Renewable Energy News

Wind Power News

Does wind energy work for Ontario?  It’s hard to say.   There are pros and cons:

PROS

- All traditional sources of electricity have been tapped.  Does not require a huge environmental impact such as would be caused by creating a new hydro dam (see Newfoundland’s Muskrat Falls and BC’s Site C). 

- Wind is a free, renewable energy source.

- Turbines cost a few million each while a nuclear plant costs billions of dollars.  (Nuclear accounts for roughly 53% of Ontario’s energy needs and definitely has it own problems. See Nuclear News.)

- “Clean energy” resulting in no radioactive or toxic waste residue or exhausts.

- Do not emit climate destabilizing carbon.

- Do not require costly fuel imports to operate.

- Water not required for cooling so ideal in water shortage areas.

- Wind farms can be built quickly.

- Alternative energy sources threaten oil sands/tar sands projects (article)

CONS

- Wind turbines create energy only when the wind blows in a certain range – can’t be too fast or too slow.

- Energy cannot be stored and must be used immediately.

- Easier to shut down a wind turbine than it is to shut down a nuclear plant (which takes several days to start up again) so wind is shut down first when the demand for electricity is low.

- One turbine can produce 450kw to 2.5mw versus a nuclear plant at 5,500 mw.

- To encourage investment, our government provided subsidies that make each kilowatt hour expensive ($0.50 - $.80 per kWh)

- Noise pollution (article).

- Light/flicker pollution.  Farmers cite examples of the strobing effect/glare of sunlight through the turbine blades when the are working in surrounding fields.

- Human health impact – low level noise vibration can cause sleep disturbances, headaches, vertigo, tinnitus, pressure sensitivity.

- Animal health impact – farm animals and family pets can be affected.

- Wildlife impact – serious impact on bats, birds especially in migration areas.  Bird impact include (i) collision with turbines, (ii) collision with associated meteorological towers, (iii) collision with, or execution by, associated electrical power facilities, and (iv) nest abandonment or behaviour avoidance from habitat modification.  (Mortality reports, article)

- Neighbouring property value impact.

- Water course and drainage impacts.

- Destruction of forests and farmland.

- Transmission line and transformer station impacts

- Stray voltage impacts (no legal limits specified)

- Can reduce/negatively impact prime farmland (when gravel is used for access roads)

- Decommissioning (hard to revert back to pre-construction condition – gravel gets in soil, soils are compacted, concrete pad typically left in ground, drainage, etc.)

- Turbine parts are not all recyclable (blades are made of resins and are 100-150’ in length)

- Turbine parts can become unattached (article)

- Turbine technology is changing.  The huge turbines and tight densities that are common today were not accounted for in original legislation.

- Construction liens on land (article)

- Blades are constructed of fiberglass and can’t be recycled (article)

Opponents want to know why the onus is on residents to prove the negative impacts of industrial wind turbine installations, and not on the company to prove that the turbines are safe.

In general, wind turbines seem to work best where there is a steady flow of wind and no human neighbours (i.e. considered successful in the Alberta prairies or offshore Denmark).

In summary, wind turbines are highly controversial in Ontario in rural areas where people live.

Links to Specific Projects/Vendors:

Dufferin County:  Dufferin Wind Power/China Longyuan

Prince Edward County:  www.SaveOstranderPoint.org  + AO information + CCSAGE blog

Firefly Power LLC – www.facebook.com/FireflyPower / @Firefly_Power

Clearview Township – WPD Canada

Opposition:

Wind Victims Ontario:  www.windvictimsontario.com

News – Wind Power

Date	Source	Title	Comment
2023-08-05	Slaynews.com	Scotland Admits Chopping Down 16 Million Trees to Make Way for ‘Green’ Wind Energy Farms	Frank Bergman
2018-07-23	National Post	John Ivison: Wind turbine decision says Doug Ford's Ontario is closed for business	John Ivison
2018-07-11	CTV News	Cancelling Ontario's wind project could cost over $100M, company warns	Shawn Jeffords, The Canadian Press
2018-07-11	CBC News	Ford government's plan to cancel wind project could cost taxpayers over $100M, company warns	The Canadian Press - WPD Canada
2018-04-25	Global News	Opponents against wind turbines on Amherst Island fight to protect endangered turtles	- blandings turtle
2018-03-15	The News-Gazette (USA)	Sidney resident offers cautionary tale on wind farms	Christine Walsh AO Info - Renewables: Solar
2018-03-08	CBC News	Natyshak booted from legislature for demanding minister drink CK well water	- Essex MPP Taras Natyshak
2018-03-06	Chatham Daily News	Chatham Township couple growing frustrated as water well remains clogged	Ellwood Shreve
2018-01-19	CBC News Windsor	Turbine snaps in half in Chatham-Kent, MPP calls for halt of wind projects	Dan Taekema
2018-01-19	CTV Windsor	Wind Turbine breaks in half in Chatham-Kent
2017-09-22	Barrie Examiner	Collingwood-area turbine project put to rest	Gisele Winton Sarvis
2017-09-12	Council of Canadians	Samsung set to take away Chatham family’s water	Mark Calzavara AO Water News
2017-08-21	Waterwellsfirst.org	Chatham Kent Windfarm admits pile driving caused water wells to go murky Wind Company admits negative impact on Ontario Ground Water.
2017-06-16	Theconversation.com	Wind farms are hardly the bird slayers they’re made out to be. Here’s why	Simon Chapman and Fiona Chrichton’s book “Wind Turbine Syndrome: a communicated disease”
2017-05-02	Globe and Mail	Two-thirds of electricity in Canada now comes from renewable energy	Mia Rabson
2017-04-03	EcoWatch / Lorraine Chow	Wind Power Smashes Records Worldwide	Lorraine Chow
2017-03-20	EcoWatch / Lorraine Chow	Germany Converts Coal Mine Into Giant Battery Storage for Surplus Solar and Wind Power	Lorraine Chow
2016-10-30	Telegraph (UK)	Opinion:  We're following Germany down the primrose path of green energy madness	Christopher Booker
2016-10-08	Simcoe.com / Wasaga Sun	Clearview wind turbine approval stalled by Environmental Review Tribunal	Ian Adams AO Info
2016-10-03	Simcoe.com / Wasaga Sun	MOECC pulls support for two turbine locations in Clearview Township wind project	Ian Adams AO Info
2016-10-02	Telegraph (UK)	Cut-throat competition is slashing offshore wind costs to unthinkable levels	Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
2016-09-29	Wildlife.org	JWM study: Wind farms in Canada kill tens of thousands of bats	Nala Rogers
2016-06-23	TrueActivist.com	Wind Turbines On Galapagos Islands Are Cutting Down On Diesel Fuel Without Harming Endangered Birds	Brianna Acuesta
2016-05-04	Fox News (USA)	New administration rule would permit thousands of eagle deaths at wind farms	Associated Press
2016-04-22	Collingwood Enterprise-Bulletin	Wilson's protest fall on deaf ears	JT McVeigh - Jim Wilson, MPP - wpd
2016-04-22	Bayshore Broadcasting	UPDATE: Liberals Quash Turbine Bill	- Jim Wilson, MPP - wpd
2016-04-12	Owen Sound Sun Times	Wind turbine at Ferndale leaning	Rob Gowan
2016-02-22	CBC News Nova Scotia	Trenton's mayor hopes new operator can be found for wind tower plant	- Daewoo, DSME Trenton Ltd.
2016-01-16	Wind Concerns Ontario	Ostrander Point wind farm developer stuns appeal hearing Friday
2015-10-29	SaveTheBalaFalls.com	Big Thunder Wind Park, Thunder Bay – Notice of Refusal (.pdf)
2015-10-20	CTV News Barrie	PCs want safety audit of all wind turbines after reports of parts flying off
2015-10-09	Ontario-Wind-Resistance.org	Huron East farmers hit with $32 million liens by wind turbine construction contractors
2015-09-05	Youtube / W4GW	Where Have All the Eagles Gone? ( 3 mins)	- skykill - roadkill (Toronto Star)
2015-08-06	Texas State Impact (USA)	New Tool Predicts Bird Deaths from Wind Turbines	Mose Buchele
2015-07-12	Trueactivist.com	Denmark Just Produced 140% of its Electricity Needs Via Wind Power	Amanda Froelich
2015-06-01	TheGuardian.com	Can bladeless wind turbines mute opposition?	Dominic Bates Youtube video
2015-05-08	Inhabitat.com	Could this giant straw be the solution to the problems with wind turbines?	Michelle Kennedy Hogan
2015-04-30	Inquisitr.com	Myth Of Offshore Wind Being Expensive Debunked – Wind Power Now Cheaper Than Gas-Fired And Nuclear Power	Youtube link
2015-03-26	The Agenda with Steve Paikin	Blog:  Why so many rural Ontarians can’t stand wind power	John Michael McGrath
2015-03-18	EcoWatch / Cole Mellino	Google X Announces Revolutionary Flying Wind Turbines at SXSW	Cole Mellino
2015-02-24	Protect Amherst Island	Ontario Energy Board Rejects Request For Oral Hearing
2015-02-04	Financial Post	Comment:  Ontario’s big wind bonanza:  Over 90% of subsidies funneled to just 11 companies	Brady Yauch
2015-01-06	Ring of Fire Radio	Wind Turbines Produced Enough Power to Supply 98 Percent of Scottish Homes in 2014	Amy Eddings
2015-01-03	NewWind R&D (French)	L’Arbre a Vent (Wind Trees)	- looks like a tree - silent & powerful - requires half the wind of traditional turbines - prototypes to be installed in Paris, France in March 2015 Youtube by Haaretz.com (1 min)
2014-12-28	Daily Record (UK)	Doctor claims Scotland’s biggest windfarm has contaminated public water supply with cancer-causing chemical	Craig McDonald AO Water News
2014-12-07	Guelph Mercury	Wind turbines have little impact on property values: University of Guelph study	Colin Perkel
2014-11-19	Simcoe.com / Collingwood Connection	MPP Wilson tilts at wind turbine project near Collingwood airport	Ian Adams
2014-11-06	Ontario Sustainable Energy Association	Health Canada finds wind turbine noise not linked to health problems	- contains links to report .pdfs
2014-11-06	CBC News	Wind turbine noise not linked to health problems, Health Canada finds
2014-11-06	Toronto Star	No definitive link between wind turbines and poor health, says Health Canada study	Raveena Aulakh, John Spears
2014-11-06	Toronto Sun	No link between poor health and wind turbines: Health Canada	Jessica Hume
2014-11-04	Stop These Things	Abandoned Homes Help Understand Wind Turbine Annoyance	William Palmer, Acoustical Society of America (29-Oct-2014)
2014-10-23	Sachem & Glanbrook Gazette	Haldimand repairing roads affected by green energy projects	Jen Nevans - Samsung
2014-10-16	Orangeville Banner	Grand Valley mayor not shocked by wind farm approval	Chris Halliday
2014-09-30	Theobserver.ca	Outside of GTA, C-K farms fetching top prices in Ontario	Ellwood Shreve - Chatham-Kent - land values
2014-09-26	Daily Mail (UK)	Power produced by wind turbines falls by a fifth despite hundreds of new turbines being built	Damien Gayle
2014-07-24	Jim Wilson, MPP Progressive Conservatives	Wind turbine Question July 24^th, 2014	Jim WilsonMPP - 500’ wind turbines in flight path to Collingwood airport
2014-07-23	Bloomberg	European Wind Turbine Forecasts Cut as Power Demand Falls	Alex Morales
2014-05-31	Toronto Sun	Opinion: Liberal wind scam	Lorrie Goldstein
2014-05-28	Phys.org	Dutch company launches new-generation urban wind turbines	Nancy Owano
2014-05-27	E&T Magazine	Noiseless shell-shaped wind turbine for households unveiled	Tereza Pultarova
2014-05-12	Toronto Sun	Hudak vows to pull the plug on wind power	Antonella Artuso
2014-05-02	WindTurbineSyndrome.com	Blog: Germany concedes wind energy was a flop. (Ontario, are you listening?)	Author not specified – refers to NoTricksZone writer P. Gosselin.  Also link to book review: Wind Turbine Syndrome (health)
2014-04-16	EcoWatch / Union of Concerned Scientists	Wind Energy Threat to Birds is Overblown	Elliott Negin
2014-04-08	EcoWatch / Brandon Baker	U.S. Wind Power cut Nearly 100 Million Tons of Carbon Emissions in 2013	Brandon Baker
2014-02-13	EcoWatch / Brandon Baker	Interactive Map Shows All 47,000 Wind Turbines in the U.S.	Brandon Baker - interactive map link
2014-02-06	EcoWatch / Brandon Baker	West Coast’s First Offshore Wind Turbine Gets Green Light For Development	Brandon Baker Associated Press article
2014-01-20	EcoWatch / American Wind Energy Association	Groups Debunk Myths About Wind Power’s Impact on Wildlife	John Anderson
2014-01-13	EcoWatch / ThingProgress	Company Behind Northern Gateway Tar Sands Pipeline Spends $200M on Huge Wind Project	Emily Atkin AO Northern Gateway News
2014-01-06	EcoWatch / ThinkProgress.org	“60 Minutes” Attack on Renewable Energy Ignores The Facts	Joe Romm
2013-12-24	EcoWatch / ThinkProgress	13 Renewable Energy Breakthroughs of 2013	Kiley Kroh and Jeff Spross
2013-12-22	EcoWatch / Climate News Network	U.S. Scientists Convert Algae to Crude Oil in Less Than an Hour	Tim Radford
2013-12-09	Guelph Mercury	Groundwork begins for new energy grid in Guelph	Chris Seto
2013-12-02	Financial Post	Opinion: Ontario’s Power Trip: Province lost $1.2-billion this year exporting power	Parker Gallant
2013-11-23	Toronto Star	Wind and sky hold key to Ontario’s energy future	David Israelson
2013-11-22	USA Dept of Justice	News release:  Utility Company Sentenced in Wyoming for Killing Protected Birds at Wind Projects
2013-11-20	Midwest Energy News	Report: Stable policy key to Great Lakes offshore wind jobs	Dan Haugen
2013-11-15	EcoWatch / Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Powering the Planet: How Do We Balance Energy, Water and Climate?	David L. Chandler
2013-11-14	Ottawa Citizen	Wind-power company Trillium gets OK to sue Ontario for $2.25B	Don Butler
2013-10-30	Globe and Mail	White fungus spells a dark future for North America’s bat populations	Dene Moore
2013-10-25	EcoWatch / The Daily Climate	Showing Renewables Capable of Replacing Fossil Fuels	Paul Brown
2013-10-22	EcoWatch / Renewables	Middle-class Homeowners Biggest Buyers of Rooftop Solar	Brandon Baker
2013-10-18	EcoWatch / Rnewables	Renewable Energy Capacity Outpacing Coal, Oil and Nuclear Combined	Brandon Baker
2013-10-07	CTV News London	Wind turbine ‘unwilling hosts’ list grows to 71 municipalities.
2013-09-29	Youtube / Dnews	Are Wind And Solar Energy Worth The Effort?
2013-09-22	Cumberland Times News (USA)	In Federal Lawsuits, Keyser residents allege wind farm threatens well-being	23 lawsuits filed
2013-09-18	Energy Probe	Michigan and New York’s best friend – Ontario	Parker Gallant and Scott Luft
2013-09-13	Toronto Sun	Editorial: Ontario Liberals blowing in the wind
2013-09-11	680 News	Ontario starts paying wind turbines not to produce electricity when not needed
2013-09-06	EcoWatch / Southern Alliance for Clean Energy	Wind Farms Don’t Affect Property Values	Chris Carnevale
2013-09-04	Lake Ontario Waterkeepers	One thing you should know about Ontario’s energy plan	EBR 011-9490
2013-09-03	EcoWatch / Yale Environment 360	Utility Companies Launch Attack Against Rising Solar Market (USA)	Marc Gunther
2013-08-26	Environmental Defense	Ontario’s Energy Future: Cutting Through the Spin	EBR 011-9490
2013-08-23	EcoWatch / TckTckTck	Record-Breaking Renewable Energy Capacity Pushes for Fossil Fuel Plants to Close in Germany
2013-08-09	Forbes	Environmentalists Gearing Up For A War On Wind	Loren Steffy
2013-08-07	Toronto Star	Solar farm fight could set precedent on moraine	Rachel Mendleson Illumination LP
2013-08-01	EcoWatch / Oceana	First Ever U.S. Offshore Wind Lease Sale in New England	Grace O’Connor
2013-07-31	Toronto Star	Wind farm wars playing out in rural Ontario	Colin Graf
2013-07-30	City News Toronto	SUNWINCOR wants to put wind farm at Leslie Street Spit: report	Showwei Chu Leslie Spit
2013-07-30	Change.org	Petition:  SUNWINCOR International: Support Toronto, ON Leslie Wind Farm	Jafray Hinsen Leslie Spit
2013-07-30	Toronto Star	Wind farm propsed on Leslie Spit	John Spears Leslie Spit
2013-07-13	Mail Online (UK)	Dirty Secret of Britain’s power madness:  Polluting diesel generators … true eco-scandals	James Dellingpole
2013-07-07	American Elephant Wordpress	Blog:  14,000 Abandoned Wind Turbines Litter the United States	The Elephant’s Child - Altamont Pass, Tehachapi, San Gorgonio in California
2013-07-06	Toronto Sun	Wynne’s wind fiasco	Lorrie Goldstein
2013-07-04	Gov.UK	World’s largest offshore wind farm opens in the UK	The London Array
2013-07-01	Westcoast Native News	Unnatural Gas: How Government Made Fracking Profitable (and Left Renewables Behind)	USA
2013-06-28	Motley Fool	Opinion:  What does the future hold for Canada’s oil sands?	Arjun Sreekumar Alternative energy sources threaten oil sands
2013-06-20	Globe & Mail	Ontario slashes green energy deal	Adrian Morrow
2013-05-31	Orangeville Banner Orangeville.com	Province to “tune up” green energy rules, replace FIT	Chris Halliday
2013-05-13	Wind Concerns Ontario blog	Ontario’s $10 million Monday Morning Hangover
2013-04-23	Toronto Star	Wind turbines have reduced property values, court says	John Spears John Wiggans Fairview Wind Project
2013-04-17	David Suzuki/EcoWatch	Wind Power Opponents May Be Blowing Hot Air	David Suzuki
2013-04-11	Toronto Sun	Wind power kills jobs and increases electricity costs:  Report	Antonella Artuso
2013-04-08	Technology Review	Will Vertical Turbines Make More of the Wind?	Kevin Bullis
2013-04-07	Daily Mail (UK)	RSPB makes a killing … from windfarm giants behind turbines accused of destroying rare birds	James Dellingpole “turbines killing millions of birds each year”
2013-04-03	Earth Policy Institute	World wind power set to top 300,000 megawatts in 2013, after record 2012	J. Matthew Roney
2013-03-30	Watershed Magazine	Industrial Wind Turbines	Denny Manchee and Tom Groot
2013-03-17	EcoWatch	Wind Power’s Unprecedented Contribution to Electricity Generation in 2012	J. Matthew Roney
2013-03-14	Forbes	Opinion:  Germany's Green Energy Disaster: A Cautionary Tale For World Leaders	Howard Rich, Chairman of Americans for Limited Government
2013-03-05	Toronto Star	New wind power rules coming in Ontario to curb output	John Spears Companies to be compensated for some but not all of lost output
2013-02-27	Toronto Star	Surplus wind power could cost Ontario ratepayers up to $200 million: IESO	John Spears
2013-02-25	Earth Policy Institute	Wind Surpasses Nuclear: Proof Positive Renewables Can Power the Planet	J. Matthew Roney - AO China News
2013-02-19	Environmental Defence	Environmental groups urge Ontario Energy Board to put conservation first	Toronto’s Bremner transformer station
2013-02-13	Toronto Star	Hydro debt retirement charge reporting proposed in Ontario	John Spears
2013-02-11	Globe and Mail	Canada ninth in global wind energy rankings	Richard Blackwell
2013-02-10	Health Canada	Health Canada Releases Revised Research Design for the Wind Turbine Noise and Health Study
2013-02-10	Thinkprogress.org	In Australia, Wind Power is already cheaper than fossil fuels, and solar is right behind	Jeff Spross
2013-02-08	Daily Caller	Wind subsidies threaten to shut down nuclear plants, warns energy exec	Michael Bastasch
2013-02-06	Toronto Star	Wynne will take on agriculture ministry when sworn in	Richard J. Brennan concerns about wind farms being forced on municipalities
2013-02-01	Toronto Star	Wind and solar power firms fight $100 million rule change	John Spears
2013-02-01	Mail Online	The wind turbine that couldn’t cope with a gale	Hugo Gye, Mark Duell and Luke Salkeld
2013-01-10	Toronto Star	Ontario coal-burning power plants to close this year	John Spears
2013-01-31	WindPower.org	Wind energy passes 30%	Danish Wind Industry Association: 30% of Denmark’s electricity consumption covered by wind
2011-07-19	Earth Techling	Vertical Turbines, Packed Tight, Boost Power	Pete Danko
2010-03-13	Telegraph	Wind Turbines: “Eco-friendly” but not to eagles	Christopher Booker
2010-02	Canadian Wind Energy Association	Report:  Wind Energy Study - Effect on Real Estate Values in the Municipality of Chatham-Kent, Ontario (.pdf)	Canning & Simmons - land values
2009-9-22	USA Today	Bird deaths present problem at wind farms	William M. Welch
2007-12-07	Youtube / KQED	Fatal Attraction: Birds and Wind Turbines – KQED Quest
2007-5-1	American Bird Conservancy	The House Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans Oversight Hearing on: “Gone with the Wind: Impacts of Wind Turbines on Birds and Bats”	Dr. D. Michael Fry

For more information:

Ontario Ministry of Energy - emPOWERme

Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) – www.ieso.ca

Ontario Energy Board (www.OntarioEnergyBoard.ca / @OntEnergyBoard)

USA:  Interactive map showing all 47,000 wind turbines

Tehachapi Pass Wind Farm (wikipedia)

Wind Turbine Bird & Bat Mortality Reports

Go to AWARE-Ontario Renewables News

Go to AWARE-Ontario Fossil Fuel Energy Alternatives

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Disclaimer: This information has been compiled through private amateur research for the purpose of allowing the reader to make an informed and educated decision.  However, while the information is believed to be reliable, accuracy cannot be guaranteed.

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