Jim Merriam's latest column, featuring Betty Konc
The Kathleen Wynne government is revamping the controversial approval process for large wind and solar projects to give municipalities a much greater voice.” That was then (the end of May).
This is now. “You said in a recent article that it wasn’t clear yet if those recent changes announced by the minister of energy would solve the turbine problem. I can tell you first hand that, no, it won’t.”
That was Betty Konc, an alderman in Wainfleet, a Niagara area community that has had its share of problems with turbine developments.
Konc goes on, “Their (the Wynne government’s) so-called ‘let’s talk about this and we want to work with communities’ was just a media bite, nothing else.
“I am part of the multi-municipal group of elected officials that sat down in early April to figure out the best way to help ‘fix’ the GEA (Green Energy Act) and its components.
“We came up with some great recommendations that would have calmed and soothed the rural communities, we believe, but no they are not having any of it.”---“They (the government again) are saying that those projects in the queue have to be approved because they have been awarded a FIT contract with OPA (Ontario Power Authority), but this is simply not true, they are twisting the truth as usual.
“Getting approved by OPA does not guarantee approval by the MOE (ministry of the environment), and the GEA does say policy could change.”
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