Halt all wind projects proposed for Important Bird Areas

TORONTO, Oct. 3, 2012 /CNW/ - Wind Concerns Ontario (WCO) applauds the recent report from the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario (ECO) for his concerns expressed about wind power project impacts on wildlife.

Ontario has 70 Important Bird Areas where "it would make sense to avoid constructing wind power projects," the report says.  Today there are several projects proposed for IBAs, such as the north shore of Lake Erie, Prince Edward County and Amherst Island. The Commissioner is also "troubled" by the omission of any requirements to assess the effects of multiple wind power projects in a given area. 

"We know that the bird kills at Wolfe Island's IBA far exceed what the developer estimated," says president Jane Wilson. "The responsible course of action would be for Ontario to declare 'no go' for wind projects in Important Bird Areas."

Even the wind industry says "A well-sited wind farm goes a long way towards minimizing the risk to birds and brings about a natural and healthy co-existence between wind energy and avian creatures." 

"But there is no healthy 'natural' co-existence when wind turbines are too near people or birds," Wilson says. "People are ill and birds are killed. The Ontario government should see rural communities as 'Important Human Areas' and protect them as well.

Wind Concerns Ontario is a citizen coalition concerned about the environmental, health and economic effects of wind power generation in Ontario.

SOURCE: Wind Concerns Ontario

Jane Wilson: 613-489-3591 or 613-725-7120