Re: Wind Turbines

Wolfe Erlichman | Jul 16, 2015

What's wrong with "bribes"? Opponents of wind turbines decry them as a way of forcing a community to accept an unwanted scourge. On the other side, "bribes" are seen as an economic benefit. Ironically, opponents of renewable projects often complain that large corporations make large profits while local communities do not benefit . So-called "bribes" are not unique to renewable energy projects. In fact, they are as common as the air you breathe. They are usually part of any development project, especially if a rezoning is involved. When it comes to the generation of electricity, the champion of "bribes" is the nuclear industry, pumping millions of dollars yearly into communities such as Pickering, Darlington, and Kincardine.

Another argument against windmills and solar panels is that the electricity they produce is expensive, unreliable, and not needed since we now have a surplus of electricity. People who make these arguments do not understand the complexities of the electrical system or, like the provincial Tories, have an axe to grind so they deliberately muddy the waters. Demand for electricity is constantly shifting, depending on the hour of the day, whether it's day or night, whether there is an economic upturn or downturn, whether a new technology is introduced, whether a new conservation program is introduced; the list is endless. This makes the statement that Ontario has a surplus of electricity now and we should not build any more generational facilities meaningless. Responsible politicians, especially if they're in power, have to plan for the future. In Ontario, the biggest decision our leaders have to make right now in regard to electricity is whether Ontario will refurbish the aging nuclear reactors in Darlington. Opponents of refurbishing the reactors claim that switching to electricity produced by solar panels and windmills will be cheaper than depending on nuclear power since the cost of building nuclear reactors is going up while the cost of producing windmills and solar panels is going down dramatically.

By the way, I do not believe that wind turbine companies such as Nextera receive grants from the provincial government as letter writer Mr. Kent claims. There are other benefits to having electricity produced by renewable sources. Since they are decentralized and there are so many sources, they can't all shut down at the same time like a nuclear reactor which can be out of commission for months or years. When there are many sources and there is storage capability as part of the system, then there is no need for back-up sources such as gas plants and you can compensate for variability which has always been part of our electricity system. A decentralized electrical system is more robust, sustainable, and flexible than our existing system which is highly centralized. Another great benefit of a decentralized system is that individuals and communities across the province can benefit financially when they are the producers of electricity. It is ironic that many of the individuals and communities who are complaining about Hydro One don't seem to realize that the renewable energy which they criticize could some day free them from the clutches of Hydro One by allowing communities to establish their own local independent power supply.

Most of the world's electricity will be produced by windmills and solar panels in the future. Last year, world-wide, more new electricity was produced by wind and solar than nuclear and coal combined. This makes sense as the wind and the sun are free and clean. Some of us even think that windmills are beautiful and enhance the beauty of the landscape. However, they are not perfect and they have to be implemented in a thoughtful manner. If that happens and the wind turbines are built, it's quite likely that most people will get used to them. It's also possible that there will be a letter to the editor in a few years complaining that the proposed hydro corridor bringing electricity from Quebec is spoiling the perfect view from the big hill on Highway 41.