[Moon-dæg] A Final Look at Wind Farms

Introduction
On Either Side
The Hazy Long View
Winding Down
Closing

{Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty giving a brusque, verging on covert, mid-response thumbs up to wind farms. Image from the Globe and Mail.com}

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Introduction

People's positions on wind farms are hard to change. But what really underlies the passion on either side of the debate?

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On Either Side

Resistance to and/or acceptance of change is certainly a major factor in the matter of wind farms, but just as deep is a concern for the future.

Those who are for wind power are those who believe that it truly is for the best, and that it really is just what needs to be done in order to help prevent global warming, to make power generation more sustainable, and to just plain make the future a more hospitable place for the generations that will have to live there.

On the other hand, those people who are against wind farms in rural Ontario are those who believe that wind farms are just the choice de jour of a government that wants to bully those with less power than citizens living in cities, or who believe that wind farms and wind power are some kind of elaborate sham - no more efficient than coal power, and certainly no more green.

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The Hazy Long View

Compelling evidence has been put forth on either side. Some research suggests that wind farms cause local warming, and other research suggests that wind farms are becoming cheaper and cheaper.

Although not nearly so charged as when debates involve things like the definition of life or when it starts, the place of wind farms in Ontario is definitely divisive.

However, taking the long view, wind farms seem beneficial. Are they expensive to consumers? Of course. Have they been forced on some municipalities by a government that some have decried as overly paternal? Sure.

Maybe it’s overly idealistic, but it seems that any transition into a new form of power generation is going to be painful - partly because of cost, partly because of inconvenience, and partly because of a perceived threat to the pastoral ideal, the old idea that any countryside is pristine and unblemished in every way possible - from its soil to its people to its skyline.

Perhaps a better question to ask than whether people should be for or against it is simply whether or not there will be any kind of benefit to it in the long run.

Bringing in wind farms with little negotiation might be a classically paternal move on the part of the McGuinty Liberals, or some stereotypical Liberal over-spending at the cost of bill-paying citizens, but in 50 to 100 years will it do as much harm as people are saying? or will wind farms have done some good - maybe making Ontario’s countryside more pristine than it was before?

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Winding Down

Perhaps this issue has sparked so much debate because the only way an answer can be firmly grasped is more by feeling than by thinking. The future that Ontario wind farms might positively or negatively effect is so far off that trying to forecast just what will happen involves too many variables.

There are immediate woes and victories, but do either matter as much as either side make them out to?

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Closing

On Wednesday check back here for an article on the newest news, and on Friday be sure to stop on by for a hunt for the good in London Boulevard.

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[Moon-dæg] "Switch off the Mind and Let the Heart Decide"

Opening Generalities
Wind Turbines Are Eyesores: Revisited
On Futuristic Landscapes
Health Effects Mini-Rant
Closing

What better way to start of a stream of consciousness/rant entry than with some of the electronic musical stylings of Mr. Thomas Dolby (specifically a song named "Wind Power")? At any rate, let's get right to it.

{Spinning blades and rainbow shades, a perfect day for a rant. Image from wpclipart.com}

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Opening Generalities

This whole issue of wind farms and such in Ontario really seems to come down to a generational divide, at least in some senses.

Any generality is like a day at the beach - you're bound to get sand in your shoes if you make them, but sometimes they've got to be made, just as you might have to go to the beach to really relax.

Nonetheless, the older generation is generally opposed and the younger generation is actually for. But the sand's about to be kicked out of those shoes, since the reason behind this seems to be the simple fact: the old live in the country and the young live in the city.

Perhaps not major cities, like those clustered around South Western Ontario, but definitely in more densely populated areas where wind farms are quite removed from everyday sight.

This is another generalization, but it definitely holds true. There are, of course, the young who don't care for wind power and the old who are for it, and the young who live in the country and face the brunt of these wind farms and there are the old who live in cities and are removed from the physical presence of the issue.

Really, though, that's it. Those living in towns and in cities who are opposed to wind farms might be so because of the reasons cited in last week's blog entry, or because of others, but those urbanites are not quite in the fore of the issue.

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Wind Turbines Are Eyesores: Revisited

Wind power, though, is definitely something futuristic, something that is at least a little bit inevitable, even if its greenness in both senses might be seen as a handicap by some. The biggest argument against them that carries any weight, and that seems to have no real solution is that they're eyesores.

In response to the eyesore argument, though, it must be said that the landscape is going to change no matter what kind of power is generated - green power or old power. The generation of power means that humanity is present, and as long as humanity is present there's going to be a need for power - so long as any kind of apocalyptic disaster doesn't render human society completely ignorant of electricity and its uses. Why not let the landscape change in a controlled way?

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On Futuristic Landscapes

The change into a futuristic landscape, assuming that a "futuristic" landscape is indeed the end result of human progress to the "Future" of hover- and teleportation and meals-in-pills technology, is definitely going to be a long and slow one, but as long as wind turbines don't knock down any trees or destroy any escarpments or cause damage to homes, they're just another addition.

How did people feel about radio towers when they first went up in the countryside, with their constantly blinking lights?

How did people feel about the giant metal power lines and their supports which cut swathes through the Ontario landscape when they were first erected?

Progress means change, and if it's a change that can be controlled, isn't that for the better? Isn't that what should be striven for?

So what if solar panels and wind turbines change the face of the landscape just a little bit?

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Health Effects Mini-Rant

As per the other effects that wind turbines are said to have, it seems that no evidence has come forth to back up claims of health problems due to them, and their effect on wildlife is considered in their construction and erection. 50-150 years ago when things were being built in the Ontario countryside, was wildlife considered? Were health concerns related to the impact of building a major issue?

It's the opinion of this blogger that the health issues that people attribute to wind turbines are the result of anxiety triggered by the presence of something new and radically different.

A power plant is sequestered and out of sight. A hydroelectric dam might be miles away from the homes and businesses that use its power. Wind farms are much more immediate, much more noticeable, and more more conspicuous.

If anything, the wind turbines are causing health issues not because of their motion - though being near any moving object like that does take some getting used to - as much as they are because of turbines' inescapable presence. They're there. They're always there, but unlike solar panels, they make noise and they move about. These facts may cause some people to become distressed, but they are what they are.

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Closing

Check back here Wednesday for an article about some of the newest news and on Friday for a hunt for the good in Johnny English Reborn

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[Moon-dæg] Logical Defenses Of Ontario Wind Power

Introduction
Wind Farms Forced on Rural Ontario
Wind Turbines Are Eyesores
Wind Turbines Don't Turn When Power's Needed Most
Closing

{Turbines aligned, like solid arguments for and against them. Image from an Earthy Day 2012 blog}

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Introduction

There are a number of arguments that have been raised against wind turbines in Ontario. A mere three are that: The wind turbines were forced on residents of rural areas by the current Liberal government; the turbines are eyesores; the turbines don't generate power when it's needed most.

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Wind Farms Forced on Rural Ontario

Although there appears to be little record of it on the internet, many residents of rural Ontario feel like the provincial Liberals have forced wind turbines into the landscape, giving the affected residents and municipalities little say in the matter.

At the least, Energy Minister Chris Bentley has said (in February 2012) that rural municipalities will have some say in the locations of wind farms, but there's little to suggest that rural municipalities will be able to outright refuse wind farms.

On the one hand, it makes sense that this lack of democratic choice has caused so much protest on the part of rural Ontario, but on the other it could be seen as a provincial government simply doing what a provincial government does: govern.

In a democratic society the governing process needs to involve the say of the governed, but going around that brings up one major question.

Were wind turbines, in any form, mentioned in any of the Liberals' platforms for the 2003 and 2007 elections?

No, not specifically, at least.

But a quick Google search turns up the 2003, the 2007, and the 2011 platforms.

A search for the word "energy" in these platforms reveals an emphasis on "clean" and "renewable" energy in the 2003 platform; the statement that the Liberals will

"Make our energy greener and cleaner, with the province’s first long-term energy plan in a generation. Our plan will replace coal by doubling renewables and doubling conservation" (page 6)

in the 2007 platform; and energy that's described as "clean," "green," and "renewable" is mentioned throughout the 2011 platform (which also includes dramatic shots of people in front of wind turbines).

The references to renewable power are vague, yes, but they do hint towards things like wind power - it may sound cruel, but Ontario got what it voted for.

Because the Liberals have had a majority in the past three elections, running on a platform with a mention of such energy (though not explicitly "wind power" or "wind farms"), it's logical to conclude that even if rural Ontario wasn't unanimously for the Liberals in the 2003, 2007, or 2011 election, the province at large was, and the Liberals could take that acceptance (even as narrow as it was in the 2011 contest) as a green light to do what they thought best for the province.

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Wind Turbines Are Eyesores

To argue that wind turbines are eyesores and blots on the previously pristine Ontario countryside is to do what some likely did when skyscrapers first began to be built. City skylines have indeed been changed by the presence of the skyscraper, but these former eyesores have since become part of the cultural idea of what a city is - arguably worldwide.

Now, it's true that wind turbines can't exactly be compared to skyscrapers in all respects - it's much easier to make a building aesthetically pleasing because all it has to do is stand firm, when moving parts get added to the mix and these parts' motion needs to be efficient things get more complicated. However, places like Germany, where wind power is used to a great degree, don't seem to have much of a problem with the turbines and their appearance.

They're clumped together, sure, but that doesn't really make things that bad.

Anyway, having wind turbines dot the landscape is not a bad thing, it adds variety to an otherwise repetitive skyline. Forests and fields and cliffs and ravines are excellent, but adding in some wind turbines isn't necessarily that bad.

And though they may make some stretches of countryside less appealing to some people, they have attracted tourists to others, and will help to make those spaces left untouched even more prized than they are already.

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Wind Turbines Don't Turn When Power's Needed Most

Another argument lobbed against wind power (in Ontario, at least) is that when the power that these turbines generate is most needed it's nowhere to be found. The best example of this are hot summer days where the oh-so-necessary wind isn't blowing, and the turbines sit idle.

However, if excess power generated by wind turbines is stored in the grid during peak hours/days, then this argument is rather toothless. On the other hand, if excess power from wind turbines is not stored in the grid (or elsewhere), then more planning in that regard is definitely necessary.

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Closing

Check back here Wednesday for an article on the newest news, and check back on Friday for a hunt for the good in The Darkest Hour.

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[Moon-dæg] Winding up for Wind Power

Introduction
Megawhats?
Causes for Concern
More Information
Closing

{Typical turbines. Image from publicdomanpictures.net, taken by Peter Kratochvil}

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Introduction

As the first part in the next four part series here at A Glass Darkly, and since the new moon means a lack of light, this entry is a pooling of information about wind farms - specifically in Ontario. However, it is by no means complete and will point to things that are a little more complete when necessary.

So what's the skinny on these three-armed towers cropping up over the countryside in recent years? In short, they're part of the Liberal party's plan to help Ontario to go green. The cost has turned many off of the idea, and the noise that they are reported to cause has turned off a few more.

However, according to the IESO website's tracker, this is how much energy Ontario's turbines are currently outputting:


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Megawhats?

A megawatt is 1 million watts, and according to WikiAnswers, one megawatt could power 1000 average American homes for 1 hour. Or, it could power an average home for 1000 hours. Since Americans and Canadians have roughly the same power consumption habits (multiple computers, TVs, charging devices like phones and iPods, and electronic kitchen and cleaning implements) using American statistics doesn't seem particularly off.

An estimate of 750 homes on the megawatt by the Toronto Star, gives a similar picture.

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Causes for Concern

What gets people's dander up about wind farms, though, is that they've come in at tremendous cost. Whereas other generators get about 7.4 cents on the kilowatt hour, wind generators get 12 cents.

As Ontario swings into more wind power generation, though, A.J. Goulding of the consulting firm London Economics believes that there's potential for a vicious cycle in which the burgeoning wind industry would create jobs that would only compensate for those lost in other energy sectors.

Among those on the ground, so to speak, there are also concerns that wind turbines are responsible for headaches, dizziness, sleep disturbance, and/or hearing loss. Though these concerns are addressed in a report issued by the Chief Medical Officer of Health of Ontario, the conclusion appears to be that wind turbines are not responsible for adverse health effects from a strictly scientific standpoint.

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More Information

Nonetheless, the groups for and against wind power in Ontario dot the province's landscape as much as the mills that are the cause of their reactions. These include Wind Concerns Bruce, Ontario Wind Resistance, Harvesting Wind Support, and Ontario Highlands Friends of Wind Power.

For more stats check out thewindpower.net, canwea.ca, and/or centreforenergy.com.

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Closing

Check back here Wednesday for an entry on some of the newest news and on Friday for the search for the good in Clash of the Titans.

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