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Plant manager Dennis Haggerty exits through the door of an 80-metre high wind turbine near Port Burwell, Ontario. (Photo Credit: TERRY TING)

Yup, I was in Copenhagen last week to shoot part of my upcoming documentary on energy policy in Ontario.  The film centres around the four remaining coal-fired power plants in Ontario (Nantocoke, Antikokan, Lambton and Thunder Bay) and the provincial government’s so-far-unsuccessful plans to close them. Essentially, the film is about what’s going to fill the energy gap left by the closures of these plants, and what’s stopping Ontario from using this opportunity to jump into the “green economy” and start creating jobs to replace the ones lost in the manufacturing sector.  The film is trying to bring into focus why exactly we haven’t been able to attract the investors to start large-scale manufacturing of things like wind turbines and solar panels.

According to one expert I’ve interviewed for the film — York University’s Mark Winfield — when environmental policy is shaky at best, investors aren’t willing to simply throw money into a less-than-stable market for only a chance to hit the jackpot. Although I think Ontario is the jackpot given that there are so many quality skilled and unskilled Canadians looking for work in a province that has the potential to be among the leaders in renewable energy manufacturing and installation, investors want a sure thing.

The politicians involved have only backed up Winfield’s views.  In 2003, Dalton McGuinty’s Liberals promised to shut down the coal plants by 2007.  Then 2007 came and they said 2009. This year is nearly finished and only the Lakeview plant in Mississauga has been closed bringing the total to four. They say 2014 is the magic date now, but given McGuinty’s history of promise-keeping no one is holding their breath. To make matters worse, according to Winfield, if we elect Tim Hudak’s Progressive Conservatives to office in the next election, the plans will likely be scrapped altogether. So much for optimism eh?

Our poor showing in Copenhagen didn’t help the situation either. No, I wasn’t in Denmark last week, instead, I was in Copenhagen, Ontario to take a peek at a bright spot in Ontario’s energy grid — the Erie Shores wind farm, that stretches from Copenhagen, all the way over to Clear Creek, Ontario.  The nucleus of it all is in Port Burwell where my crew and I met up with the mayor of the Municipality of Bayham Lynn Acre (Note for Torontonians: a ‘municipality’ is essentially a collection of small villages and hamlets too small to govern themselves). Port Burwell is located on the north shore of Lake Erie not too far my birthplace: exotic St. Thomas, Ontario.

Acre, along with Plant Manager Dennis Haggerty shed some light on what it took to get the 66 turbines there in the first place, and the economic and environmental impact of the huge white turbines that litter the farms and cliffs in the area. I also got their take on whether there is the political will at Queen’s Park to make Ontario in a green economic powerhouse. Some of the residents of the area were also able to dispel any notions of noisy turbines that cause headaches, kill birds or ruin perfectly good landscapes.  Farmers who chose to allow the turbines onto their land make approx: $7-8,000 per year, per turbine in commission. Not too shabby for farmers recently bought out of the tobacco farming industry.

Anyways, the project is being shot by Alexandra Byers, edited by Mary Wallace and the sound will be recorded by Andrew Hunter. Here are some photos taken by the project’s still photographer, Terry Ting.

Enjoy!

Alex loves her Blackberry almost as much as I love mine.

Alex and Andrew had to fight the fiercely cold winds while setting up their equipment.

This is where the power generated by the turbines is collected before it's sent to the grid via Tillsonburg, Ontario.

Interviewing Municipality of Bayham Mayor Lynn Acre inside the Erie Shores interpretive centre.