Re: Grimsby to examine turbine question, Nov. 7.

I chuckled at comments made by Mayor Bentley and Ald. Seaborn assuring residents that Grimsby will not be considered for wind turbines.

Mayor Bentley seems to think that there is a lack of wind that makes Grimsby unsuitable but I suggest that residents check out the wind speed maps on the Ministry of Natural Resources website. They will see that the wind speeds in Grimsby may actually be slighter better than those documented for both Wainfleet and West Lincoln where wind projects have been approved or are in process. In fact, the maps show many parts of Ontario where the wind speed is no different than that experienced in Grimsby yet they now have hundreds of wind turbines.

Mayor Bentley and Ald. Seaborn are dead wrong if they think Grimsby is somehow safe from the onslaught.  The wind speed maps on the MNR website show many areas where the wind speed is considered less than acceptable yet wind turbine projects have been approved.

Once the wind projects start, they continue to get approved. Look at the experience of other areas where over the past few years; many projects were approved and have resulted in hundreds of wind turbines. It starts with one small project and then it continues. Chatham-Kent has 629 wind turbines either already erected or in process, Huron is at 512 and Thunder Bay is at 537.  Check out the wind speed maps for those areas and then ask if Grimsby is safe.

I would suggest that the part of Grimsby above the escarpment is a very likely target, particularly after the infrastructure for transmission is in place. Two projects have now been approved for Niagara and the third is in process. It won’t stop there, and residents in other parts of Niagara should be aware of that. Chatham-Kent is approximately the same size as Niagara and to achieve the numbers that the provincial government is committed to, they will have to look beyond Wainfleet and West Lincoln.

Courts have recently ruled that Trillium Energy could sue the province for pulling their contract to place wind turbines in Lake Ontario. It was the Liberals that chose to declare a moratorium on off-shore wind turbines prior to the last election. The recent court decision may affect the province’s policy on wind turbines in the Great Lakes. Residents of Grimsby could very well find themselves looking at wind turbines in the lake and atop the escarpment, as they can be seen from miles and miles away.

Mayor Bentley and Ald. Seaborn should not be making promises that they may not be able to keep. Although it doesn’t guarantee anything, residents of Grimsby should be demanding that Council declare the town to be a unwilling host.

 Henry Van Ryn,

Grimsby