CANADA POLITICS BLOCKS GREAT LAKES WIND

Ontario’s wind power ‘flip-flop’ draws ire
Richard Blackwell, February 16, 2011 (The Globe and Mail)

"Ontario’s decision to put the brakes on all offshore wind power is drawing criticism from businesses behind several major wind projects in the province…[who]say the province's dramatic reversal, which effectively killed offshore plans, is highly damaging to Ontario's reputation as a leader in renewable energy…[and] risks denting investment in an industry that was on the upswing as a result of the province’s green-energy policies.

"The McGuinty government announced late Friday that it will not allow any offshore wind projects to proceed until further scientific research is conducted into its environmental impact. The surprise decision drew praise from turbine opponents who are concerned over health effects and visual blight, but scorn from environmentalists and businesses that support renewable power."

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"…[T]he policy change does not affect onshore wind projects or other renewables such as solar power…[but the sudden policy reversal] on offshore wind is enough to scare off investors from green energy projects, said John Kourtouff, president of Trillium Power Wind Corp., which has been considering four large wind projects in the Great Lakes and has one in an advanced planning stage…

"The one company that had already signed a contract to supply power to the Ontario energy grid from an offshore project has said little…Windstream had a contract to sell the province 300 megawatts of power from a series of turbines offshore of Kingston, although it had not yet gained approvals from Ontario’s Natural Resources or Environment ministries. The contract is now dead…For Trillium, a company built entirely on the prospect of constructing wind projects in the Great Lakes, the province’s decision is nothing less than a disaster."

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[John Kourtouff, president, Trillium Power Wind Corp.] “This destroys Ontario’s credibility globally…Nobody will touch Ontario for many years in renewables…This isn’t a moratorium, this is a St. Valentine’s Day massacre of the offshore wind industry in Ontario [and the potential for thousands of new jobs]… If you are 28 kilometres out in the middle of the lake … and you’re on bedrock, there are no [problematic] environmental issues…”

"Mr. Kourtoff said he is considering legal action against the government if his company does not get some form of compensation from Ontario…[because] he thinks Ontario’s decision was purely political, designed to appease voters concerned about wind power ahead of a provincial election, and had nothing to do with environmental concerns…"