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| January 04, 2010 Post 17 |
| lakeshore wind farm update |
A reader of the Log on Line sent along an update on the wind turbine situation
over in Prince Edward County with its important birding area at Point Traverse.
The County Coalition for Safe and Appropriate Green Energy has been tracking
things closely there.
Apparently one company Sky Power that planned to build turbines near the bird
sanctuary and migration corridor there has gone belly up in the recent economic
downturn. The group also reported that the Defense Department ( which has a big
air base in Trenton) was expressing concern about the south shore of the
county's wind farm proposals due to possible interference with radar. There is
also a legal challenge to existing wind farm siting regulations underway on the
grounds of violating the precautionary principal for human health effects. In
Canada anyway, this gives municipalities some legal jurisdiction over wind farm
placements.
The forwarded newsletter also mentions that Brighton ( a shoreline town just
west of Prince Edward County) has imposed a two year moratorium on wind farms
while their effects are studied. It doesn't seem likely that any of this will
impact the Main Duck wind farm which presumably is still in the works.
loons at Main Duck |
The pressure is on for more wind turbines in more places. It does appear to me that at least some mitigation of wind turbine effects is possible using technology like DeTects. But the question is will regulators impose requirements that increase the cost of electricity? As I wrote previously there is precedent. But it's going to take some serious lobbying on behalf of the birds and bats and I'm not sure it's going to happen.
You can find the original article on Lake Ontario wind farms on the Lake Ontario Log at www.silverwaters.com
or click on this link to go directly to it.
copies of Lake Ontario Birding Hotspots still on sale at
www.chimneybluffs.com - a guide to a dozen great public places by the lake between Rochester and Oswego for birding.