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Friends of Wind
Create a positive impact by supporting wind energy in Canada: become a Friend of Wind!
While opinion polls have consistently shown that wind energy has broad public support in Canada, it is important to make your voice heard when governments and utilities are developing energy policies and when communities and municipal governments are considering wind energy projects.
Saying “yes” to wind is a great way to help us reduce the impact of greenhouse gases and move us into a cleaner future. If you want to help spread the word about wind energy, please click here to become a Friend of Wind and CanWEA will send you a monthly eLetter keeping you abreast of the latest reliable information on wind.
Here are some other things you can do as a Friend of Wind:
- Support a local wind project
Contact your municipal government to see if a wind project is proposed in your community.
- Build your own small wind project
Want to power your home, small business or community with wind energy?
Visit CanWEA’s small wind site: http://www.smallwindenergy.ca/
- Make your land available to a developer
Do you have a good wind resource on your property? Want to benefit from installing a wind farm on your land? Find the answers to all this and more in our Land Use Fact Sheet.
- Green Power
Choosing green, carbon-free power is an easy way to do your part to help fight climate change and create a healthier environment for future generations.
Green power is energy generated by low-impact renewable or sustainable sources — resources that are replenished naturally and with minimal harm to the environment. Generating green power is cleaner than producing conventional energy because it produces little or no air, ground or water pollution. Green power sources include wind, solar, biomass (burning plant materials and wood waste), and small-scale hydro-power (including run-of-the-river). (Source: the Pembina Institute)
- Bullfrog Power
More homes and businesses are choosing to go green with Bullfrog Power. Learn more today about how your home or business can join the growing bullfrogpowered community.
We Want Your Testimonials!
The word is out: wind is in. Read up on some of the testimonials we’ve received.
Do you have a wind story to tell? Why not send it in? We love to read you and to hear about your positive experiences and we will add them to our Friends of Wind page. This is also a worthy way to act as a Friend of Wind.
“Earlier today I went over to Wolf Island as I’m doing some renovation work for a family member in Kingston. I must say I was wowed by the wind generators (turbines). I was standing next to one and could not understand why anyone would object to seeing these on the landscape. I can not understand as they look majestic. The only sound that I could hear while close up was the ventilation fans in the door at the base of the towers. They simply blew me away!”
Ron Rocheleau, Ottawa
July 2009
Life among windmills
The Journal Pioneer, November 27, 2008
Editor,
When I heard that three wind turbines were to be built behind my home, I told myself that I would keep an open mind about it all. With all the negative publicity from a small number of people, I thought I should share my opinion and experiences about living among the West Cape wind farm.
Questions about noise seem to be the first to be asked. Personally, I’ve found that the wind is far noisier than the turbine itself, but on a very calm day, if you’re outside and paying very close attention, a whisper can be heard, but certainly nothing to get excited about.
The economic benefits of such a project are staggering. This particular project has amassed 105,000 man hours at a higher than average wage. These companies hired locals, valued their hard work, and now some of these people have good careers travelling the world assembling wind farms. Car rentals, accommodations, restaurants have all enjoyed little bumps in sales while other areas of the Island have seen economic downturns.
Wind energy has the potential to be a major industry for the Island; it’s both clean and abundant. Historically, there will always be some who are resistant to change, similar to the coming of the automobile, when small groups resisted for fear of the cars spooking the horses and foxes!
Living in West Cape now has proved to me to be no different than it was before the wind farm. I applaud the careful development of this industry and encourage people to embrace it.
Lionel Livingstone, West Cape
Link to Pioneer Journal
I took this photo on my way home from Lake Huron one evening in July. I think its a great example of the old and the new together. Our ancestors had the right idea all those years ago and they knew the value of wind energy. I wonder why it has taken the rest of us so long to figure it out?
Susan Carson, Listowel, ON
August 2008
“I received your address through a colleague at work and understand you are looking for opinions on the farm. Although I have no personal experience with it, I wanted to tell you that whenever we drive by it when we have occasion to travel that way, it inevitably sparks conversation amongst my two children, my husband and myself. The farm is an awesome sight from the highway, and I'm sure it must be even more spectacular up close. My youngest tried counting the turbines one trip, but they go as far as the eye can see so we weren't sure how accurate she was. Even if you didn't take into consideration the energy they produce, they make a great tourist attraction-you should have school tours! Regards,”
Karen Playford – Area resident on Wind Farm in Melancthon Township – September 2007
“Tourists were lined up along our roads, picnic baskets and cameras in hand, to witness the hoisting of the turbine towers”.
Lynn Acre – Mayor of Bayham at the Canadian Wind Energy Association conference in London
“Ontario’s largest wind farm has been a breath of fresh air for Bayham, says the mayor of the tiny Elgin County municipality”.
The London Free Press – June 2007
"Companies in Canada's wind power industry employed more than 3,300 people and generated annual revenues of more than $1.7-billion in 2006, according to a new study of the burgeoning sector. "
Richard Blackwell from The Globe and Mail, September 28, 2007
"By 2015, Canada is expected to have about 14,000 MW of wind power in place, putting us among the world's top half-dozen wind players, according to Emerging Energy Research of Cambridge, Mass. The United States will have about 57,000 MW by then, while Europe will have 125,000 MW, the research group projects."
Richard Blackwell from The Globe and Mail, December 27, 2007
“The reason I wanted to be here is because wind energy is so important for me and our government. In less than 25 years, wind energy in Canada has gone from being a futuristic, novel idea to a national priority. And there's no doubt the Canadian Wind Energy Association deserves all the credit for doing that. You've done an outstanding job promoting wind power. Thanks in large part to your efforts, wind energy is no longer talked about as an “alternative energy.” It's part of the mainstream – a widely accepted and growing part of our energy mix. In fact – and you know this as well as I do – it's the fastest-growing energy source in the world, and by far the fastest-growing energy source here in Canada.”
From Minister Lunn's address at the Quebec CanWEA Conference – September 2007
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