Picton Gazette: Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor; Re: Clean and Green, Blowing in the Wind etc– Jan. 9/16
 
It seems the new owners of the Gazette have decided to restart a conversation around
renewable infrastructure, a topic which has involved the County in a big way since at
least 2007.

The problem now, as it was then, is location.

Proponents of wind and BESS projects always seem to propose inappropriate locations
– in the case of several wind proposals, aided and abetted by the previous provincial
government, projects were slated for major migratory flyways and in endangered
species habitat. The province under the last Liberal government removed planning
decision making from municipalities and let applicants propose projects wherever they
liked.

Speaking of birds, the numbers cited by Chris Fanning are the Wind industry’s numbers
which have been shown to undercount deaths by at least a power of ten due to flawed
methodology promoted by paid advocates for the wind industry. Successful appeals to the Environmental Review Tribunal proved that irreversible harm would come to Blandings turtles and little brown bats, again due to poor location of the projects.

The other major problem with location is proximity to people’s residences. Study after
study has shown that the 550 metre setback used by our previous government (and not
yet modified) is wholly inadequate to prevent serious health concerns for those who live
nearby. Enlightened countries are raising that setback to 2 km. If any new projects are
allowed by the current Government it is hoped new setback guidelines and noise
guidelines that include infra sound would be adopted first.

Wisely the Conservative government returned planning power to municipalities in 2018
so we, with local knowledge, can make determinations about appropriate locations for
renewables. The County has built several provisions into its new Official Plan to ensure
that its rights and the environment are protected.
 
Beyond the very real environmental and health problems is the completely backwards
economic regime put in place by the province which favours proponents over the public.
Renewable energy has first right of access to the system – so it is paid for
whether we need it or not, and sadly, the wind blows and sun shines mostly
when we do not require the power   – just look at the IESO hourly charts on their
website.

So save it into batteries right? Well, the battery contracts are set up so that
operators charge them at night when power is cheapest (no sun, little wind) so
they can sell it back into the system when prices are high. This means most
excess renewable generation is NOT charging batteries. Further it is not
necessarily connected to wind or solar.

Another immutable fact is that the race to build more and more high-tech renewable
infrastructure is actually creating even more emissions. In looking at any technology the
end-to-end process must be examined. In the case of Wind this includes the mining of rare minerals, the huge transportation damage, the tons of cement used and tree cutting, the cementing of farmlands and the decommissioning damage.CO2 emissions are in fact accelerating as we humans race to try to preserve our excessively extractive way of life by replacing one technology with another. Rather than attempting to maintain our constant growth economies, we really need to  figure out how to reward reduced growth and preservation of the environment.

APPEC will continue to strive to protect prime farmland, protect the environment, fight
to protect human health, support climate change and the democratic rights of Municipalities.

Gord Gibbins
Chair, APPEC