Re: Addington Highlands Wind Project

Apr 01, 2015

It is interesting to examine the letter (Re: Addington Highlands Wind Project, Mar 26/15) written by Mr. Parker Gallant, a well known anti-wind proponent, about the proposed wind project. You also published a letter (Re: Addington Highlands Wind Project, Mar 26/15) from Helen Forsey on this topic. While Ms. Forsey's letter was thoughtful and balanced, Mr. Gallant's letter was one-sided and used loaded language to skew the argument in his favour. He says windmills blot the landscape and are unreliable while some people feel that windmills are beautiful and they are as reliable as any other source of electricity. He mentions the fact that windmills kill birds but does not mention that we are learning more about taking measures to mitigate this problem. He also does not mention that cats kill many, many more birds than windmills. I often wonder why anti-wind crusaders who are concerned about birds aren't advocating for neutering programs for cats and by-laws that would force cat owners to keep their pets indoors. Mr. Gallant claims that Ontario taxpayers will be subsidizing windmill developers for 20 years. Under the new program for large renewable projects, subsidies are being eliminated. Mr. Gallant also raises the question of property values when windmills appear. Studies have shown that property values may go down before the windmills are built but they rebound once they are built. Finally, Mr. Gallant advises municipalities to drive a hard bargain with wind developers when it comes to revenue and taxes and I agree with him on that score.

The bottom line is that we need clean, renewable, safe energy and if we want it at a reasonable price, we will get it from renewables such as wind and solar because we are making great strides in lowering the price of wind and solar while nuclear power will be more expensive, in part due to security concerns. North Frontenac and Addington Highlands should take advantage of the opportunity to receive additional revenue while being part of our clean energy future.

Wolfe Erlichman