C-K should be proud of energy legacy, says mayor

Mayor Randy Hope said if more municipalities followed Chatham-Kent’s lead on green energy, the province could begin to improve both its short and long term energy prognosis.

“We’ve done our part, more than our part,” he said during an interview with the Voice. “If we had direct access to all of the electricity we generate, we could take Chatham-Kent off the grid. That’s something we should be proud about.”

Chatham-Kent currently has 450 turbines with a capacity of 916 megawatts, meaning it produces 21 per cent of all wind power in Ontario and eight per cent of power in all of Canada.

With construction of the North Kent Wind 1, Otter Creek Wind Farm and Romney Wind Energy Centre, Chatham-Kent will host 525 turbines with a 1,126 MW capacity.

The Lambton Generating Station on the St. Clair River was providing 950 MW of power when it was decommissioned in the fall of 2013.

Hope said he is tired of criticism such as that by Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP Monte McNaughton who said the increase in wind power is pushing the province deeper into debt.

“It’s the same song and dance,” Hope said. “They don’t want turbines in Lambton County, I get that, but it doesn’t mean we can just bury our heads in the sand and not embrace green energy. A not-in-my-backyard approach isn’t going to solve our problems.”

He said under the Green Energy Act, the province, not host municipalities, has the final approval on location of wind farms.

“It’s clear that no matter what our opinion is, the responsibility lies with the province,” he said. “You can either accept that and make the best deal you can or you can fight and lose. We made the best choice for our community and our economy. It’s not popular with everyone but nothing ever is.”

Hope pointed to the community of Dutton-Dunwich, just east of Chatham-Kent, whose council passed a resolution stating the community was not a willing host to wind farms, only to see one approved earlier this month.

Chatham Mazda from Chatham Voice on Vimeo.

“They are going to have a wind farm and because they didn’t negotiate, they won’t get anything in terms of community benefits,” he said.

Chatham-Kent has negotiated millions of dollars in community benefits as well as taxes and building permits that Hope said have enriched the local economy.

“Wind has been, and continues to be, a growth area for us,” he said. “Through Entegrus (the municipality-controlled utility company), we have an ownership stake in wind projects.”

Bruce McAllister, director of Chatham-Kent planning services, said council took the approach of approval of all applicants in the recent process since the odds were at least one of them would be successful.

McAllister noted that the first of Chatham-Kent’s wind projects, the Port Alma wind farm, was commissioned eight years ago.

“We’re almost to the half way point of the project’s lifespan,” he said.

Wind projects approved by the province must include provisions for decommissioning.

“As part of the REA process, all projects must prepare a Decommissioning Plan Report, which documents the plan for fully decommissioning the project after the 20 year contractual period,” he said. “In the unlikely circumstance that the project should cease operation during construction or before the contractual period expires, the report must also outline how the project would be decommissioned in this circumstance.”

He said although technology is evolving, the projects being undertaken now would have usefulness beyond their contract time.

Canada’s first wind project, the Pincher Creek Wind Farm in Alberta, is going to be decommissioned this year.  The project was a 57-turbine 16-megawatt (MW) wind farm with a lattice tower construction that was in operation for 23 years.

McAllister said competitive bidding has dropped the price of power generated by wind farms to the point where it is competitive with power generated by other methods.

“As with any technology, advances make it more efficient and through the use of competitive bidding, the price certainly becomes a factor,” he said.

McAllister said the decision of what direction green energy takes is in the hands of the province which has indicated it will take some time to assess future needs and priorities before taking further action.

“We may see another period where the province is entertaining bids, or we may see changes that mean we won’t,” he said. “Whatever that outcome, we are assured of continuing to receive the benefits of what we’ve done so far.”