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 Caledon’s century farms once used the power of the wind to pump water. Today, wind power is rapidly developing as an economically viable solution to rising electricity prices, harmful emissions and climate change.Wind power can allow some independence from the grid, shielding a property owner from rising electricity costs and brownouts. It offers an environmentally friendly, renewable source of electricity, and makes sense for remote locations where hookup to the grid can be very costly. How can I participate in Wind Power? There are a variety of ways:
To decide if a wind turbine will be cost effective for your home/personal use, most potential sites require an anemometer study – capturing wind speed and directional measurements over time – usually one year. Contractors will use this data to design the right system to the available wind power. You can design a system to keep the electricity for you own use, or if there’s excess, sell it to the grid or store it in batteries for a calm time (wind talk for the equivalent of a ‘rainy day’). Community Co-operatives  This is the Toronto waterfront turbine half owned each by the Windshare Co-op and Toronto Hydro. Similar community owned installations are operating or planned in Hamilton, Bruce, Dufferin and Prince Edward Counties, plus some others. While Caledon is not an optimal wind location as defined by Environment Canada, we believe the topography in certain cases may make certain micro sites feasible. In locations where an interested co-op does not have it’s own good wind site, there’s a new proposal where they may join together with other co-ops in building and owning turbines on optimal sites. LakeWind was formed in this vision.A few people in Caledon are in the very early stages of looking at the feasibility of wind power. Click here to get involved with a Caledon Wind Power Co-operative. We may build our own turbine, or join in LakeWind and share a turbine or two! A Wind Power Developer may approach land owners to lease a site on your property. After a wind power assessment, you may enter into a land lease agreement that allows a developer site access and proceeds from the wind resource. Different kinds of arrangements exist. You may own a share of the resource development and the output, or just rent out the land. Purchasing Green Tags is another way to become involved and supports clean, renewable electricity generated from the wind. Each $75 Green Tag replaces one megawatt hour of ‘dirty’ power – about one tenth of the average Ontario household’s annual use. The Town of Caledon and the Niagara Escarpment Commission (NEC) are working together to create a planning process for wind turbine towers. The NEC has published a policy paper on its web site. Hydro One has just come out with ‘net metering’ policy – the process of offsetting your bill with the power you generate – up to the amount you consume. With the new provincial government indicating they want to increase the supply of power from ‘green’, renewable sources and an artificially low price for traditional ‘brown’ sources, economic and political support for ‘green’ power is improving.  About these images: Nicola Ross from Belfountain trekked through Northern Spain last year and discovered that wind power can be a beautiful thing. She is a local journalist, who carries a camera from time to time. These images were captivating and illustrate how wind turbines integrate with natural and human-altered landscapes. Learn more.Links and Resources Ontario’s Renewable Energy Association - consider joining to take advantage of collective experience and knowledge. Seminars, articles and publications will guide you in assessing whether you want to be a developer yourself, or lease out your land. To learn more about Wind Power, Co-Ops and Wind Farms see: www.Ontario-Sea.Org For wind turbine supplier/installation information see: www.Canwea.ca A local publication: www.PrivatePower.ca For more information about Green Tags see: www.greentagsontario.com Photographs on this page, courtesy Windshare and DOE/NREL. WINDSHARE TURBINE: OWNED BY 427 CO-OP MEMBERS AND TORONTO HYDRO POWERS 250 HOUSEHOLDS GENERATED PROFIT IN ITS FIRST YEAR ANNUALLY DISPLACES 2.8 MILLION KGS OF CO2 FROM COAL-FIRED SOURCES |
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