On Saturday, April 4, 2015, over 25,000 citizens marched in Quebec City calling on Canadian Premiers and the Federal Government to Act on Climate. I was contracted by Greenpeace to cover this huge moment. Those images have been shared and used widely on the net the last few days, including over 15,000 times here on ThinkProgress. I believe that this march is a sign that the climate movement has hit a tipping point.
T
his Saturday, Feb. 28, the Maison du Développement Durable in Montreal will play host to the Along the Pipeline photography exhibition. Presented within the confines of the Nuit Blanche, this promises to be an exciting evening with cocktails, pipelines and lots of people. If you are in Montreal and free, please stop by. Afterwards you can continue on to one of the many numerous events happening all across the city.
Can’t make the opening on Saturday? Don’t worry, the exhibit will be displayed until March 17, 2015.
Where: Maison du Developpement Durable
When: Saturday, Feb 28 – March 17
Time: Opening at 20:00 on Saturday, Feb. 28
Ruth Chapman (R) talks with the owner of the Tafarn Dwynant in north west Wales.
Pint in hand, I make my way to the corner table bathed in sunshine at the Tafarn Dwynant. Ruth Chapman joins me. Her glass contains orange juice and her baby bump shows clearly. This is the hangout for employees and students at CAT, the Center for Alternative Technology, near Machynlleth, Wales.
Ruth studied Environmental Management at university and moved to Machynlleth, or ‘Mac’, to work in the wind energy department at renewable energy company Dulas. While working at Dulas she decided to enrol in the Master’s program at CAT and the subject of her thesis has brought us together today. One day, while attending a debate on TAN 8, the Welsh proposal for renewable energy, Ruth was surprised to find the room packed to the rafters. Emotions were running high and most of the crowd was anti-wind. Ruth had discovered her thesis subject.
A wind turbine in the Welsh hills, United Kingdom.
“I looked around the room and thought if you’re an outsider, if you were in the media, then you might think they are all NIMBYs, they are all just opposed to it because they all don’t want it in their backyard. But, some people were making really valid points,” she says. “So why is it that I’ve come to see onshore wind energy as a symbol of a greener future, but they see it as something that is quite destructive to the local environment?”
Her thesis was born. It is easy to list the reasons often cited by people against wind energy; visual, noise, flickr, and supposed health impacts. But Ruth was interested in ‘why’ people are opposed. She selected a small sample group of anti-wind people and was surprised to find that most of them were people that she could have a pint with.
“I had assumptions and stereotypes about the type of people I was going to be talking to. But I have to say that most of them really disproved those assumptions and challenged me. I really enjoyed this, it is a healthy thing to do, but it sort of conflicted me.” What Ruth documented couldn’t really be called NIMBYism. The term itself, not in my backyard, implies that a person would be willing to have a wind turbine built somewhere else. But Ruth was surprised by the attitude of zero tolerance for wind turbines anywhere in the UK consistently expressed by her sample group.
Ruth Chapman (Robert van Waarden
Ruth’s conclusions are varied. Several factors such as fairness, improper consultation, market mechanisms and government policies all play a role in creating anti-wind sentiment.
One individual was upset by the ‘check box’ consultation carried out by the developers and didn’t feel that their concerns were addressed. Another objected to the map produced by the developers that didn’t accurately represent the landscape. They didn’t feel that they could they trust the developers if they didn’t make the right map. Furthermore, the gulf between a slick, city presentation from the developers and a local Welsh town often put things on the wrong foot. Ruth’s other theory is that the historical relationship between England and Wales might also play a role. She thinks that the Welsh felt like they were just providing the resources once again for the English.
Sheep in a pasture in Wales. In the background is the Ceemase wind farm.
Ruth didn’t come up with any solutions and that frustrates her. She does think it is necessary to do a better job telling the story of the future of energy and climate change in the UK. Ruth thinks that more people would get behind wind energy if this were done. Ruth wants to do more with this research but right now her first baby is taking priority. She loves her job working for Dulas and she hopes to keep working in this industry for the foreseeable future.
On the way back to England the next day I pass the Ceemase wind farm. The rolling Welsh landscape makes it difficult to see and it is probably the most well hidden wind farm I have seen. But the fact remains; navigating the waters of the anti-wind crowd will continue to be a challenge for developers in the years to come.
A typical anti-turbine farm in mid Wales. Translation: No Pylons.No Wind farms in Montgomeryshire
The slate quarry in Delabole, UK.
Delabole is famous for its hole in the ground. Well, to be more accurate, it is famous for its slate mine. The hole is visible from the backyard of Peter and Jacqueline Harman’s slate house. For 23 years that hole has had a backdrop, contrasting new and old, of the first commercial wind farm in the UK.
The wind turbines turn lazily in the Atlantic breeze. They don’t bother Peter. “I think that if people could see that they can benefit from it, it might change their opinion,” says Peter.
Peter and Jacqueline are retired pensioners that have just moved to Delabole, a little village in the south west of the United Kingdom. Their home is still in a state of renovation; boxes piled high, furniture covered with sheets and projects visibly underway. Everything in this house runs on electricity, including the heating; and when your walls are 21 inches of slate it can take a while to warm up. Although “once warm, it stays warm” insists Peter.
The Harman’s electricity bill is significant so Peter spent some time researching the best rates. He noticed an article in the local paper, The Slate, with details about the new Delabole Local Tariff from Good Energy.
The sunrises on the little village of Delabole in the United Kingdom.
The concept is simple. Good Energy owns the aforementioned wind farm and their customers living within two kilometres of the site are eligible for a local tariff. The idea is that those that have it in their backyard should benefit from it. This is something that the developers of Delabole wanted to do at the very beginning but only recently a change in regulations allow for it to happen.
Phydeau, the Harman’s dog at their home in Delabole, the UK.
The tariff gives a 20% discount on standard energy prices and includes an additional ‘windfall’ bonus. If the turbines exceed their expected yearly performance each household gets 50 pounds. It is the first scheme of its kind in the UK and puts the community at the centre of renewable energy generation.
After speaking to Good Energy, Peter didn’t even look at other rates. He immediately signed up and as of April they have been receiving their discounted wind energy. He believes that he will save around 70 pounds per year, no small amount for a retired couple.
Peter emphasizes that it wasn’t only the financial reward that affected their decision. He says that Jacqueline is a strong believer in the need for action on global warming, and even if he hasn’t quite made up his mind on the science, he really likes renewable energy and what it represents.
An old two bladed wind turbine framed by trees turns in the wind near Delabole, Cornwall in the United Kingdom.
Peter has spread the word and now several of his neighbours have also shown an interest in signing up. He thinks that this idea should be replicated across the UK.
“Wind farms are a good idea, as long as they don’t put hundreds of them everywhere and spoil everything, but if they have a wind farm in a local area, why shouldn’t local people benefit from having it there?”
Peter Harman and his dog Chalkie at their home in Delabole, UK.
Sue and Andrew Clarke enjoy a cup of tea at their home near St. Briavels.
Once you get them started it can be hard to get them to stop. Talking about wind energy, Sue and Andrew Clarke bounce of each other, echoing or filling in the gaps when required. They love what they do and like everyone with a strong passion, they have sacrificed a lot to get where they are today.
Sue and Andrew live near St. Briavels in the Forest of Dean in western England. For 20 years they worked in large multinationals developing energy projects. When Sue started to work with the Transition Towns movement in her spare time they found their personal and professional lives diverging. During the week they could be found working on large energy projects and then on the weekend maybe marching in London for action on climate change.
They decided it was time to move on when a host of factors collided in 2008: economic downturn, support for renewables from the federal government, and Andrew’s professional life leading towards nuclear energy.
After many years of senior management in big business, they staked their pensions on wind energy and community owned development and founded Resilient Energy. They haven’t looked back.
“The best step that we have ever taken” says Andrew.
Sue and Andrew Clarke walking up the lane away from the St. Briavels wind turbine.
They devised a model for wind energy that will help meet, but not exceed, the energy needs of a community. This includes 50/50 joint venture ownership with the landowner with up to 70% of the revenue going back into the community. A key component of their model is crowd funding.
“With a feed in tariff you can get community projects off the ground, there is a guaranteed revenue stream from the government. There aren’t many businesses that you can get paid for 20 years for everything you generate. You can’t make pots and guarantee that someone is going to buy it,” says Andrew.
They worked with the crowd funding company Abundance and within four months had oversubscribed their St. Briavels turbine, raising a total of 1.6 million pounds. Over 450 people bought debentures with approximately 50% of them coming from the community. The youngest investor was 18 and the oldest was 82.
In a country that is known for it’s anti-wind lobbies, Sue and Andrew had a great experience the first time around. There were over 50 letters of support submitted from the community and only one against. However, their next couple of projects are stuck in planning. A well-organized anti-wind lobby is one reason, but ambiguity from the federal government is also a clear factor.
“We need a strong clear message from the government,” says Sue.
Dealing with the anti-wind lobby, Sue and Andrew have been forced to grow a thick skin. However, usually when they are really feeling low, the phone will ring from a stranger gushing enthusiastically about the St. Briavels turbine.
“Wind energy is a bit like marmite. No one goes around saying I love marmite, it is the best thing ever,” says Sue.
Sue and Andrew are particularly proud of the trickle down affect their work has had on their three sons. There were times when the money wasn’t readily available in the last few years because of their decision, but their sons have developed a greater understanding for this work and the issues. Their middle son is following in his parent’s footsteps and studying environmental science at university this year.
The Forest of Dean has a long history, it helped spark the industrial revolution and there is still coal to be found. There is a lot of energy in these hills and it seems that wind is the next logical step.
“Hopefully longer term it will get the communities thinking about what they actually need to be more resilient, thinking about the bigger picture,” says Sue.
The shadow of the St. Briavels wind turbine on the green pastures of St. Briavels.
The 600mw Fantanele-Cogealac wind farm in Romania.
“When you drive from Constanta you can see the whole area is filled with wind turbines and it is a nice sensation, a nice feeling,” says Miklos Szilagyi, construction site manager for the largest wind farm in Europe, the 600MW Fantanele-Cogealac in Romania.
Miklos says that he “fell into” this job. He began working in the construction industry when he finished university over 30 years ago. His experience took him to Hungary, Greece and on projects across Romania but he never thought that he would manage the construction of the largest wind farm in Europe.
Miklos Szilagyi descends the stairs of a turbine on the Fantanele-Cogealac wind farm in Romania.
“It wasn’t easy,” he says. They were starting from scratch and everyone was learning on the job.
“Each day during the construction we were thinking, what will happen today. There were a lot of issues,” says Miklos.
They had to pour 240 foundations, each one different: some were situated on rock, some needed pilings and some were easy. Miklos doesn’t think that there are two foundations that were made the same way. Each required 450m3 of concrete and 40,000kg of steel. The first loads of cement had to be shipped from Germany until Romanian manufactures managed to produce the grade required. They even had to construct a new concrete plant onsite to keep up with demand.
Wind turbines backdrop the small Romanian town of Fantanele.
“Our knowledge was not huge. Everybody was learning, reading, talking together, and each day finalising something. We had a very very good team here.”
It took three and a half years of work but the wind farm came online in November of 2012. Wind energy accounted for 19% of the Romanian grid production when Miklos showed me around the site. Fantanele-Cogealac was flatout producing 580MW.
The newly painted Orthodox church in Fantanele.
Fantanele-Cogealac is giving back to the neighbouring communities. The church in Fantanele has been repainted with support from the wind farm; a new market has been constructed; and furniture has been bought for the schools. 300 kms of roads have been built for the turbines, which means local farmers can now access their land in wet weather. Similarly, the villagers are working to improve their homes and taking more pride in their community. A lot has changed here in five years and the guaranteed tax income is going keep the changes flowing.
Miklos’ skills are required at an upcoming hydro project and he will soon sign off at the wind farm but he is walking away proud of his work and his turbines.
“They are very nice. Especially they are nice because they look nice,” he says.
Miklos Szilagyi, construction site manager for the largest wind farm in Europe, the 600mw Fantanele-Cogealac in Romania
Father Iustin Petre, one of the founders of the Casian Monastery and the man responsible for the wind turbine and renewable energy at Casian.
You could call Father Iustin a pioneer. He installed a wind turbine long before the hundreds that you can now see from this hill appeared. He was the first monk in Constanta region to power his monastery with renewable technology and now he gladly advises other monasteries to do the same.
“I like being a monk,” says Father Iustin Petre, one of the founders of the Casian Monastery in Romania. “It is free, no stress.”
It is quiet up here. Birds float on the wind over a landscape that would be at home in the Mediterranean. A small child’s toy spins on a post and even the cats and dogs that inhabit every Romanian scene are friendlier.
Letting one’s eyes drift across the landscape, it is impossible to miss the forest of wind turbines that surround Casian. The largest wind farm in Europe, Fantanele–Cogealac, is everywhere. The hundreds of wind turbines might put some people off, especially at night when the aviation warning lights flicker, synchronized, like a ghost city. But Father Iustin likes them.
The 600mw Fantanele-Cogealac wind farm in Romania as seen from the Casian Monastery.
He was way ahead of the game. Before this 600MW wind park changed his view, Father Iustin had already tapped into the wind resource here. Around 10 years ago, Father Iustin started looking for a solution to the monastery’s energy problem. Connecting it to the grid was not an option, as that would have cost tens of thousands of euros. The obvious solution was to build a wind turbine. With the help of an old truck alternator, Father Iustin and the monks built the first solution to their energy problems.
That first turbine has long been replaced. In its place stands a new 2kW wind turbine made in China. It spins practically all the time, casting its shadow towards the solar array that forms the base of the renewable system at Casian. Father Iustin says it is so windy here that a gust sometimes breaks the wind turbine, forcing him to replace or repair it.
Father Iustin Petre prays during service.
Father Iustin is very happy with the whole renewable energy system at Casian. It supports the lives of the 5 monks at the monastery, powering their fridges, washing machine, stove, lights and one laptop computer. Perhaps most importantly, it powers the water pump that is responsible for pumping water 150m vertical meters from the well.
This monastery is built on the site of the birthplace of Saint John Casian, a man whose writings helped define the base and practices of Monasticism. There is a cave here that draws pilgrims. In that cave is an icon of Saint Casian, the wind turbines reflecting in the glass. Somehow it seems that Casian approves.
The new church that is being reconstructed at the Casian monastery in Romania.
On Sundays the faithful come to the Monastery for lunch and to worship. There are often more people than the monks can handle in their little church so they are building a bigger one. Construction relies on donations and for the moment, “she grows very well,” says Father Iustin. It certainly helps that they can use power tools and cement mixers, which are indeed powered by renewable energy.
At least 10 monasteries in the area have followed in the footsteps of Casian and have some sort of renewable energy system. To Father Iustin it is clear that the wind can provide.
A monk at the Casian Monastery in Romania looks at the two wind turbines that are installed as part of the renewable energy system.
“We feel like we’ve won the lottery.”
Miroslawa and Mieczyslaw Horodiuk sit on a couch in their living room, their aged cat stares through the window. Here in Konczewo in north western Poland a late spring snow has fallen, delaying the spring planting for this farming family. They rest easy knowing that summer will come and they now have a guaranteed income.
10 years ago a wind energy developer approached the Horodiuks to lease part of their farmland for a wind turbine. They were sceptical about this opportunity. It would have been difficult for them to agree if they were on their own, but they had support.
Leszek Kulinski, mayor of Kobylnica, Poland.
The citizens of Kobylnica had been prepared for such an event. Leszek Kulinski, mayor of Kobylnica, became interested in wind turbines while on holiday in Denmark. (His wife complained that 80% of the photographs he took were of wind turbines.) Leszek wanted to bring this industry to Kobylnica. He travelled to Germany to research and to investigate if it was safe for the community. He returned determined to make his commune attractive to wind energy developers.
His efforts have made Kobylnica the best rural commune in the country for renewable energy projects.
It was difficult to get the people onside. Kobylnica was the first commune in Poland to take steps to build community support for wind energy from the ground up. The mayor and his team had to develop their own processes to raise awareness. Many consultations were held and input from the residents was taken into consideration. It worked. When the wind developers came calling; the Horodiuks were ready and willing to work with them.
A snow covered field seen from a wind turbine in Kobylnica, Poland.
And it’s not only farmers who lease their land who’ve hit the jackpot – the whole town benefits too. The taxes from the wind energy installations make up over 10% of the community’s annual budget. It is estimated that by 2016 it will be 20%. Kobylnica has been ranked as Poland’s best commune to live (2009) and the best commune for renewable energy (2009, 2010). The taxes are helping to transform the community and Leszek now has his eyes set on solar energy.
Firewood is piled outside a shed on Miroslawa Horodiuk’s farm.
The partnership between commune and developers has other dividends. Tundra, the developers of the wind turbines on the Horodiuks land, had to build new roads for transportation. They replaced roads that were by all accounts terrible. They also sponsor the sports teams in Kobylnica and funded the reconstruction of the local church shrine in Lulemino.
For Miroslawa and Mieczyslaw, as landowners, the community support and knowledge was invaluable. It helped them navigate the legal documents and they could seek advice if they needed it. Their story is just one among many in Kolbynica. There are many people here that have ‘won the lottery’.
The two turbines on the Horodiuk’s land work peacefully with the agriculture below and Miroslawa enjoys having them there. The quarterly payment for the leasing of their land is one reason, but he also likes the notion that they are helping build a sustainable future.
In Kobylnica, renewable energy is taking the commune forward and in the words of Leszek, “we have to go forward, we are number one, but we have to keep that status.”
Miroslawa Horodiuk rests against a wind turbine on his farm.
Recently my work creating Along the Pipeline was singled out by TransCanada and their (former) PR firm Edelman as a threat to their Energy East project. The statement in question comes from a Reasearch Synthesis that was leaked to Greenpeace and can be found on page 11. It reads:
I don’t know if I should be shocked or honoured that I seem to have the ability to ‘create an emotional response that can override logic and reasoning.’
Along the Pipeline has always been about the stories and opinions shared by people that I met on my journey. Along the way I encountered people that agreed with the project, disagreed with the project, and those that are still making up their minds.
These documents clearly show that TransCanada was considering using deceitful tactics to attack environmental advocates, and also one of their key worries is the spread of real stories from real people. They would prefer to write the script for stories from a fabricated grassroots movement – with comments disabled – while attacking and silencing the voices and opinions of regular people along their pipeline route. It is clear that TransCanada is interested in pushing one-sided spin, and is not comfortable with an honest, open debate about impacts on communities and the climate.
Targeting artists that share real stories is the sign of a company that knows it’s losing its social license. If they can’t be trusted to engage in fair, democratic debate, can they be trusted to build a pipeline 4500km across Canada, over hundreds of waterways, enabling an explosion of tar sands growth? Or do we want a different future?
If you believe in the value of real stories then take a moment to watch and share this one from Nora Gould in Alberta.
The Dec/Jan issue of Photo Life Magazine features the Along the Pipeline project. Along the Pipeline is a portrait project that documents the people and communities along TransCanada’s proposed Energy East pipeline route.
It is great to see this article in Canada’s top photo magazine. It is important that this story reaches different audiences and I am thrilled with the job that the publishers did with the project. If you are in Canada go and pick up a copy from your local magazine store.
Along the Pipeline – A portrait project along the Energy East pipeline route published in Photo Life Magazine.