Dragon's Den: The Answer Is Blowing In The Wind

One in a continuing series of blogs for CBC's Dragon's Den:

Yesterday, the United States government made a very significant, and welcome, announcement: The first offshore wind project in US waters is going ahead. The 468 mW, US$1 billion project, which was opposed by the late Senator Edward Kennedy, will see 130 wind turbines erected about 5 miles off Cape Cod. When completed it will generate enough electricity to power 200,000 homes. To give you some perspective, northern Europe already has 2,000 mW of offshore turbines with a goal of reaching 40,000 mW by 2020.

Any North American plans are still penny ante in comparison.

Why is this a significant decision? The answer is this: Wind energy, and other non-polluting sources of electricity, are the cornerstone of the new green economy. Given the devastating global warming implications of carbon dioxide pollution, we need to move to non-polluting green energy as soon as possible. And wind is a big part of that equation. A recent article in Scientific American estimated that providing ALL of the world’s energy needs from wind, water and solar by 2030 is totally feasible.

The Ontario government has started to lay plans for this transition. The new and innovative Green Energy Act here in Ontario will both result in a reduction in global warming pollution, and a resuscitation of the province’s manufacturing economy. The government estimates the first batch of contracts announced under the Green Energy Act alone will create 20,000 direct and indirect green jobs and attract about $9 billion in private sector investment. Somebody in the world is going to make the wind turbine towers, blades and complicated internal mechanisms. If we want those jobs, we’d better make sure that manufacturing happens right here in Ontario.

Oh ya. And wind energy, as opposed to coal plants – North America’s most common source of energy at present -- doesn’t kill people.

If you haven’t picked up on it yet, I’m downright excited about wind energy. Which brings me to another of yesterday’s events, the small rally held at Queen’s Park in opposition to wind turbines. As someone who slugs it out every day in defence of the environment, I’ll be the first to admit there are some bone-headed wind energy proposals out there. Top of that list is the large project proposed just offshore of the world-renowned bird area of Point Pelee. But there’s a big difference between some badly sited individual projects, and the nonsensical claims being leveled at wind power with respect to phantom “health effects”.

By and large, Bob Dylan was right (as usual): the answer is blowing in the wind.