Residents in the community of Belwood near Elora, are protesting a planned wind turbine project. Construction of four turbines near Bellwood will begin next year. Residents are afraid another 30 will follow.
Janet Vallery and her neighbours believe the turbines will reduce the value of their property by half. “We're battling all over rural Ontario supporting each other against the industrialization of rural Ontario.”
Officials with Centre Wellington told the province it won't willingly accept any more turbines.
The Township like many others wants a moratorium, until the health impact of turbines is studied.
University of Waterloo researcher, at the Institute of Sustainable Energy, Claudio Canizares says, “It’s part of the energy equation right? The resources we need to move into the future.”
Professor Canizare says wind turbines and solar panels won't help us avoid power black outs but they're necessary.
“We don't want to depend only on nuclear or depend only on gas because if something happens we are basically in trouble right?”
The Bellwood residents don't buy any of the arguments in favour of wind turbines.
“They require gas backup, idling all the time, it’s like leaving your car running while you've run into do your shopping so your burning fossil fuels to support something that's intermittent and unrealistic” says Vallery.
A meeting is scheduled in Elora tonight; the developer of project will be in attendance.
The residents say they'll keep protesting wind turbines until the provincial government changes its policies.
