wind farm meetings

Wind farm meetings

This month (November 2006) there have been two meetings in Pugwash with two different wind power companies. Both were held at St Thomas More Roman Catholic church hall. Both meetings suffered from publicity malfunctions, the first far worse than the latter.

3rd November 2006
The first meeting was with Scotian Wind Fields (SWF). The company is subdivided into eight regional companies. The one for this area (The Cumberland Wind Field Inc) is holding community meetings looking for community financial support. There were six from the parent and regional company and three in the audience. Those three would be: a man and woman who had travelled from Truro, and me.

The company claimed they had done broad and intensive print, radio and cable publicity, but no one I have spoken to since has ever heard of them or their meeting. The only reason I had heard of it was from intensive searching online for information on wind farms. There had been a parparticularly vigorous batch of new rumours in September/October about an imminent wind farm in the area and, wanting to get to the bottom of it, I found out about this meeting.

Despite the pitiful numbers, and with the particular encouragement from the two from Truro, the presentation was given anyway.

It was a sales pitch.

Scotian wind fields is looking for investors. Each turbine requires an investment of $1.8million. They had a powerpoint presentation, handouts, displays and were open to many questions from the floor. Some of the information I obtained that evening is included in yesterday's blog. Not yet mentioned:

There is quite the procedure to go through before any windmill or farm can happen. These phases all have to happen, but their timeline can overlap substantially.

Land acquisition, generally by lease
Resource analysis using a meteorological tower.
Environmental work - assessment and research.
Interconnection - request, studies and permit to connect to the grid.
Permitting & Public Consultation - federal/provincial/municipal permits and open house or information distribution.
Secure equipment - order the actual machine. None is made in Canada.
Construction - foundations, electrical, raise tower and install blades.
Commissioning

There was some discussion about the meteorological tower that has been in operation behind "Brogans" on the Gulf Shore for the last two years. Studies generally take 12-18 months. SWF denied it was theirs and we speculated for a while as to whom it belonged.

After two hours, I had gleaned some information, but still nothing about this particular area. Outside the hall, the two from Truro called me over to their vehicle and identified themselves to be from the company who does own the meteorological tower on the Gulf Shore, Atlantic Wind Power Corporation (AWPC). He told me they were there to listen to their competitor's presentation and that there was to be a meeting with AWPC Nov 21st at the Village Commission building. He also told me they would be doing some more effective publicity, including a mail-out.

I can only assume that the meeting was later moved to the church hall as it is a bigger venue.

The mail out happened, in some areas. At least one ad in a local publication malfunctioned. I actually did some advertising for them by emailing people in the area and had CBC on PEI do an announcement the morning of Nov 21st.

Some might think that that was tantamount to shooting myself in the foot, given my point of view. However, any personal feelings I have about wind turbines or wind farms are superseded by my belief in full disclosure. I completely believe that people should have the opportunity to get as much information about this or any other project and thus come to an informed opinion.

21st November 2006
Atlantic Wind Power Corporation's meeting was advertised to be from 6-9pm. When I got there at about 6:15pm, there was already a good sized crowd. There was a very nicely presented display of photographs of the process of construction and some information about bird and plant studies. There was a fairly short video shown in a loop. There was a large buffet of cold cuts, cheese, veggies, fruit, tea, coffee, water and pop. There were at least five people from AWPC (including the two from Truro) circulating around the crowd. About 120 people attended in total.

This was also a sales pitch.

After some chatting with neighbours and viewing some of the displays, I was introduced to Charles Demond, president of AWPC. He came across as being a very pleasant man, passionate about his project. He was very open to discussing anything I had to say or ask about, but I was wishing the other people in the room could have been privy to our discussion.

This was my primary problem with this meeting/presentation/exhibit - there was no room for an open forum, no question time to raise awareness in those who haven't spent the hours and hours I have in research. I was disappointed the meeting was just a one-way street, with no room for publicly asked difficult questions.

The only handouts were about the Vista V82 turbines they want to use. The only reason we have a picture of the map to refer to is because I snapped a photo of the map on display. The map was hard to read because shoreline landmarks were not included. I later worked out the dimensions mentioned in yesterday's blog with the help of GoogleEarth. Yesterday's picture was cropped and given notations using Paint Shop Pro. This is the original, untouched picture.

However, I was given, on loan, a copy of the noise study done by Howe Gastmeier Chapnik Limited (HGC) for Natural Resources Canada (see yesterday's blog). I mailed it back yesterday. A considerable problem with this particular copy was that it did not include any of the figures or diagrams that illustrate the study.

One of the many questions I asked was why this meeting was held so late in the year, considering that half to two thirds of the Gulf Shore population has moved to HRM for the winter. Mr Dumond said that they were only just now ready with their data to start having meetings, but he looked forward to meeting with cottagers. He didn't suggest when that would be.

After at least an hour of conversation with Mr Dumond, I had to pry myself away from our interesting discourse and beat a retreat, with a raging sore throat, to the cool of outside. Consequently, I missed viewing some of the materials on display.


22nd November 2006
I had heard a rumour that AWPC was going to make a presentation to County Council the day after their presentation to the community of Pugwash, so off I went the next day to Amherst. There was no presentation on the agenda, so I didn't stay for the meeting, but I did get to talk briefly to the County Planner who had some interesting information concerning zoning.

Currently, Cumberland County does not have any by-laws regarding zoning of wind turbines and their "set-back" from any dwelling or property. The first draft will be presented to the County next week. Fingers crossed that set-back will be considerably further than the 500m AWPC proposes!

Neither the County nor I have heard from AWPC since last week.

Pugwash, Nova Scotia wind farm

Greetings!

There has recently been a whole lot of buzz a out a proposed wind farm for this area of Pugwash, Nova Scotia..

Rumours, facts, gossip and misrepresentations abound.

I have spoken to a lot of people in this area, and most will agree that green power is the way we should be going, but wonder whether this is the right location for the next big project. A few welcome the idea of a wind farm here. The majority say "Green power? Great! But not in MY backyard!"

What is clear is that many, many people in this area and elsewhere are woefully unaware of some very important information about this proposed wind farm in particular and wind turbines in general. This is my small attempt to present the facts as I best know them. First, I will bring you the facts as I believe they stand right now. I will also review some recent events that have brought us to where we are now.

Whatever your point of view may be right now, please read the following. If your viewpoint remains the same or changed, I hope it is because I was able to pass on interesting and pertinent information. The prime objective here is to pass on information and prompt questions so that more people can form an informed opinion.

Much of my information comes from European web sites. They have been using wind turbines for much longer than we have, and thus have come up with more long term problems than we have, so far. I have to add that it is incredibly difficult to get "good" information from the Internet. Websites are either from wind power companies who are selling their product or those of people or groups vehemently against wind turbines and can see no good in them at all. Unbiased information is so rare, that much of what one does find has to be taken with a large grain of salt. The most reliable information comes from governmental or non-governmental agencies or pollsters. Even then, one has to keep in mind who requested the study or poll being reported.

I'm not generally a fan of Q&A presentations, but I think this might be the fastest way to get through the facts, giving you the opportunity to fast track if you like.

Isn't this a done deal?
No. The wind power company hasn't even made an application to Cumberland County Municipality yet. Land has not been 100% secured. Environmental studies not yet completed.

Who is proposing a wind farm?
Atlantic Wind Power Corporation (2005) Ltd. (AWPC) (http://www.awpc.com). This is the same company who brought a 17 turbine wind farm to Pubnico, NS. Pubnico is renowned as being the oldest community still inhabited by Acadians.

What kind of turbines do they want to use?
They plan to use Vesta V82 turbines each with a capacity of 1.65 mega watts. (http://www.vestas.com). The mechanism is gear driven, which is noisier and requires more maintenance than permanent magnet direct driven machines (as used in Rodney and Higgins Mountain).

Each turbine stands 80m with 40-41m blades. In other words, the tip of a blade at its highest point of its rotation would at least 120m above ground. The turbine towers at Higgins Mountain are only 69m.

Rotors/blades turn at wind speeds of 5-25 metres per second. The turbines cannot work at winds speeds too low or too high. Thus, the projected capacity of 1.65MW cannot be ever attained because wind speeds vary constantly. The best efficiencies from European wind power stations are 26% for the UK, 20% in Denmark and just 5% in Germany. At a recent meeting AWPC's president, Charles Demond, told me that they hope for 30-40% efficiency. Technology must have really improved efficiency lately!

The blades turn at 16 rotations per minute. That's once every 3.75 seconds.

How many and where do they want to put these turbines?
AWPC wants to erect 20-27 turbines that would run between the Gulf Shore Road to south of the Irishtown Road (aka the Pugwash Dump Road) towards the Miller Road. It would start at the Irving dairy farm and run easterly to Dan R Drive.

AWPC wants to "set-back" the turbines only 500m. This would mean that the immediate neighbours on the Gulf Shore side would be about 14 year-round households and another 40-50 seasonal homes. I don't know the Irishtown Road or Miller Road areas very well, so I don't dare speculate how many households, camps or cottages would be affected there.




What other land use is there locally?
This area also includes a provincial picnic park which is heavily used all summer, often by large family gatherings, company events or charity organizations. This park is enjoyed for most of the year, even when the gates have been locked for the "off season".

Also in the more general area:
Northumberland Links Golf Course
Fox Harb'r Developments
Gulf Shore Camp ground
Seventh Day Adventist camp ground (traditional spot for CNIB for years)
Countless cottages and camps
Scottish Pines cabins
many other cottage rental properties
Ducks Unlimited properties
Fox Harbour provincial park

Other property uses: farming, logging, hunting, outback camping, home based businesses, ATV and snowmobile trails. There are also a few property developments in progress.

Sounds like "cottage country" to me! This is prime land used for many recreational reasons, not least one of them being the peace, quiet and beauty of this area. Cottagers, golfers and tourists constitute an enormous part of the local economy. Just ask the local store owners when their busiest and most profitable part of their year is.

Any novelty value of a wind farm would wear off within a few years. This farm would be forever. Turbine working lives are usually 15-25 years. As they wear out they would be replaced with newer, possibly bigger machines. Land leases are often 75-99 years.

Are there health concerns for people living near a wind turbine?
This is still up for debate. Mr Daniel d'Entremont of Pubnico thinks so. He complains of noise and infrasonic sound effects. He claims this is particularly prominant when humidity is high or it is foggy. A study was performed by Howe Gastmeier Chapnik Limited (HGC) for Natural Resources Canada at the d'Entrement propetry in Pubnico. This scientific study was carried over and entire five days in May 2006. Not a very big sample size by most scientific standards. The study concluded that there was no infrasonic sound to be detected at the d'Entremont property.

What about noise?
HGC's 5 day study showed that the most noticeable noise was the "swoosh" noise made each time rotating turbine blades pass by the tower. "The 'swoosh" makes identification of the wind turbine generator fairly easy, and observations and the measurements indicate that the impact of the wind farm is constantly audible to varying degrees depending on operational and atmospheric conditions" (HGC report page 2). From their conclusion section (page 19) "... under certain wind and atmospheric conditions when background sound would be expected to be low, the measured sound levels were found to exceed the criteria and expected background sound by up to 13 dB. In particular, sound levels were found to exceed the anticipated background sound during periods when winds were light and from the south, with high humidity."

What is shadow flicker?
This is the effect when the sun is low enough in the sky that the turbine blades move across the sun (or moon) and cause a flickering effect to those on the ground.

When I enter my latitude and longitude (Google Earth) and the date for midwinter or midsummer into the US navel observatory database, I can get the altitude, azimuth of the sun in 10 minute intervals. Using high school trigonometry, I am able to calculate the times of day that shadow flicker is possible.

With a proposed turbine set-back of 500m and its total height being 120m, in mid-winter shadow flicker is possible for the two hours after sunrise and again for two hours before sunset . Even mid-summer is a problem, but this now would be for those south of the farm. The sun rises and sets so far towards the north in mid-summer, that shadow flicker is possible for the 1.5 hours after sunrise and again for 1.5 hours before sunset. At sunrise/set at the equinoxes (March and September) the effect is minimal.

Therefore those living to the north and within 500m of a turbine face the prospect of six months of shadow flicker (from minimal to two hours twice a day) and those to the south face a similar prospect (from minimal at the equinox to 1.5 hours in mid-summer).

The moon, and certainly a full moon, could also create a similar, although less obvious effect.

Would a wind farm affect property values?
Most certainly, according to the realtors I have spoken to so far.

To make things worse, the more valuable the property is initially, the worse its value is affected (up to 30%). As I mentioned before, this proposed farm would be right next to some of the most valuable property in the area.

According to the National Association of Neighbours of Wind Turbines, Denmark there has been a 25-30% fall in property value for properties in the vicinity of a wind farm. Denmark has so many wind turbines, that any new ones have to be erected out to sea.

The characteristic and indeed the definition of this area would be changed from "rural' to "industrial". The report made by HGC mentioned above says on page 8 "An acoustical rural area has sound levels generally dominated b y natural sounds, other than the industrial noise source under consideration" That is: the noise from the turbines that were under consideration. Thus, HGC reports that a wind farm is an industrial site, it is no longer rural.

How have other turbines affected areas?
Wind power is still a fairly new concept in this part of Canada and I don't yet have any good information. The turbines I have looked at so far (Rodney near Springhill and at Brookfield) have been in ones and twos. I plan a trip to Higgins mountain very soon, and may even take a road trip to Pubnico. My impression is though, that these sites are generally remote and in areas not particularly dependent on tourism.

The turbine at Rodney is in the middle of nowhere with just trees, blueberry fields and a couple of inhabited properties nearby. I am terrible at judging distance, so I can't say how close or far I was to the one turbine that was working, but I have to say I couldn't hear it. The wind was very light. I would be interested to hear what several sound like on a windier day.

Can the blades ice up?
A study in Germany found that "some ice layers 150mm thick have been detected and their mass has been as high as 20-23kg/m" (Proceedings BORKAS 11 Helsinki, 1994 pp216). It was proposed that chunks of ice could travel up to 550m and land with an impact speed of 170km/h. In Ovenden Moor, Yorkshire, England the local municipality releases "falling ice" warning notices.

Is there light pollution?
Not all turbines within a farm have to have beacons. Those on the perimeter and on any flight path would have to be. I don't know in candela how bright they are but the one at Brookfield,NS is pretty bright. Many of us on the Shore enjoy being able to star gaze with minimal light pollution from the Village.

What about birds and bats?
This is another battle ground. The wind turbine companies say their machines do not kill animals, independent (some rather old) information claims otherwise.

In Nasudden, Sweden 49 birds were killed in one night.
In Altamont, California there are reported 200-300 red tailed hawk deaths and 40-60 golden eagles.
It is estimated that 7000 birds in southern California are killed per year.

Turbine companies claim they kill fewer birds that high rise buildings or cats. I don't see too many high rise buildings out here on the Gulf and really, not too many cats. But I do see many different raptors of all sizes and a few local bats. Apples and oranges!

What about the aesthetics of a wind turbine?
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

As much as their engineering, effects and manufacturing can be appreciated or even admired, not everyone likes the look of them. Remember that we're not talking about just one or two turbines, we're talking 20-27. This would permanently change the landscape of the area.

Even the most staunch supporters of wind farms agree that they should not be allowed to spoil the landscape.

Would there be any local jobs generated?
No. And that comes directly from AWPC.

Would there be cheaper power rates for the Pugwash area?
No. And that comes from NS Power.

So what would the Pugwash/ Gulf Shore area get out of it?
A new view and a compremised economy.


Last word.... for now ...
It just boggles my mind that a wind company should go to so much trouble and expense to put an industrial site in the middle of cottage country!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
OK, that's it for today.

There is much more to talk about:

When or will NS Power grant AWPC a contract?
For how long?
How "green" are wind turbines really?
Who does get the power that they generate?
What happens during construction?
What guarantee is there that a decommissioned turbine would be removed?
What if the original company no longer exists?
How many coal/oil burning or nuclear facilities will be shut down due to wind power?
If wind farms are so efficient and producing "free, green" power, why doesn't NS Power build them themselves instead of relying on private companies?
If we went all green in producing power, does that mean we can continue to use electricity in a wasteful manner?
What incentive would there be to save electricity?