Perhaps you have noticed the 'Stop the Wind Turbine' signs that have been put up along the highways and biways in the former Manvers Township in the past few weeks, and wondered why they are there.
Manvers Township, which includes Pontypool and Bethany, is in a proposed industrial wind turbine study area. As local residents who will be affected greatly if the turbines are erected, we have a number of issues relating to having up to 30 turbines, proposed in this first study, with a possible height well over 400 ft, and with rotating blades that span 260 ft.
Turbines farms in other areas have been related to health issues that include headaches, insomnia, anxiety, heart palpitations, difficulty concentrating and are connected to epileptic seizures. The turbines may well be erected in close proximity to Grandview and Rolling Hills Public Schools, which includes a daycare.
The Green Energy Act allows the turbines to be placed as close as 550 meters from the base to the center of receptors, which are homes and schools. I believe it is imperative that the provincial government perform a full health study, including effects on children, before allowing the erection of the turbines, and increase the setback to at least 1.5 kms and preferably two kms, a distance that is generally agreed to prevent negative health issues.
Other issues include the disruption to the environmentally protected land of the Oak Ridges Moraine. This disruption includes not only the area required to put up the turbines, but the roadways and transmission corridors that must be built, on land that the residents themselves cannot develop.
We do not have fire fighting equipment to combat any fires that may occur in the generators at the hub, since the turbines are as tall as a 40 story building.
There will be a negative economic impact to properties in close proximity to turbines. The shadow flicker and the noise of the turbines will deter potential buyers.
While the lure of free and green energy lulls most people into believing that wind turbines are the energy answer, they may not be aware that the turbine companies receive a feed in tariff that is more than 2.5 times the amount we pay per kilowatt hour. If the wind isn't blowing, we still need to rely on nuclear, gas and hydro-electric power generation, since electricity can't be stored.
Industrial wind turbines will affect more and more rural areas, since the province has proposed 7,000 turbines to be erected in southern Ontario. We need to increase the distance of turbines from our homes for our health and wealth.
Nancy Lichacz Pontypool
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