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Pogo 10 The Huron Expositor • April 15, 2009
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News
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Can wind energy save Huron's manufacturingsector?m'
Dan .Schwab
41111=1.11.
With 1,000 workers in Huron
County's manufacturing industry
losing their jobs over the past year,
diversifying the local industry to fo-
cus on the burgeoning wind energy
sector is the region's best hope for a
recovery, says the president of the
Huron Manufacturers' Association.
Now that Ontario's Minister of
Energy George Smitherman has
announced he'd like to see 50,000
people in the province employed by
green jobs, the time is ripe for Hu-
ron County to look at manufacturing
wind turbines, Chris Meier says. suppliers _ to sup -
In February, Meier attended a port that The
conference in Toronto hosted by the economy is slow
Canadian Wind Energy Association, but energy is not
where wind energy developers and , going down. Peo-
manufacturers were told to antics pie will still need
pate a substantial growth in the in- „
dustry across North America. energy.
Meier says representatives from Meier says the
several companies from Huron Coun- uniquely pro-
-bty attended the conference, including P r i e t a ryase d
WesCast in Wingham and Progres- industry has ex -
sive Turf Equipment Inc. and Envira ceptionally high
North Systems Ltd. from Seaforth. quality stan-
"We're starting to see a pattern," dards and local
Meier . says. "There is lots of inter- companies would
Now we have large buildings becom-
ing available here. We have people
available," he says. "We are in a per-
fect spot with the Goderich harbour
and can ship these out on freighter."
The HMA, which is working in
partnership with the County of Hu-
ron to develop opportunities for local
companies, have contacted original
equipment manufacturers (OEMs),
which use components used by other
companies in its own product.
"We have made in -roads with OEMs
and we know what they're looking
for," Meier says.
"They want to
know if we have
est"
likely need cer-
Historically, wind turbines for proj-tification before
- any work could
ects in Ontario have been manufac begin.
tured primarily by European com- When Huron
panies, with only a few components County compa-
nies in North America, Meier says. � begin manu-
Minister Smitherman's proposal factoring com-
for a green shift for the industry ponents of wind
would see a mandatory proportion of turbines or whole
the manufacturing to be done in On- turbines, the lo-
tario. cal industry will
In the recent months, Meier has start slow but
been researching possibilities for is likely to grow
HMA members in the wind energy quickly, Meier
industry.
says.
It used to be something that we y
didn't understand or comprehend. "Over the, next
five to seven
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years, the amount of wind turbines
will go up worldwide," he says.
In spite of some negative contro-
versy surrounding the wind energy
industry, Meier says the need for
jobs will outweigh other concerns.
"There has to be a compromise," he
says. "When 78 per cent of people in
Canada, U.S. and Mexico, the NAF-
TA countries, are - in favour of wind
power, it shows you the magnitude of
the volume of support," he says.
Meier says he'd like to see turbines
manufactured in Huron County not
only for projects in Ontario, but in-
ternationally as well. -
"Our position is, right now we're
pursuing wind but we want to see
what other opportunities are out
there," he says, adding that manu-
facturing solar panel equipment or
bio -digesters may also be options for
local companies in the future.
"If we don't find jobs for these 1,000
unemployed people, they'll either
become poor or they'll pack up and
leave," he says.
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