What is the Proposed Wind Farm in Lake Ontario All About?
As you may have heard, Toronto Hydro is investigating the possibility of building a wind farm near Toronto, about 2km offshore in Lake Ontario.
Even though the project is not even in the investigation stage yet, there has been a lot of passionate debate about the possibility of the wind farm being built. Sometimes, passionate debate can focus on how people feel, instead of focusing on the facts, and on informative and reasonable discussion.
For those of us who are interested in finding out more about the wind farm in a calm and balanced way, here is some information about the proposed wind farm, where it might be built, and some facts about the possible impacts.
What is the Wind Farm Project? What is Being Proposed?
Toronto Hydro has applied for a land use permit for the right to use the lands shown in the map below for a potential wind farm.
Currently, what people are debating is whether Toronto Hydro can set up an "anemometer" to measure the amount of wind on the Lake. If the winds are strong enough to generate enough power, then a wind farm "several km off the shore" of the lake might be built. This first step is to see if there is even enough wind to make building a wind farm a good idea.
What is an Anemometer?
The anemometer here is a "miniature weather station" that will be 4 meters above the water level, and will be placed around 1.75 km from the shore. It will have two small wind generators and a solar panel to power the instruments.
Will Building the Anemometer Mean that the Wind Farm Will be Built If there's Enough Wind?
No. There still has to be an environmental assessment and more public consultation. The debate right now is about whether they can build a 4 meter wind platform 2km out in the lake.
Do Wind Turbines Kill Birds?
Yes they do, however, far from being the "cuisinarts of the sky" they are sometimes made out to be, wind turbines aren't nearly as dangerous to birds as other structures. Newer turbines have slower moving arms that birds fairly easily avoid.
In the US, about a billion birds a year are killed as a result of power lines and collisions with buildings and cars. About 28,500 of those were due to wind turbines - that's about 0.0029%. To put it another way: no reasonable human being is asking that condos and office buildings be torn down because they kill birds.
A recent report from the British Royal Society quoted in the BBC noted that
previous estimates of collision risk have been "over-inflated"
Will a Wind Farm Bring Down my Property Value?
In the current economic climate, you'd need a crystal ball to tell. A recent highly-anticipated report from the US National Academy of Sciences noted that several studies failed to detect any impact on property values from wind farms. The paper also reports that if you are in a rural area, they may detract from your value, but in other areas, wind farms "may enhance property values". In either case, any "effect may diminish as the project becomes an accepted part of the landscape".
Will a Wind Farm Destroy the Bluffs?
There is no wind farm propsed to be built on the bluffs. The propsed 4m wind measurement platform is proposed to be located 2km offshore in the lake.
Although the project is not yet at the environmental assessment stage yet, common sense would suggest that it's unlikely that bluffs which have withstood the literal building up of a city around them, with all the laying of roads, digging of foundations, building of structures and all the traffic and vibrations that this involves, should be taken down by windmills 2km away in the lake bed. The areas around the 2 other local windmills do not seem to be experiencing crumbling of the earth.
If people are concerned about this, then this should absolutely be brought up when it comes time for the environmental assessment.
Are Windmills Noisy? Is a Wind Farm a Health Threat?
You be the judge - if you are concerned about noise from windmills, just drop by one of the two local windmills that we have and decide for yourself. Also, the proposed windmills would be 2km away in the lake, not in someone's backyard.
As for the health effects, there is currently no evidence to link turbines with serious health issues, however there are some reports from people that nearby turbines bother them. In fairness though, there are a far greater number of reports that smog and emissions from other power plants bother people.
A report in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine noted that some people do report perceiving windmills. Windmills in rural areas "increased the risk of perception and annoyance in comparison with a suburban area".
If you are concerned, this page has a summary of the current research into health issues.
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