#The producers love power full#

If you relied on the taxes вЂ¦ being able to tax farmers and ranchers to pay for all the services and roads and that, they would all go broke. вЂњThe rate of taxes on agricultural land is minor. вЂњThat is a large chunk of change for what was a very poor municipality focused mainly on ranching,вЂќ he said. and have generated $100 million in investment. Scott said existing installations generate about $3.5 million in taxes alone for the M.D. вЂњWhat weвЂ™re seeing is industrial creep is starting to have a much bigger impact than I think anybody could have imagined 10 years ago and itвЂ™s only going to get worse.вЂќДЇrom a municipality standpoint, however, the projects generate tax revenue and spin-off construction and supply activity that augment the economy and widen the tax base. And you start to get this tremendous concentration of development, both wind and transmission,вЂќ said Lambright. Then youвЂ™ve got another project right beside it and another project right beside it. вЂњOn a one-off, that may look OK but what starts to happen is cumulative impact. Potential impact on grasslands and wildlife are part of those assessments. of Pincher Creek, has been targeted for some very significant transmission development solely for the purpose of connecting wind,вЂќ said Lambright.Д¬ompanies that undertake wind energy projects and transmission line projects are required to carry out environmental assessments as part of their submissions to the Alberta Utilities Commission. вЂњBecause of the wind development occurring in all of southern Alberta, our particular area in the eastern slopes of the M.D. Transmission lines, substations and other electrical infrastructure, as well as access and service roads, become necessary. Wind development involves much more than turbines, she added.

вЂњAs that development gets more and more concentrated, the risk both to the plants, the unique plants that we have, and to the wildlife that rely on those plants, becomes much, much greater.вЂќ

#The producers love power full#

вЂњWe are also the last one percent of the great plains of North American вЂ¦ and the only area that still has virtually a full complement of native species,вЂќ she said. Lambright said renewable energy is an important consideration in view of climate change but protection of AlbertaвЂ™s dwindling native grassland is vital. The LLG was instrumental in halting the proposed Windy Point wind generation project that would have seen 12 turbines installed on privately owned land within the M.D. A former utility company executive, she is also a member of the Livingstone Landowners Group (LLG) that is concerned about wind projects and associated transmission line projects that damage native grassland and impede the regionвЂ™s scenic views of the Rocky Mountains. Flash, flash, flash for the airplanes.вЂќД«obbi Lambright lives on rural property in the M.D. On top of that, the nighttime lighting is driving some of them nuts. вЂњThe visual effects have turned landowners against the industry. вЂњThatвЂ™s quite an impression on the landscape,вЂќ said Scott. Towers in more recent projects are 175 metres. The first commercial wind facility in Canada at Cowley Ridge, erected in 1993-94, had turbines 24.5 metres high.

вЂњIt seems like thereвЂ™s a lot already but thereвЂ™s another third yet to come and that begins to start to tell the story of where Pincher is вЂ¦ a question about land capacity and how much carrying capacity the land has for wind turbines,вЂќ Scott told the Southern Alberta Energy Forum. Projects now under construction or pending will increase that number to about 400. The municipality has 236 installed wind turbines. That had dropped to 54 percent in favour in the last survey done in 2017. He said the first survey of residents, done in 2006, showed 90 percent were in favour of wind development. Roland Milligan, director of development and community services with the Pincher Creek M.D., confirmed those figures. That leaves us at about 55 percent for, 45 percent against,вЂќ said Gavin Scott, senior planner with the Oldman River Regional Services Commission. вЂњIn each five year increment, starting with 1996, thereвЂ™s been a 20 percent drop in the approval of the citizens for wind within our municipality.