Controversy recognized | Ontario Federation of Agriculture recently called for moratorium
A cooling of Ontario farmer support for wind-generated electricity is a reminder to the wind energy industry that it cannot take rural support for granted, says a key industry official.
Robert Hornung, president of the Canadian Wind Energy Association, said the decision by the Ontario Federation of Agriculture to call for a moratorium on new wind turbines in rural Ontario was unfortunate.
“When that position came out we were all disappointed because we know there are many farmers who are supportive and actively engaged in wind project developments,” he said Feb. 23.
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But rather than a “setback,” Hornung said it was a reminder that wind energy projects can be controversial and community support is vital.
He said there can be many reasons for local opposition.
“Wherever opposition emerges, it’s going to be solidly rooted in that local community,” he said. “The worst thing the industry could do is just go into a community and assume that since it brings a lot of benefits, it automatically will get a lot of support. The wind energy industry actually has to earn support and as Ontario shows, it is something we must continue to do.”
Critics have complained about noise and the destruction of birds as they fly into the blades.
The OFA argued that farmers are not being properly compensated and often end up being opposed by neighbours.
“When wind developments come to a community, neighbours are pitted against neighbours,” OFA president Mark Wales said in announcing the call for a moratorium on future development. “The issue of industrial wind turbine development is preoccupying the rural agenda.”
Hornung said CWEA will meet with OFA “because they seem to have some misunderstanding or misinformation about the cost of wind relative to some of the alternatives.”
While wind energy turbines dot rural areas across the country including southern Alberta, Ontario has the largest number of them, accounting for one-third of national production.
Hornung said there is more public resistance in Ontario, where the windmills often are in more heavily populated areas, than in other provinces.
He said the national association is not dismissing the Ontario concerns even if it does not speak for all Ontario farmers.
“We will take notice of the stance taken by the OFA but having said that, we have seen a number of local authorities of the OFA coming out and saying, ‘we’re not quite sure that reflects our position,’ and as we have seen in other jurisdictions, there has not been similar reactions from agriculture associations,” he said.
“It is incumbent on us that we get a better understanding of OFA issues and work with them on how we can best address them. We strongly believe wind energy can provide a significant benefit to rural communities and to the agricultural sector and the OFA sees that potential as well.”
