30 Fairmont Park Lane S
Lethbridge, AB
T1K 7H7
Phone: (403) 328-1804
Monday, October 01, 2007
The Editor
The Lethbridge Herald
P.O. Box 670
Lethbridge, AB, T1J 3Z7
A scary proposition
Dear Editor,
The Herald presents a very scary proposition. (Editorial, “Tilting at windmills”, September 22). It suggests Lethbridge’s municipal leadership should invest taxpayer’s funds in producing electricity from wind and sun.
One example cited, the use of wind energy for the production of ice, may have some merit. Possibly the ice would not melt during periods of little wind thus overcoming the well known limitations of wind and solar electricity for most applications which need a steady supply. Other projects mentioned require large investments in equipment for insignificant electricity output. City residents, already cursed with the highest taxes and utility bills in the province, need no encouragement of the city council and administration to go this way to hide a portion of city electricity bills in even higher taxes.
On the other hand, city council recently voted against a proposal to allow residential use of wind turbines. (City man looks to generate election talk with turbine, September 21) That, too, is inexplicable. If home owners are willing to invest their money to experiment with the role of renewable energy in their home electrical systems, why would city council want to prevent that?
I concede that it is possible human ingenuity will some distant day make renewable electricity more than a bit player in electricity supply. If my neighbors want to install wind turbines, designed to avoid toppling towers, ballistic blades and nuisance noise, to explore that possibility, I will be the last to object. I urge that city council allow the installation of residential wind energy projects when they revisit the issue next year.
Yours truly,
Duane Pendergast