Advertisement

News

Mighty wind

Talk of green jobs has put wind in the Liberals’ sails, but in some parts of rural Ontario the arrival of jumbo-jet-sized turbines has kicked up major blowback this election. Enviros say a small, vocal group of anti-wind activists backed by nuke interests (and PC ones, too) are stirring up myths about health impacts. Do criticisms of wind pass the sniff test?

220 Gigawatts of wind power installed worldwide since 1980

125 Gigawatts of electricity from all sources in Canada

3,549 Megawatts of installed wind power in Canada (about one third of that in Ontario)

Property values soar

Anti-wind activists say the arrival of wind turbines in Ontario communities is forcing people from their homes. The reality: often, those being “forced” from their homes are selling to the companies pushing wind projects. Studies suggest property values around wind farms go up for the majority of homeowners and that annoyance over turbines is linked to whether or not a person stands to gain financially from them.

Human health

On the health front, the arguments come down to perception versus reality. The reality: the Ontario Medical Officer of Health and World Health Organization say there’s no scientific data showing impacts on human health from low-frequency sound or electromagnetic fields generated by turbines. The perception: anecdotal evidence suggests that shadow flicker from turbines may affect those who are light-sensitive and people with epilepsy.

wind_468.jpg

Economics of wind

Is wind viable? The short answer is it’s the fastest-growing source of energy worldwide (See numbers on this page). The long answer is that we have little choice if we’re going to wean ourselves off nukes and coal. Tech to store wind energy on a huge scale is still a few years away. But that doesn’t mean wind can’t be used it when it’s available.

Wildlife body count

“Insubstantial” is the word used by enviros to describe the impacts of wind turbines on bats and birds. Buildings, power lines and cats, they point out, kill far more. There have been mistakes with siting in the past (Wolfe Island), but modern wind farms take wildlife impacts into account.

Ice throw

Ice that accumulates on turbine blades has also been cited as a safety concern, but the max 250-metre distance ice can be thrown is well within the current setback requirements.

Skinny on setbacks

Ontario’s setback rules for wind turbines are some of the strictest on the planet, a minimum of 550 metres to any structure (about the length of five football fields). The decibel levels at that distance are below the level at which sleep disturbance can occur. Not strict enough, though, for those who claim adverse health effects. They say there wasn’t enough consideration given to health impacts when the province came up with its setback rules. The courts, though, sided with the province on that question.

Click here to Download PDF

Advertisement

Exclusive content and events straight to your inbox

Subscribe to our Newsletter

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

By signing up, I agree to receive emails from Now Toronto and to the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.

Recently Posted