The Rural Voice, 2006-08, Page 12HANOVER CHRYSLER
DOES BETTER
2002 JEEP TJ SPORT 4x4
6 cyl. stick, 2 tops, low kms.
s 16,995
2002 JEEP LIBERTY LIMITED
4x4, sunroof, leather, 6 disc.,
power seat, infinity sound,
loaded.
$21,995
2005 GRAND CARAVAN
Power seat, alloys, rear air,
warranty.
$20,995
2002 CHRYSLER INTREPID
V6 auto, power windows, power
locks, tilt, cruise, air, bench seat,
only 31,000 kms.
91,995
HANOVER CHRYSLER
DODGE JEEP
664 -10th St., Hanover
1-866-788-8886
519-364-3570
C:
IININ111
Dodge
Jeep
e-mail: sales®hanoverchrysler.ca
www.hanoverch rys ler.ca
8 THE RURAL VOICE
John Beardsley
What's the best windpower business model?
John
Beardsley is
a freelance
journalist
and crop
specialist
with Huron
Bay
Cooperative.
How can anyone be against wind
power?
Wind turbines produce clean
renewable electricity without any
long-lasting radioactive waste or
greenhouse gases to deal with. 1 don't
know how to address the people who
don't like them blocking up the
countryside. You either like wind-
mills' sleek lines and apparently
effortlessly turning wind vanes, or
you see them as a plague on the
landscape; there seems to be little
middle ground. (I suppose I shouldn't
be surprised that it seems the same
people opposed to them are also the
ones opposed to the intensive
livestock operations anywhere near
their property).
There also seems to be ongoing
confusion as to their effects on birds.
Is their effect any worse than air
pollution or radio activity would be?
When I recently drove by the
installation north of Goderich I
roughly calculated the number of
households that were being powered
by these 11 towers, and was amazed.
The 650 -megawatt turbine at the
exhibition grounds in Toronto powers
340 houses, and the Goderich farm
towers are all producing more mega-
watts than the Toronto generator.
But what causes me to write this
column is the need for rural people to
look at what method of developing
wind power will best advance the
interests and economy of rural
Ontario. It is, after all, our resource,
and one that shouldn't be sold too
cheaply. When the first purveyors
started to talk to landowners in the
Kincardine area it looked like found
money; but just as a clear cutting of a
wood lot might make you more
money in the short term, the long
term lost opportunity will remain.
The amount of income in the lease
in many of these first contracts is
fixed for the life of the tower with no
requirement by the corporate owner
ever to pay any more, despite what
power prices might do in the future.
The Government of Ontario used a
tendering system; apparently in order
to get some projects built quickly, so
as to have actual structures and real
generation data to point to, come next
election. But in their rush to get
towers up, they have also given a tax
concession to these companies that
will end up costing the local
municipality money. How they
expect to get more projects built is a
mystery, if there are no long-term
benefits to the local community.
I think a better alternative is the
one proposed by the Countryside
Energy Co-operative Inc. (You can
get more information and contacts
from the following websites
www.countrysideenergyco-op.ca and
www.ontario-sea.org ) The co-opera-
tive has created farmer -friendly land
leases developed with the landowners
and their mandate is to develop
projects in the countryside that won't
impact the more urban areas such as
Kincardine.
The key part of the puzzle for
these community-based projects to be
viable was that the Ontario
government created standard offer
contracts. The utilities will pay
enough for the electricity to make the
wind -power projects a safe invest-
ment for banks. These community
projects now have economically
viable plans. The grassroots energy
co-ops will directly benefit a larger
number of people who choose to
invest. This should result in broader-
based support to get these projects
built. You can now take a look at the
offerings and predict what return you
are likely to make on your money.
However for these projects to fly,
it will require financial support from
the rural population. There is a
window of opportunity for rural
Ontario to take charge of a significant
resource. Will we step forward and
put our money on the line or will we
allow the well-financed private
companies to rape and pillage our
future?0