The Government of Ontario seems to be caught between a rock and a hard place with respect to its desire to establish wind power as a viable alternative source to hydroelectric and nuclear energy.
Offshore Wind Farm Near Copenhagen, Denmark
On the one hand, South Point Wind has filed a $1 Billion law suit in Ontario Superior Court, naming against the Province of Ontario in response to the government’s February 2011 announcement of a moratorium on offshore wind farms.
Toronto’s CP24 reports:
TORONTO — Ontario’s Liberal government said Tuesday it would defend itself against a $1-billion lawsuit over its moratorium on offshore wind farms, the second such action over the province’s energy policies.
The SouthPoint Wind suit filed in Ontario Superior Court names the province, three provincial ministries, Environment Canada, Hydro One and the Ontario Power Authority.
The company is claiming $1 billion in damages for confiscation of its property and assets, $100 million for failure to negotiate in good faith, and another $100 million for punitive, aggravated and exemplary damages. (Read more…)
On the other hand, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture has long-expressed its opposition to wind farms:
GUELPH, Ont. — The Ontario Federation of Agriculture is calling on the province to suspend further development of wind farms.
President Mark Wales says escalating concerns about industrial wind turbines have prompted the group to make the recommendation.
Wales says farm families and rural residents must be assured that their interests are adequately protected in the development of wind farms.
The federation says it supports the intentions of the Green Energy Act, but notes wind power has been shown to be inefficient.
Energy Minister Chris Bentley says he’s both surprised and disappointed at the federation’s stance. (Read more…)
And most recently, protests against development of wind farms have reached the streets of Toronto, Ontario’s capital and its largest city. On Tuesday, hundreds marched through the Toronto financial district, voicing their opposition in dramatic fashion. Denis Langlois of the Owen Sound Sun Times reports:
Windmills of Banning Pass, Near Palm Springs, California
TORONTO — Hundreds of rural residents, including many from Grey-Bruce, brought their impassioned fight against industrial wind turbines to Canada’s most populous city Tuesday.
The anti-turbine troops arrived by the busload at their latest battleground, Simcoe Park on Front St., outside the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and the third annual Ontario Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) Forum.
Their ammunition: large placards that decry what they say is the Liberal government steamrolling a green energy agenda over rural Ontario.
Their mission, they said, was to educate urban residents about the “problems” of wind turbines and the province’s FIT program and make an unified stand against further developments.
The battle, they say, has pitted the province’s Liberal government and massive energy corporations against the livelihood and health of people who live on farms, down rural concessions and in tiny country villages. (Read more…)
And so the fight is on. We invite your comments regarding the advisability of installing significant wind power capacity in Ontario, and its future as a viable alternative to traditional sources of power.
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