Regarding/Opposing Industrial wind turbines in Ontario

A couple of today's articles on industrial wind turbines in Ontario are worth citing, and provide an excuse to reference a slightly older article from a legal firm on upcoming changes to how industrial wind is pursued in Ontario.

New wind energy plan fragile | Stewart Fast and Warren Mabee| | Kingston Whig Standard

Problems with siting wind farms were catalyzed by the Green Energy Act put in place six years ago. The act was very successful in attracting investment and interest from wind energy developers. Fixed 20-year contracts at guaranteed rates were part of the attraction, but just as important was a streamlined approval process that reduced the approval authority of municipal governments and eliminated the need for developers to negotiate for local zoning approval. Residents of host communities had very limited opportunity to influence development decisions.
This lack of influence quickly translated into a drop in support for wind energy locally and generally. 

...there is substantial pent-up frustration in host communities that still have to face new wind projects approved under the old rules. The changes are unlikely to satisfy this segment of the population. It took six years for the province to lose the trust of host communities; it will take at least that long to start building momentum in the other direction.

read the entire article at thewhig.com

Further north, a meeting on a specific project proposal is the subject of PJ Wilson's Chief promises protests, blockades in the North Bay Nugget:

MATTAWA – The Antoine First Nation “will use every means available” to stop a proposed wind turbine development near this community, including protests and blockades.
That was the message Chief Davie Joanisse delivered Monday night at an open house concerning the proposed industrial wind turbine farm on Crown land west of Mattawa and north of the Mattawa River.
“We firmly oppose this project, the company involved and the Algonquin group,” Joanisse said, pointing at the Pikwaknagan First Nation, which has allied with Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. on the project.
“We will use every means available to stop this project.

Read the entire article - it's educational.

The last article I'll reference today is on the structure of future contracts. I expect the IESO's first significant procurement process (since swallowing the OPA) will be a week, watered down capitulation to their "stakeholders." Hopefully I'm wrong, but once it's out you might measure it against this in deciding for yourself.

Top Ten Issues For Developers and Lenders Under the Ontario Power Authority Large Renewable Procurement I Contract | Canadian Energy Perspectives (McCarthy Tetrault):

1. Termination for Convenience: The Buyer (being the successor entity to the OPA following its anticipated merger with the IESO effective as of January 1, 2015) has a fully discretionary right to terminate the Contract for convenience that applies both pre-construction and, unlike under the first iteration of the Feed-in Tariff contracts (“FIT “) (which most of our readers are familiar with), post-construction as well... 

2. Contract Facility Amendment: Unlike RES III, CHPSOP 2 (currently in progress) and FIT 1, the Supplier cannot modify, vary or amend in any material respect any of the features or specifications of the Project set out in Exhibit B without the consent of the Buyer, which can now be withheld in its sole and absolute discretion... 

3. Economic Curtailment: Suppliers under the Contract have the right to seek compensatory payments if they are dispatched off for reasons of economic curtailment. Importantly, Suppliers have exposure to unpaid economic curtailment subject to an “Annual Cap” and a “Total Cap”. The Annual Cap is 100 MWh per MW of capacity. The lifetime cap, after which there would be compensation for economic curtailment from the Buyer, is 2000 MWh per MW of capacity..
.Interestingly, the OPA has re-introduced the minus $1.00/MWh dispatch bid floor for IESO Market Participants, meaning that these Projects will be dispatched-off before flexible nuclear and FIT Projects.

Note on the last item, if the turbines operate at a 30% capacity factor, 100MWh a year is ~3.8% of production, which is less that the IESO reported actual curtailment at in 2014 ("4.6 per cent of total available wind production").