Pro-Palestinian encampment at Dalhousie University - May 13, 2024 | SaltWire #news #halifax #protestBob Dylan once famously sang that the answer is blowin’ in the wind. Since the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador announced the end of a moratorium on wind development in 2022, a flurry of wind farm proposals has set sail.
The use of the term “land grab” is well-accepted by many analysts of wind and solar energy systems. Given the high ratio of “land used to amount of energy produced” of wind energy, vast amounts of land are being claimed in the name of renewable energy. People have coined terms such as “green colonialism” or “green grabbing” to describe this global trend.
The many magnificent headlands, peninsulas, and uplands speak of enduring beauty. Hundreds of windmills and their infrastructure will devour that beauty. I recently received the 2024 N.L. Traveller’s Guide. I find it an interesting study of contrasts where one N.L. government department attempts to entice people to come to N.L. , while another N.L. government department wishes to create an industrial landscape ill-suited for tourism potential.
Given the short time frames involved, there was obviously little public discussion on the merits of such significant policy changes. Rather, the rapidity and scope of the policy change speak of a “wind rush” marked by that same technocratic, gung-ho spirit that drove the gold or the oil rush. I find it strange, and indeed unnerving, that provincial, federal, and indeed international agreements were sealed and announced long before this project received the green stamp of approval. This does not bode well.