Owner of some of the land that turbines stand on and wind energy supporter Jennifer Ackerman.(Photo/John Spitters/Quinte News)
Today the work of dismantling a number of massive wind turbines begins on a rural property in Prince Edward County, not all that far from Belleville. There were to be nine of these turbines, four of them were completed, with the others under construction. All that work stopped when the Ford government was elected in Ontario which led to the cancellation of hundreds of renewable energy projects across the province. The former Liberal government provided rebates, grants, and subsidies for these initiatives and the Conservatives simply shut them down.
The PEC project was controversial because of environmental concerns and perhaps it shouldn't have been approved in the first place. Above is a poster from an earlier time. But the willful, ideological opposition of the current government to alternative energy sources requiem is just plain bad business and environmentally stupid. In the case of the turbines, cancellation of the contract could cost Ontario taxpayers $100 million. What is the sense in this?
As a Christian convinced that our society must seek alternatives to fossil fuel and non-renewable sources of energy I find the direction of the Conservatives disheartening. I was pleased when a congregation I served installed an array of solar panels with a contract to return the power to the grid.
There will be a protest at the site today but the deed is done, sadly. Perhaps I should have offered to attend and preside over a funeral service. How many years before the next election?
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