Even when it comes to the giant blades of the turbines in Amaranth and Melancthon, there might be truth in the old expression that "it's an ill wind that blows no good." This might have been the case when the Melancthon I wind project had to be shut down for nine days in December 2006 because of an ice storm and the resultant imbalance of the blades.

An eight-day shutdown of Melancthon 1 wind turbines was undoubtedly costly but is being viewed by industry officials as among statistically and meteorologically predictable occurrences for any wind plant. The turbines were shut down when ice formed on the blades during the ice storm of Friday, Dec. 1, and came back online only after the ice had thawed from the blades at some point late Sunday.

A “highly unusual” combination of weather conditions forced Canadian Hydro Developers (CHD) to shut down all 45 wind turbines in the Melancthon I plant at a time when many residents of Dufferin County were experiencing a blackout, and they remained out of service Wednesday. “The severe weather experienced on Friday (Dec. 1) caused heavy ice buildup on the blades at the Melancthon wind plant,” said Project Manager Geoff Carnegie.

The chair of the Yukon's energy corporation says wind energy isn't viable for the Yukon.

The chair of the Yukon's energy corporation says wind energy isn't viable for the Yukon. Willard Phelps told the territory's legislature last week the multi-million dollar experiment in wind power turbines had failed to produce the results the company needs.

The chair of the Yukon's energy corporation says wind energy isn't viable for the Yukon.