Monthly Archives: February 2014

Canada Wind, Corruption, Government Misrepresentation, Ontario Wind

Wind power approvals pushing Ontario hydro bills up

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February 11, 2014
Wind Power Project Approvals Driving Up Cost of Ontario’s Electricity
By Parker Gallant
The provincial government would have us believe it is taking steps to manage rapidly rising electricity costs. Meanwhile, in the background, they are pushing 55 wind turbine projects through the Renewable Energy Approval process, projects  that will add $1.1 billion per year to Ontario’s electricity costs.  The impact of these turbine projects is 20 times the cost of the gas plant relocations.
The 230-megawatt  (MW) Niagara Region Wind Project proposed for West Lincoln and Wainfleet in the Niagara Region alone will add $78 million annually to Ontario’s electricity costs when approved.  The cost over its 20-year contract is $1.6 Billion.  Rather than declining or delaying these 55 projects, the provincial government continues to issue approvals and increasing electricity costs to levels that Ontario household and business users cannot afford.
In fact, wind power projects continue to be approved almost weekly despite Ontario’s current surplus of electricity.  Some operators of existing wind power generation facilities are actually being paid not to produce electricity, and neighbouring jurisdictions like New York and Michigan are being paid to take Ontario’s surplus power, which they in turn use to attract jobs away from Ontario with cheap electricity.  To create capacity on the grid for the expensive power generated by wind turbines, Ontario is also idling the Niagara hydro plants which in the past have powered Ontario’s economy by supplying cheap clean electricity.
The truth is that wind is not a reliable source of electric power.  In Ontario, wind turbines generate most of their electricity at night, and in the fall and winter months—exactly when we don’t need it. To provide the electricity needed by the province during the day, and in the hot summers, Ontario has had to supplement wind turbines with gas plants to provide electricity when the wind is not blowing.  This means that the average Ontario electricity user will not only pay about $220 annually for the cost of the wind turbine contracts but also another $200 annually to pay for the base costs of the gas plants needed to back them up.  Ontario electricity ratepayers could do a lot with that $420.
While the government argues that it has no option but to proceed with these projects, Ontario court have confirmed that the Feed-in-Tariff contracts issued for these projects only allow the proponent to enter a “complex regulatory process that might have led to approvals” and that the Environmental Project Act gives the Ministry of the Environment Director “broad powers to issue, reject, or amend Renewable Energy Approvals.”  The known impacts of existing wind power projects on communities in rural Ontario give the Ministry of the Environment Director a basis for rejecting or delaying these projects.  The Ontario government is pursuing wind power without a proper cost-benefit analysis, as was pointed out by the Auditor-General in 2011; no analysis was done before launching into the wind power program, or since. Citing benefits to the environment, is not an appropriate rationale:  with the coal plants closed, there is no need for concern about pollution from them, and there are also valid concerns about environmental damage and harm to wildlife from wind power plants.
For example, the government’s own Environmental Review Tribunal revoked approval to construct the Ostrander Point project last July because the project would cause “serious and irreversible harm” to the endangered Blanding’s turtles native to the area.  Rather than accepting that decision, however, the Ministry of the Environment partnered with the wind industry in January to appeal this ruling in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto; the Ministry is trying to overturn the decision to protect the turtles.  Similarly, the Ministry continues to support the Wainfleet Wind Energy project, despite the obvious dangers presented to users of the nearby Skydive Burnaby facility.
Electricity costs in Ontario are now among the highest in North America. Ontario households and businesses have reached the limit of their capacity to pay for this Green Energy experiment. It is time for the Ontario government to stop approving more wind turbine projects, like the Niagara Region Wind Project, that will drive up the cost of electricity in the province for the next 20 years while generating electricity we do not need.
Parker Gallant is a former vice-president with the TD Bank, a former director with Energy Probe, and currently an energy analyst and commentator. He is vice-president of Wind Concerns Ontario.
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Global warmists aim to disempower America

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By Ron Arnold Washington Examiner                                                                             | JANUARY 23, 2014

Erich Jantsch was an Austrian astronomer and technology forecaster, the one man who can plausibly be branded as the scientist who corrupted science into today’s global warming monster.

As one of the seven men who, at dinner on the evening of April 8, 1968, founded the Club of Rome, he possessed the gravitas to evangelize his radical belief that science cannot be neutral.

In order to prevent ecological and social collapse, Jantsch said, Western countries must halt their economic growth and surrender their goods for equitable distribution throughout the world. The alternative: “an eventual worldwide class war.

Read the rest of article here.

Corruption, fighting big wind., Ontario Wind, Property Rights

In Ontario – Wind Energy Meeting Silences Public

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Posted at No Frakking Consensus by Canadian author and journalist Donna Laframboise

http://nofrakkingconsensus.com/2014/02/07/wind-energy-meeting-silences-the-public/

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As Investments Turn Sour, Wind Energy Sector in Germany Begins to Crumble in Wake of Solar Industry Collapse

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By P Gosselin on 4. Februar 2014

German alarmist site klimaretter.de here reports on the latest negative developments now hitting Germany’s wind power industry. The latest to be hit is wind-turbine transmission manufacturer Bosch Rexroth AG, which announced it will slash 210 jobs and give up a production plant in Nuremberg.

Wind turbine burning

Image cropped from: www.youtube.com/kGXoE3RFZ8

Klimaretter writes that the reason behind the move is “the changing wind market“, which according to Bosch-Rexroth spokesperson has seen immense fluctuations.

Because 2013 saw 10 gigawatts less wind energy power installed than a year earlier, ‘capacities have to be scaled back’.”

The layoffs come on the heels of Bavaria’s move to restrict the installation of wind parks in its idyllic countryside. However, the company claims that Bavaria’s policy had no impact on the decision.

Bosch Rexroth is just the latest in a series of setbacks the wind energy industry has seen over the last months. Germany’s solar industry has already collapsed and wind energy is just the latest victim in Germany’s rollback of renewable energies. Spiegel here writes that Germany’s solar industry has shedded half its jobs in the last two years alone!

– See more at: http://notrickszone.com/2014/02/04/as-investments-turn-sour-wind-energy-sector-in-german-begins-to-crumble-in-wake-of-solar-industry-collapse/#sthash.cjhhcC2W.dpuf

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Day of Protest @ Queen’s Park!!!

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Niagara protest 2014 3
Date: Feb. 24
Time: 11:00 am
Place: Queen’s park, Toronto
 Hi Everyone!         Why don’t we, and a thousand or so, of our closest friends, to go to Queen’s park, and protest the Liberals, the GEA, and the reprehensible way that the Lib/NDP parties have treated rural Ontario.
 I would also like to invite people who want to complain about electricity rates, corruption, or any of the other issues related to the windscam.
It wouldn’t be hard to get the numbers up, if every unwilling host community sent a dozen or so people, we would reach close to one thousand people!
 I am hoping we can rally the troops together for a rip-roaring protest, to let the Lib/NDP know, that we have had enough of their lies and corruption, and we are going to fight them every step of the way.
If everyone can let me know if they are able to organize a few carloads, or even a busload, of protesters, I would greatly appreciate it!  We will also need some riveting speakers to get the crowd motivated.  Lisa said she will bring out the Conservatives who are at Queen’s Park that day, to welcome us, and speak to us.  With the promise of an election getting closer….we need to let our voices be heard.  There is a huge agricultural conference going on that day, and there will lots of press available.  This is an excellent opportunity, to educate the public!
Please let me know, if you are able to work with me on this important endeavor!
                                                                                                                  Shellie Correia
                                                                                                   Mothers Against Wind Turbines                                                                                                                                                                      905-386-0765 
Corruption, Government Misrepresentation, Media stories...

Will The Overselling Of Global Warming Lead To A New Scientific Dark Age?

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Patrick Michaels  Forbes  Feb. 3,2014

Will the overselling of climate change lead to a new scientific dark age? That’s the question being posed in the latest issue of an Australian literary journal, Quadrant, by Garth Paltridge, one of the world’s most respected atmospheric scientists.

Paltridge was a Chief Research Scientist with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO).  The latter is Australia’s equivalent of the National Science Foundation, our massive Federal Laboratory network, and all the governmental agency science branches rolled into one.

Paltridge lays out the well-known uncertainties in climate forecasting. These include our inability to properly simulate clouds that are anything like what we see in the real world, the embarrassing lack of average surface warming now in its 17th year, and the fumbling (and contradictory) attempts to explain it away.

Read the rest of this article here.

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Wind Warriors – The wild world of anti-wind farm activists.

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by John Budinsky

activists
One might come to suspect that Ontarians simply hate electricity, in all its forms. The ongoing scandal following the Province’s 2011 cancellation of the planned Mississauga gas power plant is a fine example of the immense public outcry that inevitably blights any Provincial attempts to increase energy production. Led by a vanguard of enfranchised middle-class activists, the groundswell of organised protest groups never fail to make their mark. In the case of Mississauga, the conflict boiled over and put an end to the proposal, at great financial and political cost.

A simultaneous struggle has been simmering in rural Ontario for the past decade, where community organisers from across the province are virulently resisting the growth of wind farms. Unlike their suburban counterparts, this immense network of individuals and groups opposed to wind power seem to be fighting a losing battle. Backed by generous provincial incentives, every new turbine signifies another minor defeat. But new projects continue to recharge the movement’s base while galvanizing its long-time members.

Read the rest of this article here.

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Chiarelli and MOE- A Failure to Communicate

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Letter from Bob Chiarelli to MAWT Shellie Correia

Letter from Shellie Correia to Bob Chiarelli

Dear Minister Chiarelli,
 
I am in receipt of your response to my letter to the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA).  I copied you for information purposes only and was not expecting a response from you.  To be frank, I am not sure why you bothered to write since none of the issues I raised with the CCLA were addressed in your letter.  In fact, I did not even bother to read through to the bottom line.  Like all previous responses from your ministry, your colleagues and government staff continually do, you avoided each of the three issues and instead provided me with the same old ideological green rhetoric.  It may work on people who are uneducated about the Green Energy Act but it does not work on me, people in the Mothers Against Wind Turbines organization, other wind action groups and an ever-increasing number of Ontarians who are waking up to the fiasco of your green energy policies.  
 
I am a mother that has already lost a child and it is my intention to pursue every available avenue to protect the health of my son. You claim to share in my concerns yet your actions and those of the government as a whole do not support that claim.  Your claims of stringent review of applications prior to approval are simply not true.  Residents of this community have presented clear contrary evidence from other wind developments utilizing this same wind turbine and it is dismissed by the Ministry of the Environment. Instead, the Ministry tells us that acoustic audits are usually conducted after the wind turbines have been erected.   Residents of rural Ontario all know what happens as a result of your acoustic audits.  Nothing!!! Residents have pointed out that the application does not comply with your own regulations requiring that the sound power level be rounded to closest number and MOE staff simply avoid addressing that.  They have also avoided addressing the issue of the variances that are required by the standard that you claim to follow.  You have been copied on all of the correspondence regarding these issues.  I am appalled at how the government’s quest for wind power takes precedence over human life and that is evidenced by your approvals for wind farms that are excessively close to schools, airports, public play grounds and even a skydiving facility.  This government has no experience with wind turbines of this size and one would think that you would rely on the experience of wind developments in other locations. One would also think that the specifications from the turbine’s own manufacturer would be key but that is not the case. Instead, the government’s main concern is help ensure approval of applications – at any cost.   
 
You also claim that your policies are protective of the environment but I see no evidence of that.  When the Environmental Review Tribunal ruled in favour of the Ostrander Point wind application, your government lined up with the developer and CANWEA to dispute it.  It is very clear where this government’s priorities lie. 
 
I have read your policies and the documents you refer to and I dispute most of your claims.  Wind energy is not reliable, not affordable and people who have educated themselves are well aware that coal plants will close even if all the wind turbines stop operating tomorrow.  I view your documents as simply more government propaganda that was developed in an attempt to appease the public that are concerned about the ever-increasing cost of electricity.  
 
I note that you have forwarded my letter to Minister Bradley.  Frankly, I would suggest that you tell him not to bother if his intent is to provide me with more of the same old platitudes.  The proof of this government’s approach to wind power, Minister Bradley, is in the number of citizens who can’t sleep at night or that have had to leave their homes.  I will not allow that to happen to my family and it is my intention to continue this fight and expose this fiasco.  
 
Sincerely,
 
Shellie Correia
Ms. Shellie Correia, Co-Chair of Mothers Against Wind Turbines has provided me with a copy of a response she received from Minister Chiarelli yesterday.  It is attached.  Further to that, please review the email chain below.  Is this representative of the stringent processes that you claim are in place and that are supposedly designed to afford the public opportunity for comment?  This is just the most recent example of the dismissive approach that your government has adopted towards residents impacted by wind energy proposals. I can provide you with many more examples and in fact, have done so on several occasions.  Our questions are either evaded, addressed by meaningless platitudes or requests like this are simply ignored.  
 
The response to Ms. Correia is nearly identical to all of the other responses that have been received by members of this community. The assurances are there but the actions do not support those assurances.  We are told that the process provides for meaningful consultation and that public comments are important but we are denied key pieces of information and documentation.  Ms. Shields, as evidenced below, has done everything that she has been told to do but then encountered a roadblock when she identified a key gap in the reports provided by the proponent.  There are other similar gaps in this application.  It is deplorable that an application can be deemed complete based on the proponent’s promises to provide studies at a later date.  How does that meet with your claims of stringent review PRIOR to approval?  
 
I am writing to you to seek release of the documentation that Ministry of Environment staff have still not provided.  Additionally, given that the comment period closes tomorrow, I believe it is incumbent upon you to allow for an extension so that the documents can be reviewed by residents of this community.  
 
Thank you 
 
Bonnie Tuson
To:  Sarah Raetsen, Senior Program Support Co ordinator, Approval Services Unit, Ministry of the Environment
To:  Agatha Garcia Wright, Director, Environmental Approvals Branch, Ministry of the Environment
 

Dear Sarah, Dear Agatha,

 
First, let me say how extremely disappointed I am that you have ignored my requests for the 2013 field notes which include Stantec field surveys for turtle habitats, snake habitats and bat maternity colonies. I have requested this data on December 18, 2013, January 3, 2014, January 23, 2014 and January 28, 2014.  Today is our last day to submit comments to the Environmental Registry.  We have requested extensions to this deadline, but all requests have been denied.
 
If your intention is not to provide the complete set of field notes that are related to this REA project for public review, please explain why these are not provided.  While I realize that these specific studies were “committed” to be completed during the pre-construction phase of the project, the current Natural Heritage Assessment report does disclose that these would be completed in 2013. What is the reason for withholding this information from the public when the public specifically requests it? 
 
Please do not ignore this fourth request.  
 
Loretta Shields
Niagara Peninsula Field Naturalists
 Date: Tue, Jan 28, 2014 at 12:17 PM
Subject: Re: NRWC project – 2013 Field notes not posted online for several natural feature habitatsDear Sarah,

 
I sent the email below to your attention last Friday. I have not heard back from you and our time regarding commenting to the Environmental Registry is running out.  Can you please tell me whether we can expect the 2013 field notes to be posted on the web?   If the intention is not to provide the complete set of field notes that are related to this REA application to the public, please explain why these are not provided to the public for review.
 
Thank-you,
 
Loretta Shields, Niagara Peninsula Field Naturalists member

Smithville, Ontario

On Thu, Jan 23, 2014 at 9:07 AM

Dear Sarah, Dear Agatha,
Regarding the NRWC wind project that is posted on the Environmental Registry, I am still waiting for the 2013 field notes to be posted online by NRWC, as requested in my email of January 3rd (below).  Can you please tell me when we can expect to have these notes posted on the web?  We only have 8 days left to submit comments to the Environmental Registry.  We are seeking an extension for the comment period because these notes have not been made available to the public.  If your intention is not to provide the complete set of field notes that are related to this REA application, please explain why these are not provided to the public for review.
Thank-you,
Loretta Shields, Niagara Peninsula Field Naturalists member
 Date: Fri, Jan 3, 2014 at 2:46 PM
Subject: Fwd: NRWC project – Field notes not posted online for several natural feature habitats
To: sarah.raetsen@ontario.ca, agatha.garciawright@ontario.ca

Dear Sarah, Dear Agatha,
 
I sent you the email below on December 18th.  I haven’t seen a reply back yet, so I thought I would resend the email to you.  I have been reviewing the NRWC Natural Heritage Assessment report, and there are several field notes that are missing from the NRWC REA documents that are posted on their website.  These include the migratory bird field notes, bat maternity habitat assessment forms, stick nest search survey forms, winter raptor roost surveys, amphibian habitat surveys, and surveys conducted for turtle/snake habitats.  Also, it is our understanding from reading the NHA report that supplemental surveys were conducted in 2013.  These field notes are also missing from the website.
 
For a proper consultation with the public, it is imperative that we have these documents for review.  Only 28 days remain until the comment period under the Environmental Registry remain.  Please provide us with these documents as soon as possible, and please consider an extension of 180 days to this review period to allow for the proper consultation that is required for a project of this magnitude. 
 
Thank-you for your consideration and time,
 
Loretta Shields
 Date: Wed, Dec 18, 2013 at 8:01 AM
Subject: NRWC project – Field notes not posted online for several habitat surveys
To: sarah.raetsen@ontario.ca, agatha.garciawright@ontario.ca

Dear Agatha, Dear  Sarah, 

 
I have been reviewing the REA documents posted on the NRWC site.  I see three separate files for field notes, which consist of 2011, 2012 ELC and Woodland and Wildlife Habitat assessment forms and also ELC/ Woodland and Wildlife Habitat assessment forms associated with the proposed transmission line. 
 
What seems to be missing, however, are the migratory bird field notes, bat maternity habitat assessment forms, stick nest search survey forms, winter raptor roost surveys, amphibian habitat surveys, and surveys conducted for turtle/snake habitats.
 
Could you please forward the files or weblinks that are associated with these surveys?  
 
Thanks very much,
 
Loretta Shields
Smithville, Ontario