Score the impacts of wind projects on your community

[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.

Sustainability, as applied here, requires consideration of four major areas of impact: economic, social, environmental and cultural.  Within each area, I have listed possible factors — both positive and negative – affecting community sustainability over the longer term.

I have attempted to be objective with respect to the factors included.  While there are more negative factors than positive, these are the factors that I was able to identify and validate for inclusion.  I have not included factors that apply outside the local community – e.g. new jobs elsewhere – because this scoring system is intended to focus on a particular community’s sustainability.

The idea is for you to assign a score to each positive and each negative factor, with possible scores being 0 = invalid / not relevant / not applicable, 1 = low significance, 3 = medium significance and 5 = high significance to you.  It is preferable that you be knowledgeable about each factor, but if not, at least your impression is reflected.

Your participation will be most useful if you make an honest effort to score each factor relative to all factors and to give careful consideration to both positive and negative factors, regardless of your prior position on wind turbines.

In general, there should be more scores at lower values than at higher values, because an objective person will likely regard many factors as being less significant, and only a few factors as being highly significant.  For this reason, the scoring system specifies maximums for the number of medium and high scores, respectively.

I would be pleased to consider the addition of other factors not previously identified that fit the criteria described above.  Please email me at gary.mooney@actel.ca if you have suggestions.

Don’t forget to submit a comment (below) indicating your total positive score and negative score, and any thoughts.

Note: I have shown copyright for this scoring system.  Anyone may use it for their own purposes, but must present the content of the document exactly as is.

Ontario Federation of Agriculture calls on government to suspend wind turbine development in Ontario

The following news release is posted at http://www.ofa.on.ca/media/news/OFA-calls-government-suspend-wind-turbine-development-in-Ontario .

Guelph, ON [January 20, 2012] – Escalating concerns about industrial wind turbines have prompted the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) to urge the province of Ontario to suspend further development until farm families and rural residents are assured that their interests are adequately protected. The OFA unveiled its strong stance in a new position statement on industrial wind turbines, released today, that will be presented to government later this month.

Auditor-General’s report on Ontario’s electricity sector

The Financial Post has published key observations from the report of the Auditor General on Ontario’s electricity sector (see http://tinyurl.com/c292jdn ).  This post provides an executive summary of the A-G’s key observations.

Weekly PEC wind turbine news — Mon, Dec 5, 2011

News about: Senator Runciman’s motion passed unanimously in the Senate .. Gilead’s Ostrander Point project moved forward by MOE .. MPP Smith’s Private Members Bill voted down in the Legislature.

Weekly PEC wind turbine news — Mon, Nov 7, 2011

Sorry to have missed last week’s update.  Following is an update of developments in recent weeks including updates on the Royal Road project .. Gilead in northern Ontario .. WPD White Pines .. Ontario’s call for input on the FIT program.

Ontario government wants your input on Feed-In Tariffs review

[Contributed by Henri Garand, Chair, APPEC]

The new McGuinty government is inviting public comment as part of its review of FIT contracts and the related administration of renewable energy.  You can express your opinions by participating in a survey at: http://www.energy.gov.on.ca/en/fit-and-microfit-program/2-year-fit-review.

The survey takes about 20 minutes and includes some fairly technical questions on a range of renewable energies.  But there are at least three points for all of us to stress:

• Subsidies must be reduced, just as they have been in Britain and Germany.
• Projects must be assessed in terms of all the impacts, such as on the local economy and property
  values as well as on health and the natural environment.
• The appeal process must be revised to favour citizens, with the burden of proof falling on the
  proponents.

As an alternative to completing the survey, or in addition, you can send narrative comments by email to 2yearFITrreview@ontario.ca.

Weekly PEC wind turbine news — Mon, Oct 24, 2011

Last week was pretty quiet.  Topic covered in this post: Study projects cost of green energy in Ontario to be 40% higher than government estimates.

LAST WEEK  (For a glossary of acronyms used, see http://wp.me/p1M8CZ-15)

Study by Fox and Gallant.  Here is a news report about a new peer-reviewed study done by U. of Guelph professor Glenn Fox and National Post energy columnist Parker Gallant:  http://www.ipolitics.ca/2011/10/17/cost-of-green-energy-40-per-cent-higher-than-government-estimates-study/.  The study is available (for a fee) in the Bulletin of Science, Technology and Society at: http://bst.sagepub.com/content/early/2011/08/24/0270467611421848.abstract.

THIS WEEK

Nothing scheduled.

Report on all-candidates’ meeting on energy issues — Sep 20, 2011

[Thanks to Henri Garard, Chair, APPEC for this report]

The Picton United Church wasn’t filled to capacity last evening, but 200-350 people (estimates vary) listened closely to Leona Dombrowsky (Liberal), Sherry Hayes (NDP), Treat Hull (Green), Todd Smith (PC) and Trueman Tuck (People First Republic Party of Ontario) explain their positions on energy policy.