http://www.windaction.org/ facts, analysis, exposure of wind energy's real impacts en-us Windaction hourly 1 http://backend.userland.com/rss http://www.windaction.org/articles/37827 Fri, 22 Mar 2013 18:00:49 GMT Bluewater's new law would impose a building permit fee of $14,000 per turbine on wind developments. The bylaw also imposes refundable security deposits totaling $420,000 per turbine for decommissioning, health and property damage, and legal fees. http://www.windaction.org/articles/37827 http://www.windaction.org/articles/37733 Wed, 13 Mar 2013 12:11:35 GMT "All it takes is just saying well there is a project that has been proposed that entails bringing 33 to 37 huge wind turbines and people just say oh no no no we'll walk away from that." This is the second time Best's home has been put on the market and without a buyer she is left with few options. http://www.windaction.org/articles/37733 http://www.windaction.org/articles/37615 Tue, 05 Mar 2013 18:01:49 GMT Last year, Ontario spent millions of dollars paying other states and provinces to take our excess power, most of it from renewables. But the contracts between the province and wind companies gave wind power first dibs on the grid, meaning Ontario was paying other jurisdictions to take some of most expensive power, while spilling cheaper hydroelectric power at Niagara Falls. http://www.windaction.org/articles/37615 http://www.windaction.org/articles/37623 Mon, 04 Mar 2013 12:55:47 GMT A wind energy association is disputing Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey's claim wind energy isn't affordable. Bailey and Ontario's PCs have said they will cancel the Feed in Tariff program the Liberal government has used to attract wind and other renewable energy projects to the province. http://www.windaction.org/articles/37623 http://www.windaction.org/articles/37450 Wed, 20 Feb 2013 03:09:35 GMT Nova Scotia Power should shoulder the risk related to its partnership in a Lunenburg County wind farm instead of expecting ratepayers to do so ...John Brereton, president of Natural Forces Wind Inc., urged the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board to reject the power company's bid to include its $93-million share of the capital cost of the South Canoe project in rates. http://www.windaction.org/articles/37450 http://www.windaction.org/articles/37108 Thu, 24 Jan 2013 03:41:40 GMT He also said having such a policy would protect ratepayers from cost overruns. The board would also be ensuring that any future competitive bidding process to award green-energy contracts is fair, he said. Otherwise, Nova Scotia Power and its partners could potentially submit a low bid, win the contract and then seek to recover their actual higher costs in rates, Todd said. http://www.windaction.org/articles/37108 http://www.windaction.org/articles/36611 Fri, 23 Nov 2012 22:38:39 GMT Pettapiece said his party isn't opposed to "green energy" but does feel that Ontario's current approach to wind power is not efficient. "We're not against green energy, but it's got to be affordable. This is not." http://www.windaction.org/articles/36611 http://www.windaction.org/articles/6750 Thu, 04 Oct 2012 13:18:32 GMT A report by Ben Lansink of London-based Lansink Appraisals and Consulting, shows re-sale values for residential properties in Melancthon and Amaranth townships between 2005 and 2012 dropped an average of 38.8% in the years after a wind turbine facility was announced and built. http://www.windaction.org/articles/6750 http://www.windaction.org/articles/36075 Wed, 19 Sep 2012 18:45:35 GMT I am including the list of property assessment reductions from MPAC since 2008. The list shows 78 significant assessment reductions since 2008 (the wind farm became operational in 2009) totaling $3 million in reductions. The 6 largest reductions are listed below and are situated very close to the turbines. http://www.windaction.org/articles/36075 http://www.windaction.org/articles/35397 Sat, 07 Jul 2012 03:08:34 GMT "There's a reduction in coal use from 2010, but it's not being replaced primarily by green-powered wind energy," Fedeli said. "That hole is being filled mostly by power from other sources. For example, the output increase from natural gas plants was 36% greater than that of wind." http://www.windaction.org/articles/35397 http://www.windaction.org/articles/34799 Fri, 20 Apr 2012 13:51:22 GMT Consumers in Ontario could face up to C$18.2bn ($18.28bn) in additional power costs over a 20-year period due to the province’s policy of subsidizing renewable energy, according to a new study from the Fraser Institute, a leading Canadian public policy think-tank. http://www.windaction.org/articles/34799 http://www.windaction.org/articles/34605 Thu, 15 Mar 2012 12:48:28 GMT Last year the North Bay manufacturer of polyethylene fabrics paid $1 million on its hydro bill for global adjustment costs - money that is used to pay the 20 year guaranteed contracts for alternative energy sources such as solar panels and wind generation entering the provincial power grid. The cost of supporting alternative power "was 42 percent of my hydro bill last year." http://www.windaction.org/articles/34605 http://www.windaction.org/articles/33784 Tue, 06 Dec 2011 16:22:49 GMT Ontario Auditor General Jim McCarter found billions of dollars in solar and wind projects were approved without appropriate oversight, including and regulatory and planning procedures. ...The controversial Samsung deal, which will pay $110 million over 20 years over and above the already hefty FIT premium in exchange for $7 billion in investment, was done with "no formal economic analysis ... to determine whether the deal was prudent." http://www.windaction.org/articles/33784 http://www.windaction.org/articles/33185 Sat, 01 Oct 2011 12:24:12 GMT CBC News has learned that already one bank in the Melancthon area is not allowing lines of credit to be secured by houses situated near wind turbines. In a letter to one family situated close to the turbines, the bank wrote, "we find your property a high risk and its future marketability may be jeopardized." http://www.windaction.org/articles/33185 http://www.windaction.org/articles/30185 Wed, 01 Dec 2010 13:43:42 GMT As many as 1,700 green energy jobs in southwestern Ontario are to be announced this week, according to Queen's Park sources. The announcements are part of an energy policy blitz as the provincial Liberal government tries to take the offensive on the energy file. http://www.windaction.org/articles/30185 http://www.windaction.org/articles/30078 Wed, 24 Nov 2010 13:46:02 GMT Ontario unveiled a sweeping long-term power plan on Tuesday that throws the province's support squarely behind renewable energy, but also brought bad news for consumers who will see their electricity bills double by 2030. http://www.windaction.org/articles/30078 http://www.windaction.org/articles/28908 Wed, 25 Aug 2010 13:35:42 GMT "We believe it would be economically detrimental to the whole entire area," said Betts, who lives in the scenic Gulf Shore area just outside Pugwash, on Tuesday. "This is a destination (for) tourism (and a) recreational and retirement area. People deliberately come here for the peace and quiet. If we have any net loss of people coming in, we have a huge loss in the whole area." http://www.windaction.org/articles/28908 http://www.windaction.org/articles/28849 Sun, 22 Aug 2010 22:16:44 GMT "You are going to get screwed, and it's going to be painful," said Tom Adams, a Toronto-based consultant and a former executive director of Energy Probe. "We're talking about hundreds of dollars a year out of your pocketbook that didn't need to happen." Much of the blame for the rise in electricity rates is due to Ontario's Green Energy Act, which promotes the use of solar, wind and other alternative power sources. http://www.windaction.org/articles/28849 http://www.windaction.org/articles/28143 Thu, 08 Jul 2010 12:55:38 GMT The Ontario Power Authority has proposed dropping the rate to 58.8 cents per kilowatt-hour from the current 80.2 cents. Ontario Energy Minister Brad Duguid said "There was an exorbitant rate of return on this and it brought on an onslaught of applications because there was huge money to be made." http://www.windaction.org/articles/28143 http://www.windaction.org/articles/27287 Thu, 06 May 2010 04:04:57 GMT The Ontario government has taken the highly unusual step of ordering the province's Crown-owned electricity utilities to cancel their requests for hydro rate increases, amid worries of a consumer backlash over soaring power costs. The government's 11th-hour intervention in a rate-setting process that is designed to take the politics out of electricity pricing follows revelations that residential customers in Ontario are already facing increases of $300 more a year on average to keep the lights on by the end of 2011. http://www.windaction.org/articles/27287