Betrayed.

That’s how Sen. John Rodgers felt after a compromise on the renewable energy siting bill fell apart in the eleventh hour, a deal that would have included requiring around-the-clock noise monitoring at industrial wind projects.

Rodgers was peeved at Sen. Christopher Bray, a fellow Democrat who is chair of the Senate Natural Resources Committee, and to a lesser degree at Sen. Brian Campion, who also sits on Natural Resources alongside Rodgers.

The Northeast Kingdom senator was also irritated because he felt supporters of industrial wind had brought political pressure to bear. Their lobbyists, Rodgers said, looked like smiling Cheshire Cats after the monitoring proposal was dropped Thursday.

“The most frustrating part is what I thought was an agreement about sound monitoring was backed out of in the last day, and I think it’s just another example of how much money is spent in this building,” said Rodgers, who represents Essex and Orleans counties.

A child whose family lives near the wind project in Lowell, he said, can only be outside for 15 minutes or so before he has to run back inside covering his ears.

“For all those people who are working in this building for the big checks from the wealthy developers, I wonder how they would feel if it was their children,” Rodgers said Friday morning in an interview.

Read more: http://vtdigger.org/2016/04/01/inside-the-golden-bubble-monitoring-the-sound-of-frustration/

For more information:

https://ccsage.wordpress.com/2016/03/25/book-now-for-tapas-and-wine-tasting-april-23/#more-4924

WAIT-PW is scheduled to go to the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on April 18th 10:00 am at 80 Dundas Street, London Ontario.

Your support is requested. Their latest fundraiser is a Spring Fling  with a live band, fun and refreshments and so much more.  Save the date Friday April 8, 2016.

Prizes! Raffles! Dancing!  Donations can also be made via their website at:

http://www.wait-pw.ca

NHMRC CEO Professor Anne Kelso noted that further research is needed to explore the relationships between wind farms and human health.

“Existing research in this area is of poor quality and targeted funding is warranted to support high quality, independent research on this issue.

“To address this, we need well designed studies conducted by excellent researchers in Australian conditions.

“These grants directly support the Australian Government’s commitment to determine any actual or potential effects of wind farms,” Professor Kelso said.

NHMRC funded research at the Flinders University of South Australia will explore relationships between noise from wind farms and effects such as annoyances and reduced sleep and quality of life.

Research at the University of New South Wales will investigate the broader social and environmental circumstances that may influence the health of people living near wind farms.

The outcomes of this research will assist in developing policy and public health recommendations regarding wind turbine development and operations in Australia.

Professor Kelso said it was important to note that the funding will support only high quality, well designed research proposals.

“NHMRC supports only the most outstanding research. Each application for this funding underwent the same stringent independent review process we apply to all NHMRC grant applications,” Professor Kelso said.

These grants are awarded in response to the 2015 Targeted Call for Research into Wind Farms and Human Health, following the release of the NHMRC Statement: Evidence on Wind Farms and Human Health.

Information relating to the individual grants is available on the NHMRC website – nhmrc.gov.au

Contact: NHMRC Media Team (0422 008 512 or media@nhmrc.gov.au)

http://en.friends-against-wind.org/news/nhmrc-awards-funding-into-wind-farms-and-human-health

The costs may be high and the need questionable, but Ontarians signed up to buy a lot more renewable power last week when Ontario’s Independent Power System Operator (IESO) announced the results of the province’s latest procurement. The new deal brings “low prices” for new wind and solar generation, says Ontario Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli.

No, not “low” like Ontario’s dysfunctional market price for electricity, which was less than two cents/kilowatt-hour (kWh) over half of all hours in 2015. And not “low” like the average 1.2 cents/kWh rate that electricity bound for New York and Michigan has sold for this year. When the Ontario government says “low,” it means seven to fourteen times as much as that, with the IESO reporting the weighted-average price of the new wind power at 8.6 cents/kWh and new solar at 15.7 cents/kWh.

But the effective cost to consumers for the new power, taking into account the portion of the total output that Ontario consumers will actually use, will be much higher than the costs the government quotes in its press releases.

read more: http://business.financialpost.com/fp-comment/ontarians-just-signed-up-for-more-expensive-unreliable-electricity-they-dont-need

 WLGWAG President Mike Jankoski states Council has  “sold us out.”

Council signs $9.2M community fund agreement

The Township of West Lincoln is set to benefit from construction of industrial wind turbines to the tune of $9.2 million.

Last week, during a special council meeting, township council voted in favour of entering into an agreement with FWRN LP (formerly Niagara Region Wind Corp.) to secure funding for the community as a result of the construction of turbines.

The agreement with FWRN LP will see the township receive roughly $460,000 a year over the 20-year lifespan of the project, equating to roughly $9.2 million. The funds will be used at council’s discretion for community improvement projects in four areas: stewardship initiatives, expenditures relating to development and construction of recreational facilities, expenditures for improvement of community and protective services (i.e. police, fire, EMS, health care), and roads and public infrastructure. Funds may also be used for community-related activities as agreed upon between the two parties.

Mayor Doug Joyner said Wednesday that it was not a decision council made lightly. 

“It has been a difficult and long journey and I commend members of council and township staff for their dedication and persistence in dealing with this very contentious issue and for taking this important step forward,” Joyner said.

The previous term of council rejected a similar proposal from the project’s original proponents, NRWC. Council rejected what NRWC pitched as a community vibrancy fund in 2013 shortly after declaring itself an unwilling host to industrial wind turbines. Joyner said the township is still an unwilling host and accepting the community fund doesn’t change that.

read more: http://www.niagarathisweek.com/news-story/6395824-township-to-gain-from-turbines/

They’re industrial-looking monoliths, currently equipped with pulleys to hoist the power lines into place when a 230-megawatt industrial wind farm is completed in rural west Niagara this summer.

The poles are being erected along 45 kms of quiet country roads feeding into wind turbines located in Wainfleet, West Lincoln and Lincoln.

And hundreds of trees, including some that are more than 100 years old are being chopped down to clear the way for them.

There’s no other way to put it. Those poles are ugly.

Even typical wooden telephone poles would have been preferable. They would have better suited the rural setting.

But the poles that are being erected are a blight on the countryside, devaluing property and infuriating property owners – some of whom have watched helplessly as hundreds of old growth trees have been chopped down to accommodate them.

There must have been alternatives.

In a few cases, the township has managed to preserve some of the trees that were marked for chopping. But far more trees were felled than saved.

In Lincoln, Mayor Sandra Easton said there was some tree trimming done as part of the project, but to her knowledge no 150-year-old healthy oak trees were chopped down.

Instead, she said Niagara Region Wind Farm buried its major transmission lines underground.

read more: Allan Benner, The Tribune Friday, March 11, 2016

5 wind contracts totalling 299.5 MW, with a weighted average price of $85.94/MWh and an approximate weighted price range of $64.50 to $105.50/MWh

Large Renewable Procurement