WIND ON WATER UNDER FIRE

North Hoyle - England          CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE

Wind Energy is a Wonderful Thing
So is Lake Saint Clair.  Unfortunately the latter gets blown away by the installation of the former.  Lake Saint Clair is a small lake.  Twenty six miles north to south by 24 miles East to West.  It's depth averages ten feet; the deepest part being the shipping channel which is dredged to 27 feet.  A mere mud puddle compared to any of the Great Lakes. 

Small but Mighty
She may be small but she is mighty.  At least in economic terms.  Over 3000 commercial vessels chug through Lake Saint Clair every year; many loading and unloading on either side of the Detroit River.  Couple this with the fact that this lake accounts for over one third of the entire Great Lakes sport fishing catch each year and nearly half of the entire Great Lakes sport fishing effort.  More than 167,000 boats are registered on both sides of the lake where boating activities pump an estimated $289 million into the local economies.  Sailboat racing in Lake Saint Clair is world class.  In fact, many of the international rules and regs are determined along its shorlines (including for the Americas Cup Race).  Activities are numerous:  Sport fishing, ice fishing, canoeing, kayaking, wind surfing, sailing, ice boating and swimming to name the most obvious.   Events include various fishing derbys, hydrofoil racing, sail regattas, our local dragon boat racing, and yes...even the Jobby Nooner.

The forgotten Lake
Lake Saint Clair is not one of the Great Lakes.  She is considered to be an extension of the Lake Erie basin.  Perhaps this is why this body of water has been taken for granted and literally abused over the years.  Until very recently it never received the attention that the other lakes have.  Resource management plans were non-existant.  In recent years severe pollution and other problems have drawn attention to urban sprawl, sewer overflows, invasive species, high levels of chemical pollutants, mercury and dangerous levels of bacterial contamination along it's shores.  Beach closures and other public health concerns are common place, while zebra mussels and other invaders threaten native species, sometimes causing physical damage through sheer numbers.   Over the last couple of decades things have been turning around.  Organizations and government bodies on both sides of the border have been addressing issues like sewage overflow, chemical spills and run-off.  There is a catch 22 in all of this:  Just when the the planet's collective mind is riding a massive wave of green, Lake Saint Clair has been caught dead in it's path.  The Ontario Provincial government is clear-cutting the way for 165 wind turbines to be planted in three clusters along the Canadian shore.  For such a small lake whose charm comes from her splendid resources, lucrative income generation and natural vistas this is not a good thing.  The horizons of the lake will be changed forever.  Its as if we are being asked to forget Lake Saint Clair all over again.

The Big Bad Plan
In conjunction with the current Ontario government a relatively obscure company called Southpoint Wind Power has been empowered by the Ministry of the Environment to go ahead with the construction of 715 mamouth wind turbines, 550 of which will be planted two kilometres offshore along the shore of Lake Erie and 165 to be planted in Lake Saint Clair.  Many people are concerned and for good reasons.  Here is the site map for the wind farms.

The red dotted line above runs along highway 401 and old Hwy2 which is a more viable location for these turbines.

Both shorelines are going to be peppered with these wind farms.  For a better perspective people have to comprehend how large these things are.  Each turbine is 410 feet above the waters surface.  Thats equivalent to forty stories tall!   The largest building in downtown Windsor is a little over half of that height.  Imagine 165 of them in Lake Saint Clair.  The northern tip of Pelee Island barely shows on this map but it is six times farther from shore that these farms are and yet the island , as flat as it is, is clearly visible from the mainland.   By contrast, each wind farm will be planted a measly one to two kilometres from shore.  Imagine what that will look like from any vantage point.  In perspective, the turbines pictured above are six kilometres offshore.  With a view like that the novelty of windmills will soon turn into windmill fatigue.  Every public and private vantage will be marred by this sight.  Even during the night there will be no escape for each one will be equiped with at least one aircraft warning strobe and base strobes for boaters.  For a lake the size of Lake Saint Clair these farms will be disasterous to the natural view from any line of sight.  As similies go, looking at Lake Saint Clair will be like having a birds eye view of Zug Island. 

  Red circle is Bell River Marina.  Check out the scale.  Yellow arrrows point to alternative land locations

Other wind farms from around the globe are located 16 to 25 kilometers or more offshore and all are  in seas and oceans.  These lakes are far too small for that.  Especially considering that the surrounding topography is flatter than the prairies.  Equally good for wind generation.  That said, the only rationalle for putting them into these lakes is cost.  No royalties have to be paid to private land owners.  Especially when the government is giving up crown land such as lake beds to the providers.  South Point Wind also gets a heavier subsidy by putting these sticks in the water.  Nineteen cents per Kwh  as opposed to thirteen cents for land based turbines.

Usual and Unusual Beefs
The rightful arguments are many but for Lake Erie and and Lake Saint Clair the following ones from Wind Concerns Ontario are a good start:

How would these wind farms affect property values?  On Lake Saint Clair, for instance, the turbines would be erected offshore from Belle River, Deerbrooke and Lighthouse Cove at the mouth of the Thames River.  TDurbines would be visible from the Grosse Pointes and other communities where home owners pay top dollar for water views. 



# What would be the effect on waterfowl and other migratory birds? Hundreds of turbines would stand in sight of Point Pelee, the southernmost point of the Canadian mainland and a funnel in one of North America’s busiest migration flyways.



# What are the potential costs to tourism, recreational boating and sports fishing? Will the wind farms and surrounding waters be placed off-limits to boaters and anglers?


# Will the safety of drinking water be jeopardized? Pilings for the massive turbines will disturb tons of sediment and could stir up long-buried toxins.


# Why wasn’t the public given proper notice? Elected officials in communities such as Amherstburg and Essex have expressed outrage at being surprised by a project of such size and scope.


“Why should we be the guinea pigs?” asked Rob Schmidt, the deputy mayor of Leamington, suggesting industrial wind farms might be tested in less developed and less environmentally sensitive regions.


SouthPoint Wind is owned by Leamington’s Liovas family, which is well known in the construction industry. Public hearings are planned, including one from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. March 27 at the Puce Sports and Leisure Centre on Old Tecumseh Road in Lakeshore, Ontario.

An hour won’t be long enough if the public is to be reassured about the merits and wisdom of this proposal.

More from that site here: 
http://windconcernsontario.wordpress.com/2010/03/04/southpoint-wind-turbines-generate-lots-of-opposition/  

Check out the shadow from the blade as the man speaks

Listen...Proper placement is 15 to 20 miles away from land

The sailing community has some unique concerns as well.  For example, the massive farms in Lake Saint Clair all pretty much blanket the existing race circuits.  All clubs will be affected:  Windsor Yacht Club, South Port,  Belle River and Stoney Point not to mention our American counterparts along the north shore.  Each boat is dependant to a large degree on GPS for pinpointing co-ordinates, especially during rough weather and night time navigation.  With all of these turbines in the way, navigation is going to get really tricky to say the least.  There is also the very real and pending danger of distressed boats crashing into these things.  If you think that getting leebowed sucks the air out of your sails take a look at this:

Study:  Wake Effect of Wind Turbines - Horns Rev - North Sea 

For those with the inclination:

http://www.dongenergy.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/NEW%20Corporate/PDF/Engineering/40.pdf

Sailing in someone elses dirt has nothing on this.  The leeward turbines are 20 to 30 percent less efficient than the windward lead turbine.  How will that footprint affect sailing a coarse around these things?  Keep in mind that this study was not initiated because of sailing considerations.  It gives eating dirt a whole new meaning.  This footprint pretty much touches upon all club coarses.  Especially the larger invitationals.  Lightning is always a concern to sailors.  Take a look at this:

Notice that these turbines run along side and parallel to a highway.  The 401 corridor would be perfect

Just for Scale

Here are some pics to give a sense of scale to these farms, structures and their environments:

Both pics above are of Horns Rev

Ship delivering props

Cable required for power connection

Rotor blades.  Tugboat is 90 feet.

Your average offshore wind farm.  Will this be a good fit for Lake Saint Clair and Lake Erie?

The Final Solution

Lake Saint Clair and Lake Erie do not deserve this.  If not for all of the arguments that can be made for migratory birds, health, noise, lake bottom scouring and even churning up slumbering toxins, the loss of natural vistas and horizons has to be the biggest concern.  It has to be everyone's concern.  Especially in tiny Lake Saint Clair.  The Provincial government's plan for alternative power is ambitious for sure but it is also reckless, misguided and self serving in these location choices.  The highway 401 corridor is the perfect setting for these 715 turbines and many more.  We all know how strong the winds can howl across that road between Chatham and London.  The prevailing winds from Lake Huron whip right through there.  This southernmost section of Ontario is perfectly flat so there is no impediment there.  The Ontario government needs to know that we are behind them in all of their green initiatives.  They also have to be pragmatic and realistic.  There is no need to junk up these two extraordinary lakes.  Especially when they can achieve the same or greater affect by moving the wind line inland.  Ontario's Liberal government needs to hear that from its constituents loud and clear.  Even if they're only giving everyone a single hour to say so.  We have to get to them loudly, clearly and quickly before they make one very irreversible mistake.  If we are going to go green, we have to go green all the way.

A couple of witches sent in some very good information.  Go to their site here and be sure to look at the video about the impacts that wind farms will have on Pigeon Bay in Lake Erie:

http://www.twolittlewitches.com/journal/2010/03/12/ill-huff-and-ill-puff-and-ill-blow-the-house-down/comment-page-1/#comment-521