Wind farms are getting too free a ride

MELANCTHON COUNCIL deserves praise for going on the attack, so to speak, against certain provisions of Ontario’s Green Energy Act.

In view of the fact the Province has upped the ante for developers of wind farms by increasing the price paid per kilowatt hour to 13.5¢ from about 11¢ under the Standard Offer Program for small wind farms and by 4 or 5¢ from those developed in response to requests for proposals, we find it unthinkable that it has taken away the rights of municipalities to negotiate.

The council is concerned not only that it hadn’t been advised of 401 Energy’s plans for a 100- megawatt wind farm until it read about it in the company’s news release, but also worried that one property reassessment will open the floodgates for more.

It is worth noting that the same provincial government in 2005 placed a $40,000 per megawatt capacity cap on turbine assessments, and that Melancthon was able to recoup part of the obvious loss by negotiating an amenities agreement. Now the assessment cap remains but the council sees the Green Energy Act as stripping the municipality of its right to negotiate.

The Province should either to restore that right or to remove the assessment cap for future wind farm developments. The high prices paid to the developers should be accompanied by either generous amenities payments or full commercial/ industrial taxes on the turbines.