometres of Ontario's land mass. Presumably much of that land mass would be valuable farm land which would effectively reduce our ability to produce cheap abundant food for consumption.

Anti-environment measures tucked into Liberal budget bill - thestar.com

Clayton Ruby has an article in The Toronto Star noting the provincial budget as a "strike at the heart of Ontario's Endangered Species Act..."

Anti-environment measures tucked into Liberal budget bill - thestar.com:

What is Premier Dalton McGuinty hiding in your budget bill? The legal ability to hurt Ontario’s most vulnerable species, that’s what.

Ontario appears to be echoing the mood of the federal government, which also used its budget bill to introduce significant changes to environmental protection laws, a move that had less to do with budgets and more to do with undoing transparency, accountability and environmental responsibility.

Likewise, the Ontario Liberals have buried several proposed changes in their new budget bill that strike at the heart of Ontario’s Endangered Species Act (ESA), a piece of legislation this government proudly touted a mere five years ago.

 Read the entire article at The Toronto Star website

Robbing the rich to pay Dalton |Financial Post

Terence Corcoran: Robbing the rich to pay Dalton | FP Comment | Financial Post:

All these tax moves to avoid spending cuts and save the McGuinty government from another election should be seen in the context of the political and economic crises that continue to unfold in Europe...

...

As the McGuinty/Horwath team in Ontario follows Spain and others in the spending and tax policy, it may believe that marginal tax rates of 50% and more are unlikely to alter behaviour and economic performance. So far, higher taxes on the rich have not helped Europe. Nor will they do anything for Ontario, except keep Dalton McGuinty in power for a bit longer.

Read the entire article at the Financial Post

Electricity Rate Hikes, and the GEA

Tom Adams has a blog entry introducing the recording of his appearance on Tom McConnell's radio talk show on April 20th.
The interview can be listened to, and/or downloaded, at the 610 CKTB web site.  It is almost an hour in length as McConnell allows Adams to get into more complex descriptions of pricing, market and competitiveness issues.

Retired nuclear engineer Donald Jones adds to the explanations of why cheap natural gas benefits much of North America, but Ontarians aren't seeing the benefits:  "Natural gas prices go lower and Ontario electricity prices go higher"

Also notable, and providing video, was last Thursday's 'The Agenda with Steve Paikin,' which included a video essay from Tony Keller

Three Strikes - Wind Farm Realities

Three Strikes - Wind Farm Realities:

Opponents of wind energy have three strikes against them. I reflected upon these strikes while I was preparing for the discussion following the local showing of Windfall. These three strikes have nothing to do with the merits of their case, which if anything are growing stronger over time. Rather, they have more to do with human nature. The three strikes are:

1. We are the bearer of bad news and people don’t like to hear bad news...
2.  There’s no money to be made opposing wind energy...
3. Wind energy has been so successfully marketed and is so intuitively wonderful that we are forced to show how useless it is, rather than the proponents having to show how wonderful it is...

Read the Full article at Wind Farm Realities.
The debate referenced in the "Three Strikes,"on TVO's The Agenda, can be viewed here.

The Ontario Energy Board: Transparently Opaque!

Parker Gallant takes on the OEB over their jargon in presenting of rate hikes.

The Ontario Energy Board has an impressive Mandate which states; “The Ontario Energy Board oversees the province's electricity and natural gas sectors through effective, fair and transparent regulation and in accordance with the objectives set out in the governing statutory framework.”

The foregoing evokes a warm and fuzzy feeling particularly where the OEB speak to “fair and transparent regulation” however the OEB's current view of “fair and transparent” is not quite fair or transparent. A recent example of that is their announcement that time-of-use (TOU) rate increases would be “approximately $3.99 on the “Electricity” line, or about 3.3% on the total monthly bill, for a residential consumer with a typical consumption pattern who uses 800 kWh per month.”

If that “typical” residential consumer understands his bill he will discern that the “electricity line” typically represents about 45% of his bill with the balance (55%) made up of the “regulatory”, “delivery” and “stranded debt charges” That 3.3% increase is in reality a 7% increase in the electricity line and with the TOU rates reset every 6 months the 7% increase is a 14% annualized increase. The “trickle down” effect is also not dealt with in the OEB's announcement as an increase in the “electricity price” increases the HST payment.

For the OEB to cite transparency in their “Mandate” then put out an announcement that seeks to trivialize or hide the actual increase indicates they are either being directed to do so or, their reputed transparency is Orwellian.

Who can stop the wind? These residents are trying - thestar.com

Who can stop the wind? These residents are trying - thestar.com: 

"STAYNER—The little hut not far from the end of Kevin Elwood’s airstrip looks more like a hobbit house than anything: almost a play house, a mere 16 by 20 feet.
But since it comes complete with electricity, running water and a septic system it qualifies as a dwelling.
And it’s part of a game of tic-tac-toe between a wind developer and a group of local residents who want nothing to do with wind turbines."
The residents have been sprinkling mini-houses like Elwood’s in the path of proposed turbines – knowing that provincial rules forbid turbines from being erected within 550 metres of a dwelling.
It has cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal expenses, permit fees and building materials.
“It has taken a lot of money and a lot of time,” says Elwood’s neighbour Chuck Magwood, who has 400 acres nearby, with a similar mini-house, one of seven in total that are either built, permitted, or under construction.
“But we haven’t even started to do what it takes to win.”

The entire article can be read at The Star 

Blame for hydro rates lies in one place - The North Bay Nugget - Ontario, CA

Blame for hydro rates lies in one place - The North Bay Nugget - Ontario, CA:

"No one has done more to inflate your hydro bill than Dalton McGuinty, PC Energy Critic and Nipissing MPP Vic Fedeli said today.
With the Ontario Energy Board’s recent price announcement, residential electricity prices have now officially doubled since 2003, from 4.3 cents per kilowatt hour to 8.8 cents. For those Ontario households with smart meter time-of-use pricing, the increase is a staggering 175% increase.
“Many Ontarians I’m sure are wondering when this upward spiral will end. They just can’t afford to pay any more,” said Fedeli."

Read the entire article at the North Bay Nugget

Ontario's Wilted Green Energy Act? | The Agenda

A reminder the TVO's 'The Agenda' is dealing with the GEA tonight

Ontario's Wilted Green Energy Act? | The Agenda:

The Green Energy Act was touted as the way forward for cleaner, greener energy and jobs. Three years later, The Agenda examines what the legislation delivered, and where it has fallen short.

The panel includes Ross McKitrick (also Paul Achhione, Deborah Doncaster and Tim Weis).

Auditor General Jim McCarter is now listed as a guest (on a different segment)

And Essayist Tony Keller is shown as delivering "Dollars, Dumb Policy and Hydro"

OEB Adjusts Electricity Prices for Residential and Small Business Consumers

 The OEB press release (pdf) announcing Summer 2012 rates skips the simple description of double digit increases over the same period the previous year.

Toronto - Today the Ontario Energy Board released Regulated Price Plan (RPP) electricity commodity prices that take effect May 1, 2012.
RPP prices are reviewed twice each year and appear on the "Electricity¨ line of residential and small business consumer bills. The price changes only apply to RPP-eligible consumers who buy electricity directly from their local utility.
Time-of-use (TOU) prices are changing as follows:

• On-peak (from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays)= 11.7 ¢/kWh (up 0.0 cents)
• Mid-peak (from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays) = 10.0 ¢/kWh (up 0.8 cents)
• Off-peak (from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. weekdays and all day on weekends and holidays)= 6.5 ¢/kWh (up0.3 cents)

...

ORNGE isn’t the only secret society playing with public money

Here is a link to an article by Martin Regg Cohn - just to note what is in The Toronto Star.  

Canada News: Cohn: ORNGE isn’t the only secret society playing with public money - thestar.com:

Wednesday was a day of double trouble for the Liberals’ damage control agenda: in one corner, you could watch the unravelling of the ORNGE scandal; in another, the unwinding of a failed electricity experiment at the OPA.

The two entities might seem unrelated: ORNGE is the air ambulance service plunged into a tailspin by exposés in the Star; OPA is the boring Ontario Power Authority that most people have never heard of, despite its high-voltage dealings that come directly out of our pockets.

But there is a common theme to this cautionary tale of two boondoggles — one scandalous, one merely invisible — and it is this: A troubling lack of transparency that allowed both entities to play with public money without proper adult supervision.

Until he learns the real lessons of ORNGE, Premier Dalton McGuinty is condemned to repeat them at the OPA — or any other acronym his government invents.

The full article can be read at the Toronto Star's site - but read it cynically as much of the information Regg Cohn says is not known, is - including all of the ministerial directives to the Ontario Power Authority.

Health Effects of Windpower on Residences: Canadian Debate Update

 This is posted on Master Resource; it's a short introduction to a longer letter, written by lawyer Eric Gillespie, referenced on the Toronto Wind Action Site.

Health Effects of Windpower on Residences: Canadian Debate Update — MasterResource:

Industrial wind turbines in human habitats are becoming increasingly controversial and subject to environmental laws and restrictions. To this end, a long, urgent letter was sent to the Attorney Generals of Canada, the Premiers, and to the Prime Minister of Canada with copies to every Parliamentarian in the country as well as the Senate.

There's a lot of links you can follow!

Scott Stinson: All aboard Ontario’s efficiency bus

Scott Stinson's article in the National Post includes Tom Adams' noting of the impact of the government's wind and solar policies on price inflation.

Scott Stinson: All aboard Ontario’s efficiency bus | Full Comment | National Post:

It’s easy enough to understand why the Ontario Liberals would call a press conference to tout a move that, the government says, will save taxpayers $25-million a year. The decision to merge two of the many agencies that are involved in the province’s energy supply is not quite as exciting as being able to announce it had, say, Stopped the Gravy Train, but at least it can say it has Fired Up the Efficiency Bus.

But, $25-million of what, exactly? The answer goes to the problem that looms for the Liberals, as sharply increasing electricity costs threaten to anger voters and dwarf any of the benefits realized by Wednesday’s announcement that the Ontario Power Authority and Independent Electricity System Operator will be combined.

The full article can be read at the National Post site

Turbine company talks tough about transmission

“If you want to read the comments just pick the garbage up after”

Orangeville Article: Turbine company talks tough about transmission:

Melancthon Deputy Mayor Darren White, who attended the Horning’s Mills PIC, said the company hasn’t demonstrated the spirit of co-operation they say they portray.
“They’re not willing to sit down and talk to me about what can be done as opposed to what they are going to do,” White said. “Last time I checked, we’re in a democracy, not an oligarchy.”
White also questioned why Dufferin Wind Power is willing to bury a portion of the transmission line in Shelburne, but denied the idea in Melancthon.
“I’m not against green energy. I’m against people coming into my township and telling me what I have to do,” White said.
Janice Gale attended the PIC to voice her concerns about the possibility of her Melancthon property value dropping due to the project. She also fears more windmills will equal a disruption in service.
“We already have problems with the Internet and cellphone reception,” Gale said. “The phone company is telling it’s just going to get worse when they put more windmills up.”

Read the entire article at Orangeville.com

Landowners line up in action against wind turbines

More on the legal action against WPD and those leasing land to them - this time from Collingwood

Landowners line up in action against wind turbines - Collingwood Enterprise Bulletin - Ontario, CA:

Gillespie said the other plaintiffs are in much the same boat as the Wiggins, as they had intended to sell property, had people interested in purchasing, but that the interest dropped off as soon as the WPD project was proposed.

Gillespie said in the case of the Wiggins' property, three of the proposed turbines would be located less than 1,000 metres; provincial policy for wind turbines specifies a minimum separation of 550 metres.

Gillespie also didn't believe a recent ruling by Ontario's Assessment Review Board that stated a Wolfe Island couple's property had not been devalued by the presence of wind turbines would have any affect on his client's claim.

The entire article can be read here

The OPA: Gone without the Plan

The OPA: Gone without the Plan

Today the Minister of Energy, Chris Bentley announced the merger of the OPA with IESO that will somehow save the ratepayers and taxpayers $25 million dollars in the electricity sector. To put that in perspective that would be about 10 days of gross revenue we will pay to Samsung when they have installed their 2500 MW of wind and solar generation and approximately .2 % of the approximately $15 billion gross revenue ratepayers make annually to ensure they can turn on their lights in the Province.

Sole Source Contracts- The Green & the Stealthy Kind

Parker Gallant compares two 'sole source' contracts:  One with the Korean Consortium, the other for F-35 stealth jets.

Parker Gallant: Sole Source Contracts- The Green & the Stealthy Kind | Energy Probe:

When you compare the two sole sourced contracts, the F-35 stealth jets at a cost of about $725 per person look like a bargain and we will have 10 extra years to pay the debt off. The F-35 jets also won’t kill nearly as many birds and bats as those wind turbines or spoil some of Ontario’s beautiful vistas.

Read the full article at the Energy Probe website

Clearview Township landowners line up in action against wind turbines

Local (Simcoe County) coverage of the legal activity undertaken by opponents of industrial wind in Clearview Township.

Clearview Township landowners line up in action against wind turbines - The Barrie Examiner - Ontario, CA:

WPD has proposed to locate eight wind turbines in an area north and south of County Road 91.

On Friday, Wiggins announced in a news release that 15 residents are now proposed plaintiffs in his action; five other residents have launched a second action against another Beattie family, Ed Beattie & Son Ltd., who the release claims intend to host two turbines on their property south of County Road 91.

“All of these landowners near the proposed wind turbine development are clearly upset that 50-storey turbines are being foisted on them arbitrarily," Wiggins stated in the release. "These groups are establishing a model that other groups across Ontario will now be able to follow... a snowball effect that wind companies, landowners and the Ontario government should take note of.”

 Read the entire article at the Barrie Examiner

Ontario Merging Energy Agencies

Here's the official words from the government.  

They didn't note the global adjustment was $110 million higher than it had ever been before in March - which would make $25 million appear to be insignificant.

The release takes credit for benchmarking studies, which  I recollect as being demanded by the Ontario Energy Board, independent of meddling political intervention, years ago.

Ontario Merging Energy Agencies:

The new agency would eliminate duplication and save ratepayers up to $25 million a year.

It would allow for a more seamless and co-ordinated approach to planning as Ontario integrates new renewable energy projects into the grid and shuts down its last coal-fired plants by the end of 2014.

You could read the full release here

United Front - Sarnia This Week

...Marcelle Brooks of Middlesex Lambton Wind Concern. “It’s a fabulous step forward for Lambton Shores.”

United Front - Sarnia This Week - Ontario, CA:

LAMBTON COUNTY - Three Lambton municipalities plan to present a united front as wind energy companies blow into north and central Lambton placing hundreds of turbines on rural property.

The Ontario government took away municipalities planning rights for green energy projects in the Green Energy Act. But communities are beginning to fight back as it becomes clear the scope and number of the projects on the books.

In Lambton Shores, Plympton-Wyoming and Enniskillen Township there are several major projects in the works, two of which have already been given energy contracts under the Feed In Tariff program - The Cedar Point Wind Project by Suncor and NextEra’s Jericho project. They are meeting together to find things they can do to protect residents in the face of the turbines.

“Some of the things other municipalities are doing they have no jurisdiction to do,“ says Lambton Shores Mayor Bill Weber. “We want stuff we can do.”

Weber points to Plympton-Wyoming’s bylaw requiring a $200,000 bond per turbine and two kilometer setback as things which he believes aren’t permitted under the Green Energy Act.

Read the entire article at Sarnia this Week

“Our municipalities have to remember that their primary duty is to protect the people in their community regardless of what the Green Energy Act says...regardless of whether it can be acted on, they’ve done due diligence whether or not it can be acted on.”

Green energy woes discussed at Lambton NFU annual meeting

Green energy woes discussed at Lambton NFU annual meeting - Today's Farmer - Ontario, CA:

There’s not a whole lot good about wind turbines, or for that matter, Ontario’s Green Energy Act.

At least that seemed to be the general opinion expressed at the annual meeting of Local 328 (Lambton County) National Farmers Union, held recently at the Forest Agricultural Society Hall.

The organization’s outgoing president said issues surrounding wind generators and the Green Energy Act were among his greatest concerns for the rural community as he wrapped up his term of office.

“The thing that had the biggest impact on me are issues regarding wind generators and green energy and the true costs behind them,” said Joe Vye in his report to the membership.

Vye stressed that he hopes no one signs a lease agreement with any energy company, whether it be a natural gas, oil, wind or solar company without having it vetted by a lawyer who specializes in that field.

Please read the full article at Today's Farmer; it contains extensive reporting on important comments from David Colling.

Ontario Liberals set to announce merger of energy-planning agencies

 Breaking News

Ontario Liberals set to announce merger of energy-planning agencies :

The Ontario government appears set to announce a merger of its two big energy-planning agencies.

Sources say that Energy Minister Chris Bentley, who has scheduled a press conference for Wednesday morning, will unveil a merger of the Ontario Power Authority and the Independent Electricity System Operator.

While the merger is likely to produce limited savings, it stands to have considerable symbolic value as Dalton McGuinty's Liberals try to show their commitment to getting the province's troubled finances in order.

read the article at the Globe and Mail site:

SPEAK UP FOR ONTARIO’S ENDANGERED SPECIES THREATENED BY IWT's

The folowing message is sent out by Keith Stelling

JUST SEVEN MORE DAYS TO SPEAK UP FOR ONTARIO’S ENDANGERED SPECIES THREATENED BY WIND TURBINES

Voting on this amendment takes place on Tuesday, 24 April so there is not much time let them know that their amendments to the Ontario Endangered Species Act and other environmental legislation are unacceptable.

Many people have already written to their MPP. Now we have to keep up the pressure on the NDP and the Ministers.  Here is an easy way to register your displeasure at the changes proposed to Ontario’s environmental legislation. You can use these easy on line feed back forms to voice your concerns:

Score the impacts of wind projects on your community

The County Coalition for Safe and Appropriate Green Energy (CCSAGE) has posted a scorecard facilitating the measurement of the impacts of industrial wind on your community.

Score the impacts of wind projects on your community: CCSAGE pec wind turbine news #1 source:

[This article has been written by Gary Mooney, a member of the Steering Committee of CCSAGE.]

Here’s an opportunity for you to evaluate for yourself the impacts of large-scale wind energy development on the long-term sustainability of your community, comparing the positives with the negatives.

I have developed a one-page scoring system, presented here. Click on the image and then print it. After completing the scoring, please add a comment to this post, indicating your total positive and negative scores and your thoughts.

The scoring system reflects the criteria and controls imposed by Ontario’s Green Energy Act. While it has been developed for use in Prince Edward County, it is equally applicable for use in other Ontario communities.

Read the full column, and participate, at CCSAGE's site

“Are the Merits of Wind Power Overblown?” (1997 op-ed)

 A 1997 editorial by Robert Bradley Jr. is reproduced at Master Resource

“Are the Merits of Wind Power Overblown?” (1997 op-ed: How does it read today?) — MasterResource:

Wind power has proven itself to be a perpetual “infant industry,” with its competitive viability always somewhere off on the horizon. Proponents have always argued for continued subsidies on the rationale that commercialization is within sight. In 1985 congressional hearings, for example, an executive of the American Wind Energy Association testified that “the goal for this industry . . . is the lowest-cost source of electricity, along with hydro, available to a utility by 1990.”

Read the entire article at masterresource.org

Blown Apart - Episode 1 | TVO Main

Blown Apart - Episode 1 | TVO Main:

In this episode, the passionate windfarm developer Rachel Ruffle puts forward her controversial plans for the Den Brook Windfarm. Its nine 120 metre-high turbines will transform the landscape in a shallow valley that lies some seven and a quarter kilometres from Dartmoor National Park. One of her allies is farmer Martin Tucker, who stands to gain hugely if the development goes ahead. Set against them are the local action group, including Martin Tucker's cousin, which mobilises to fight the proposals, claiming the turbines are visually intrusive and ineffective. And there's Mike Hulme, an increasingly disillusioned local resident who starts off being friendly with Rachel but whose conscience is torn between the need for action on climate change, and his fears that turbine noise could blight the countryside's peace and tranquillity. Before the local authority West Devon Borough Council votes on its decision, there are acts of vandalism, angry scenes and tears of frustration and disappointment.

Provincial push for wind projects - Sarnia This Week

Suncor rejects municipality's ability to establish setbacks.

Provincial push for wind projects - Sarnia This Week - Ontario, CA:

LAMBTON SHORES - When push comes to shove, Suncor Energy officials say they may turn to the province to push through their wind farm project in Lambton Shores.

Chris Scott, Suncor’s project developer, was appearing before Lambton Shores Council recently to talk about the company’s Cedar Point Wind Project. Up to 62 wind turbines will be installed in Lambton Shores and Plympton-Wyoming to generate about 100 megawatts of power.

As Scott was explaining the timeline for the project and inviting residents to an April 19 open house about the project, he was asked by Councilor John Russell about a bylaw recently passed by Plympton-Wyoming Council which called for a $200,000 per turbine deposit and a 2 kilometer setback for turbines from homes.

“We weren’t pleased,” says Scott. “It is a planning regime which is with the province to decide what the setbacks are.”

Read the entire article at the 'Sarnia This Week' website

Daily reports on the Wind 'Business'

Vestas, the iconic Danish company - the icon of building a company through subsidized purchases for the benefit of first-mover status in building exports - finally has an up day on the markets:

Reports: Chinese wind turbine makers mull Vestas takeover - 16 Apr 2012 - News from BusinessGreen:

Wind turbine giant Vestas rallied on the stock market this morning following reports of a possible takeover.
Danish daily Jyllands-Posten today reported two leading Chinese wind energy firms were considering bidding for Vestas, citing unidentified Danish corporate financiers.

This reality might explain Siemens urging the industry to get competitive (as if that is possible with intermittent power):

"Currently, profitability is not always given." he said. "The wind industry struggles with low margins ... This is not a sustainable situation. We are under pressure to reduce costs quickly. And we have made this our highest priority."

Also in the news today, the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) claims it's a 'Recession-Busting' industry.

Like digging holes ... and filling holes.

Strife in Ontario – The IWT Resistance – Sunday April 15th, 7pm ET Wind Wise Radio

Strife in Ontario – The IWT Resistance – Sunday April 15th, 7pm ET Wind Wise Radio:

Rural Ontario is being plundered by the McGuinty government and his wind developer allies. The citizens are actively resisting the onslaught. We will talk to some of the leaders of the resistance.

Protesters take demonstration to CAW centre

Owen Sounds' The Sun Times has posted coverage, by Bill Henry, of Saturday's Port Elgin protest against the CAW turbine.

Protesters take demonstration to CAW centre - Owen Sound Sun Times - Ontario, CA:

Protesters shouted “take it down” and “shame on you” at the gates of the Canadian Auto Workers centre in Port Elgin.

“That thing makes people sick, take it down,” Greg Schmalz said as close to 300 people joined the chant Saturday afternoon.

Tractors and other farm vehicles, including a horse-drawn wagon, gathered in downtown Port Elgin at noon for the protest parade through town and out to the CAW Family Education Centre.

Cyclists and dozens of people walking with signs, small children and dogs joined the march along the way. A small airplane or two buzzed over the gathering, appearing to fly perilously close to the turbine tower as the crowd watched and cheered.

“That turbine is a precedent-setting turbine because it’s a magnification of all the problems with every turbine in this province,” Schmalz told the crowd. “This turbine is a world first in the wrong way.”

Read the entire article at the Owen Sound Sun Times website

Mr Premier; Who Wants Turbines?

This blog noted the article in the Belleville Intilligencer, yesterday - and Parker Gallant followed up with this letter

To: The Honourable Dalton McGuinty:

I read the interview that you recently had with the Belleville Intellegencer http://www.intelligencer.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3533375 and noted your comments in respect to the placement of wind turbines in communities. To refresh your memory here is the preamble:

"The new wind turbine program will be key to circumventing the angst of factions in areas like Prince Edward County who have vehemently opposed the implementation of wind turbines in their community, Premier Dalton McGuinty said, during an exclusive visit to the Intelligencer Friday." which you followed up with as follows:

"“I've got all kinds of communities that want them,” he said. “I don't need the headaches that are associated with them going into communities that don't want them.”

Hot air: Minister says 'no more onshore wind farms' but thousands already in the pipeline

Statements from the UK's climate change minister regarding wind turbines indicate the Conservative portion of the ruling coalition continues to distance itself from on-shore industrial wind turbines.

Hot air: Minister says 'no more onshore wind farms' but thousands already in the pipeline | Mail Online:

The climate change minister hinted that there will be no more onshore wind farms built in Britain.

But with thousands more already in the pipeline it could be years before the rise of the giant steel turbines is halted.

Conservative Greg Barker said there would be no fresh wave of wind farms – although he did not rule out future offshore developments.

Just four months ago a report was published by Chris Huhne’s department calling for a further 32,000 wind farms – and suggested 10,000 could be onshore.

The article can be read at the Daily Mail site - subscribers to the Daily Mail can read the article where Minister Barker is credited with making the statements examined in this article.

It’s the Cost of the Power, Stupid

Parker Gallant's latest post to the Energy Probe website

It’s the Cost of the Power, Stupid | Energy Probe:

It’s been a flurry of activity around the Ministry of Energy’s offices over the past few days as the Energy Minister, Chris Bentley has announced two initiatives. The first announcement on April 12th was really more of the same but it was labelled Ontario’s “Clean Energy Economic Development Strategy” and included the appointment of a “Task Force” loaded up with the usual suspects that helped to shape the Green Energy Act and those who continue to benefit from it. The 14 members of this task force will reputedly work at “facilitating collaboration” to identify export markets for Ontario’s clean energy industry.  They will lead “cleantech” (what MaRS Discovery District calls it) trade missions” to Asia, the Middle East and the US.  The task force will also be responsible for “Delivering on the province’s “Smart Grid Fund”  to “spur innovation”.  This fund was a $50 million dollar taxpayer fund when set up but it appears the fund has been fully depleted as they no longer accept applications so it remains to be seen what the task force can actually deliver.  In the interim IESO has applied for a rate increase to the OEB to fund their $250 million initiative to monitor the information coming from the smart meters.  This is the forerunner to IESO’s spending on their smart grid initiatives which they previously said would cost $1.6 billion and additional to those costs are IESO’s wind forecasting expenses which ratepayers are already paying for.  We can expect the task force to come back from those foreign trade missions and announce that the benefits of the trade mission will possibly lead to hundreds of million of potential benefits and we can expect that they will continue to push for the addition of more intermittent, unreliable wind and solar power to the Ontario grid.

Read the entire article at the Energy Probe Website

CAW Turbine Protest

There are multiple reports of the protest yesterday in Port Elgin:

First Report of CAW Turbine Protest: Quixotes Last Stand

Picture from Quixotes Last Stand

As part of the protest parade, being positioned close to the end of the long line of cars, trucks, bikes, tractors and walkers, it was heartening to see other residents standing on the sidewalks along the downtown core, giving us thumbs up, applause and waves of encouragement.  Cars that passed us going in the other direction on Highway 21, gave their approval with blasts of their horns and waves out their vehicle windows.

Pictures from the protest are posted at Ontario Wind Resistance and Quixotes Last Stand - which also has posted video

Proposed budget allows foreign companies to kill Ontario’s endangered species

Proposed budget allows foreign companies to kill Ontario’s endangered species: South Shore Conservancy:

The proposed Ontario budget (Bill 55) includes an amendment to the Endangered Species Act. The purpose of the amendment is to exempt renewable energy systems from prohibitions in sections 9(1) and 10(1) of the Endangered Species Act. Sections 9(1) and 10(1) are key sections of the Endangered Species Act as this is where the Act explicitly prohibits the killing, harming and harassing of Ontario species at risk and prohibits damaging and destroying their habitat.

Industrial wind turbine companies currently need to apply to the Ministry of Natural Resources for a permit under the Ontario Species Act if endangered species, threatened species and species of special concern are likely to be killed, harmed and harassed during the construction and operation of the wind energy project and if their habitat will be damaged or destroyed.

If the budget (Bill 55) is passed these companies will no longer need to apply for a permit.

Read the entire article at the South Shore Conservancy website

Green Groups Sue To Stop California Wind Project That Threatens Condor - Forbes

Environmental Groups acting as environmental groups

Green Groups Sue To Stop California Wind Project That Threatens Condor - Forbes:

Three national environmental groups on Friday sued the U.S. Bureau of Land Management over its approval of a planned NextEra Energy Resources wind farm in the Tehachapi region of California that state and federal wildlife officials had warned threatens the critically endangered California condor.
The Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife and the Sierra Club had also sued Kern County last October over its green-lighting of the 300-megawatt North Sky River project.
As I wrote in an investigation...

Read the entire article at forbes.com

Premier McGuinty: looking for a way out?

Premier McGuinty: looking for a way out? - Northgowerwindactiongroup's Blog:

An interview with Premier Dalton McGuinty was published in The Belleville Intelligencer. In it, the premier states that he doesn’t want “the headaches” associated with wind power generation projects going into communities that don’t want them...

This represents a substantial change from the Premier’s words in 2009 when he said one of the purposes of the Green Energy and Green Economy Act was to prevent “NIMBY” communities and citizens from blocking wonderful green energy projects.

Hmm.

Energy sector review is go GTA

A number of outlets are reporting on the announcement of a panel which is either to review Ontario's electricity sector, or to neutralize criticism of the government's policies in the sector until after an election, or both.

Energy sector review is go | Toronto & GTA | News | Toronto Sun:

TORONTO - The energy sector review promised in March’s budget will start right away and look at consolidating local power companies, Energy Minister Chris Bentley said Friday.

“The main goal quite simply is to see if the electricity sector can’t work better for families and for businesses,” Bentley said. “How can it work most efficiently? How does it work most cost-effectively?”

As well, Bentley said he’s asking for an “independent benchmarking” of the province’s two biggest energy agencies - Ontario Power Generation and Hydro One - for an objective view of how they’re performing.

“We want some advice on how they compare internationally to similar agencies, and whether they can operate more efficiently and if there are ways that we can reduce costs,” Bentley said.

 The entire article can be read at the Toronto Sun site

NextEra & Suncor explain “Community Bribe-Vibrancy”

 The Middlesex-Lambton Wind Action Group posted, a link to an article (in the Lakeshore Advance) on the NextEra activities concerning the Jericho project.  
The editiorial comment added introducing the comment was:

Ed- the wind companies spoke very quietly about some points about their bribrancy fund, which caused an audience member to speak out and asay, “Could you speak up please, we can’t hear your BRIBES!”.

Liberals’ vow of green jobs misses mark

Lorrie Goldstein looks at job claims now, and less than 1 year ago

Liberals’ vow of green jobs misses mark | Lorrie goldstein | Columnists | Comment | London Free Press:

Last week, on April 12, Ontario’s energy ministry announced a new “Clean Energy Economic Development Strategy,” including a new government task force and trade missions to Asia, the Middle East and U.S.

The ministry said this will “create even more jobs in the clean energy sector,” while boasting “Ontario’s green energy strategy has created over 20,000 jobs and is on track to create 50,000 jobs.” Notice there’s no longer any time frame given on when those 50,000 jobs will be created.

But there was a year ago, on May 16, 2011, when the government issued a release headlined “McGuinty Government Creating Clean Energy Jobs” which began by claiming, “Ontario’s Green Energy Act will help the province create 50,000 new clean energy jobs by the end of 2012.” But wait a minute. The Green Energy Act was passed in May, 2009. It’s now April, 2011, less than 9 months from the end of 2012.

So, how’s McGuinty going to create “50,000 new clean energy jobs by the end of 2012”

 Read the entire article at the London Free Press site

Hold your horses: Ontario premier

Our premier, in an interview with Belleville's Intelligencer, is vehemently against full horses.

I can't comment, politely, on many statements in this article.

Hold your horses: Ontario premier - Belleville Intelligencer - Ontario, CA:

Ontario's premier is introducing a points system to identify rural communities who welcome renewable energy installations like wind turbines. He adds that he will not sacrifice health care or full-day kindergarten for horse racing.

...

With health care costs soaring to about $3 billion annually partly because of respiratory illnesses linked to pollution, McGuinty remains committed to investing in renewable energy as a measure to curb those expenditures. 

...

“I've got all kinds of communities that want them,” he said. “I don't need the headaches that are associated with them going into communities that don't want them.”

The full article can be read at the Intelligencer site - maybe self-medicate first

Vestas smears wind turbine neighbours

The Industrial Wind Action Group posted a translation of an article from the Danish Daily Politiken.  It's a very important read, centred on Doctor Mauri Johansson taking concerns, and evidence, to the March 29 annual meeting of Vestas, it notes the wind industry's ability to smear those with valid concerns.

www.windaction.org | Vestas smears wind turbine neighbours:

The Danish Association of Neighbours of Giant Wind Turbines (Landsforeningen Naboer til Kæmpemøller) is, for example, in favour of wind turbines, but argues that most of them should be located offshore. Scientists both abroad and in Denmark have warned that the authorities apply less strict requirements to the wind turbine industry than to other types of industries.

As previously mentioned in the Politiken newspaper, the new Danish Executive Order issued by the Ministry of the Environment has been criticised by internationally renowned experts such as Professor of Acoustics, Henrik Møller from Aalborg University, and Professor of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Kerstin Persson from Gothenburg University.

Crying out for change - Cornwall

Crying out for change - The Cornwall Standard Freeholder - Ontario, CA:

CORNWALL — MPP Jim McDonell said entrepreneurs and economic development officials are crying out for changes to the Ontario budget that will create more jobs and reduce the cost of energy.

The budget — tabled recently by Dalton McGuinty’s Liberal government — was weak on job creation, lacked serious spending reductions and did not appropriately address a mandatory wage freeze...

A second roundtable was held in Winchester with municipal politicians and business leaders.

McDonell said he heard loud and clear that municipalities and smaller businesses can’t stay apace with electricity price increases.
One of the biggest factors are Green Energy Act developments, which he claimed have costed 4-5 times more than predicted.
He said the PCs would scrap pending wind-solar developments and buy out contracts before construction begins.
“It would still be cheaper (than paying the companies the huge green energy subsidies).”

The full article can be read at the Standard Freeholder site

Misery in South Marysburgh and Athol c. 2014 : CCSAGE

 The County Coalition for Safe and Appropriate Green Energy (CCSAGE) has a post citing the unfortunate evidence of the health impacts residents in project areas are threatened with.

Misery in South Marysburgh and Athol c. 2014 : CCSAGE pec wind turbine news #1 source:

The following excerpts from 22 testimonies describe serious medical symptoms experienced by some Ontario residents living in the vicinity of industrial wind turbines. Almost all of the reports are from southwestern Ontario, but the first is from nearby Wolfe Island.

These families are not comfortable .. not healthy .. not safe in their own homes. And many are trapped there for financial reasons, due to an inabilty to sell out at a reasonable price — in some cases, at any price.

The primary medical risk zone (called the Turbine Risk Zone), is a 2-km circle around each industrial wind turbine (see the statement by the Society for Wind Vigilance at http://wp.me/p1M8CZ-hE ). The combined footprint of all Turbine Risk Zones from WPD turbines in South Marysburgh and eastern Athol Ward is shown on the map at http://tinyurl.com/843ure4. Within this area, it is conservatively estimated that 20% to 40% of people will experience medical symptoms, ranging from mild to severe to home abandonment.

This post is very long, but even a quick read will give you an idea of what’s in store for many South County families starting in 2014, if the WPD project is built. We need to make sure that this doesn’t happen.

The full post can be read at the CCSAGE site

Wind turbine proposal generates more legal action

The Wiggins have company in fighting off WPD's proposed IWTs

Simcoe Article: Wind turbine proposal generates more legal action:

STAYNER - John and Sylvia Wiggins, who earlier this year launched a lawsuit against WPD Canada, regarding its application to erect eight wind turbines west of Stayner, say that 20 more landowners have joined the legal fight.

...

In a news release issued Friday afternoon, the Wiggins said 15 additional landowners “are now also proposed plaintiffs,” in the action against WPD, as well as legal action that was launched against Beattie Bros., Ltd., which owns land north of County Road 91, where six of the turbines would be situated.

...

The total value of the two claims now exceeds $17-million

Read the full article at Simcoe.com

War of words continues as opponents plan protest against CAW wind turbine

"A protest against the turbine is planned for Saturday. Cars, trucks, tractors, farm equipment and other vehicles will gather next to The Plex in Port Elgin at 12:30 p.m. The parade will begin at 1 p.m. and proceed south on Highway 21, ending at the CAW gates. Walkers will join the parade at the top of Bruce Road 25 and Highway 21. The protest will wrap up at 3 p.m."

War of words continues as opponents plan protest against CAW wind turbine - Owen Sound Sun Times - Ontario, CA:

The 100-metre industrial wind turbine at the Canadian Auto Workers' Family Education Centre in Port Elgin is effectively a "vanity project," says the lawyer representing several opponents of the project.

"I think it's a publicity stunt in the sense that they're hoping to basically convince the public that they are green," said Toronto-based solicitor Nicolas Rouleau.

He said the turbine, which opponents plan to protest against this Saturday, will not generate much electricity and will not be part of a large wind development.

"It's one turbine so it's not as if the CAW is taking big, serious steps to build a wind farm to boost Ontario's green energy policy. It's a turbine that's meant to be purely educational and it's essentially something for the CAW to show off as how green the CAW is and, in that sense, there is no reason to have it where it is."

The turbine project is highly contentious.

Opponents say it is built too close to homes and, as a result, threatens the health and safety of many people and will reduce the value of nearby residential properties.

 Read the entire article at the Owen Sound Sun Times site