Attention News/Assignment Editors:

MEDIA ALERT: LOCAL BLACKOUT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN AVOIDED BY PROPOSED NIAGARA ESCARPMENT WINDFARM

Windfarm Information Meeting Well Attended - Feversham , Ontario : August 25, 2003

Yesterday, the Blue Highlands Citizens Coalition hosted its second well-attended public information meeting regarding the proposal by Superior Wind Energy Inc., an entity controlled by Brascan Corporation, to develop the “Blue Highlands” wind farm atop the Niagara Escarpment near Collingwood. The meeting was held at the Osprey Community Centre in Feversham , Ontario .

Local residents, municipal councilors and municipal planning staff members were presented with information regarding large-scale commercial wind farms of the type proposed for the Blue Highlands area. Data as to Ontario 's developable wind resource, as well as information as to the relevance of the proposed wind farm to the August 14/15 power blackout, were also presented.

“We are concerned by a general lack of awareness in the community as to the scale and nature of this proposed development” said Coalition President, Peter MacGowan. “At its originally-proposed capacity of 200 megawatts, the Blue Highlands wind farm would be the second-largest wind farm in North America ”. Even at a scaled-back 100 megawatt size, it would be the thirteenth-largest project on the continent – and would be installed squarely on top of the Niagara Escarpment. The Coalition noted that wind farms are often installed in phases, so the project could easily expand in size over time.

While the Coalition's presentation emphasized that responsible wind energy development should be encouraged, concerns were expressed about the introduction of such a large-scale development in such a sensitive area. The location of the proposed project on the Niagara Escarpment, identified by the United Nations as a World Biosphere Reserve and the subject of legislated provincial protection since 1978, is one of the Coalition's principal concerns.

“We've got to be careful to ensure that appropriate development controls are in place” said MacGowan. “Otherwise, in the midst of a blind pursuit of green power, this community wind resource and this famous provincial scenic resource could end up being exploited by a non-resident developer with adverse local consequences and insufficient local benefits. As well, many years of conservation efforts aimed at protecting the Niagara Escarpment could be seriously compromised”. The Coalition raised the possibility that a lot of the problems associated with the local water-taking issue could end up being repeated with a large “wind-taking” project.

“Let's be careful about this” said MacGowan. “Let's look at community-driven development of the wind resource – to maximize community benefit and to ensure that rampant wind power development doesn't impair the quality of life in our community. Let's talk about controlled development and electrical power self-sufficiency in this community”.

The Coalition presented statistics published by Superior Wind Energy confirming the availability of at least 6000 megawatts of land-based wind generating capacity in Ontario . With 6,000 megawatts of capacity in the Province, there are clearly many alternative sites for the big wind farms which many observers envision for the Province in the future. The potential developable offshore resource is even larger-perhaps as high as 29,000 megawatts.

The Coalition also presented information from staff of the Collingwood Utility Service, confirming that the local area would have been subjected to the August 14/15 power blackout, regardless of whether the wind farm had been installed, and that the wind farm would have had a minimal, if any, impact on the duration of the blackout. As well, Environment Canada wind speed statistics for the Collingwood weather monitoring station indicate that the wind speeds at various times during the blackout were insufficient to have even started the spinning of any of the proposed turbines. On top of that, any windfarm-generated power will only be fed into the grid generally, so no determination as to where it will ultimately be used is possible.

The Coalition presented a number of photographs of North America 's largest wind farms – all of which showed a common feature of low population density. “The large projects simply aren't installed in sites with this area's degree of residential and recreational land use activity” said MacGowan. “They certainly haven't been installed in UNESCO–identified World Biosphere Reserves. And let's not forget that one of the most popular portions of the Bruce Trail skirts three sides of the proposed development area. With tourism creating an economic benefit to Grey County of over $196,000,000 annually, we've got to pay attention to the natural, outdoor attractions that bring people here.”

The Coalition presented five alternatives to Superior Wind's proposed large-scale development: conservation, use of large tracts of Crown lands for big wind farms, siting the big wind farm developments in areas where strong local support exists, a smaller-scale community renewable energy co-operative in the area, and offshore installations on Lake Erie and possibly in Nottawasaga Bay off Collingwood.

The Coalition emphasized the importance of wind power developers finding appropriate sites where strong community support exists so that green power projects can proceed quickly without dividing communities. “We are not fighting wind power” said MacGowan. “We are advocating appropriate development – let's get green power going, but not at the expense of dividing communities and not at the expense of the cherished results of decades of conservation efforts in this area – results which are intended to benefit all Ontarians, now and into the future”.

The Coalition encouraged all local residents to be closely involved with the wind power development issue. The Coalition's main concern is that, in the absence of full information and active community involvement in the issue, some unfortunate decisions could end up being made. “Let's not let that happen. Let's get involved” MacGowan urged.

The Coalition can be reached through its hot line at 705-446-1798 or by e-mail at bhcc_info@yahoo.com.

Copyright, The Blue Highlands Citizens Coalition, 2004.  All rights reserved.