I'm not anti-green energy. We need to do more to find ways to create energy in a responsible, cost-efficient manner.
But, I think wind is the wrong way to go. The best it can ever be is a secondary power source to help alleviate strain on the grid. When do we need extra power? Generally, on hot, humid days when people have air conditioners cranked. Those are also the days when there's no wind. What good are wind turbines that don't spin when we need them? At one point on July 22, 2011, one of the hottest days of the year, wind energy was responsible for 14 MW (out of a possible 1,334 MW, or 0.01% of capacity) of electricity in the province of Ontario.
For every study that says there's no health impact to people living near them, there's one that says there is. What am I to believe? To me, that's a pretty good reason to be very worried about this. I have a home in a nice, quiet rural area that myself and my wife built for our retirement.
We were offered a lease for a wind turbine, but based on the location of our home on our property, we declined. Any turbine built on our property would have been too close to our home for our comfort. The salesman who visited us told us we might as well sign because our neighbours immediately to the north and south of us had already signed. It turns out neither one had signed and in fact, my neighbour to the north had to threaten to call the police to get the salesman leave his home. That's wrong. That's how they turn neighbour against neighbour. They will tell you anything to get you to sign.
The turbine to be built on the land immediately to the east of my home appear to be in direct path of migrating geese every spring and fall. They land in a pond not far from where that turbine will be. I voiced this concern to the wind company, who promised me they would pass it along to the MoE and MNR as they conducted their wildlife studies. When I contacted both provincial agencies months later, they said the wildlife studies had been completed and when asked if they were informed about my concern, they indicated they were not. It was my mistake to trust the wind company to make my concern known to the MoE/MNR.
I don't know if these turbines will affect me. But to imply that I'm just fear-mongering and getting all worked up over opinions is insulting. I am genuinely worried because there's too much conflicting information and I don't know what to believe. I think there's been too many people affected by these things to be written off as in their heads. There's a chance I have to live beside these huge things for 40 years (if I'm lucky enough to live that long). I can't sell my home as I've been told by a real estate agent that my property is essentially worthless with a turbine going up 550-555 metres from the house. He told me my best opportunity to sell would be to see if any of the neighbouring landowners would be interested in buying and so far, they are not. I can't afford to sell my property well below what I paid for it and still buy another home.
And there IS a gag order on the people bought out in Ripley. I know one of them and he was told unequivocally he was legally forbidden to speak out against wind turbines or talk publicly about his experience. And for the record, he was a turbine lease holder, so it's not like he was against wind turbines from the beginning.
I'm also not a fan of the pig barn or chicken barn comparison for justifying a lack of consultation. It's not right plan out these projects and not allow for adequate consultations. If there's nothing to hide and nothing to fear, then there should be more open consultations. What they do is send out the odd postcard (that essentially tells you nothing other than "we're still going to build it") and hold meetings that only allow for 1-on-1 conversations. You don't get to hear the answers other people are given because they separate people as they enter the meeting hall. The whole thing is just too shady for me to feel comfortable.
