Stop wind farms before it's too late
Chatham Daily News|Sue Rikley|February 9, 2008
Chatham-Kent is proud to be known for its farmland, outstanding fishing and hunting and most importantly our quality of life. Now threatening all of this is AIM PowerGen Corp. proposing a possible 100 wind turbine generators and Gengrowth proposing nine wind farms with five wind turbines on each. With government grants and incentives, there will be more. Before we make it easier for them to destroy our quality of life with our tax dollars and by changing existing development bylaws, please stop and consider.
Chatham-Kent is proud to be known for its farmland, outstanding fishing and hunting and most importantly our quality of life. Now threatening all of this is AIM PowerGen Corp. proposing a possible 100 wind turbine generators and Gengrowth proposing nine wind farms with five wind turbines on each. With government grants and incentives, there will be more. Before we make it easier for them to destroy our quality of life with our tax dollars and by changing existing development bylaws, please stop and consider.
Chatham-Kent is proud to be known for its farmland, outstanding fishing and hunting and most importantly our quality of life.
Now threatening all of this is AIM PowerGen Corp. proposing a possible 100 wind turbine generators and Gengrowth proposing nine wind farms with five wind turbines on each.
With government grants and incentives, there will be more. Before we make it easier for them to destroy our quality of life with our tax dollars and by changing existing development bylaws, please stop and consider.
These projects are not viable on their own. They are government subsidized through our taxes and then the McGuinty government is buying the produced power at considerably more than what we are currently paying for reliable …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]Chatham-Kent is proud to be known for its farmland, outstanding fishing and hunting and most importantly our quality of life.
Now threatening all of this is AIM PowerGen Corp. proposing a possible 100 wind turbine generators and Gengrowth proposing nine wind farms with five wind turbines on each.
With government grants and incentives, there will be more. Before we make it easier for them to destroy our quality of life with our tax dollars and by changing existing development bylaws, please stop and consider.
These projects are not viable on their own. They are government subsidized through our taxes and then the McGuinty government is buying the produced power at considerably more than what we are currently paying for reliable on-demand power.
These companies are also receiving tax breaks. Employment for these installations is small and short term.
Human and environmental impact - These proposed turbines are approximately 120 metres high or three times the height of the Mitchell's Bay water tower.
Their noise and land shadows have proven disruptive to sleep and daily living. They will disrupt duck and geese flyways, which will adversely affect our tourism and dependent businesses.
Visual and economic impact - These eyesores with their long-range thumping, whooshing noises and continual shadow effect cannot help but influence our residential development in the municipality. Landscape is a form of common space, which belongs to everyone.
Would you buy property near a wind farm? Would you buy property with a wind farm landscape in view?
Could you sell your property with a wind farm near or on it?
Would you enjoy the tranquility, fishing, boating, swimming or just plain beaching at Mitchell's Bay, Lake St. Clair or Lake Erie with this as your view?
With these installations comes higher land evaluations higher property taxes and lower real estate value. This is no way to go green.
For more info go to your Internet and Google "The Voices of Tug Hill."
On Feb. 11 at 6 p.m. in the council chamber of the Civic Centre there is a meeting to consider proposed official plan and zoning bylaw amendments to allow these companies to proceed with wind power projects. Come and voice your concern to a council meeting. Stop them before it's too late.