Eddie Discovers Eco-City

Listen for it carefully. Windsor will become ECO-CITY soon! Just take a look at what one of our sloganeers came up with "ROSE: Report On the State of our Environment."

Get it....a play on the City of Roses. That is so clever. You can find the Report on the City's website on the Agenda page:

• "The first report of its kind in the city’s history, it also establishes Windsor as a leader in environmental management and reporting in Ontario and is an indication of our commitment to achieving environmental sustainability...
  
  Because the state of the environment is so important to each and every one of us, in addition to this report, several other tools will be launched shortly as well. An environmental website is under development that will provide the community with information on forthcoming initiatives as well as local events. Also, public surveys and open forums will be conducted, so that we can gather the greatest amount of input possible and work together to ensure our environment remains sound."

There will be a "Feed-in" frenzy at Enwin soon all due to the new Green Energy Act that is being introduced by the Ontario Government. Just you wait and see as we watch the creation of:

• "a proposal for a new renewable energy program known as a Feed-in Tariff (FIT) Program designed to further encourage the development of renewable energy supply."

Expect massive green energy generation programs to be discussed by our Mayor soon as part of his newest vision and dream, WATTGREENLINK, to make Enwin the greenest electrical utility on the planet. I would expect that the new hires in the CAO Office will be told to work feverishly on this project as their first assignment.

It is not expected that the WATTGREENLINK program will be formally announced until it appears as if the Mayor's canal vision and Airport vision are virtually dead. Another new vision will need to be created and publicized to fool the masses just before the next municipal election.

However, do expect some hints about it in Eddie's next State of the City speech and in one of Gord's Saturday Star columns where he will tell us to rest easy because Eddie is coming up with a plan to create thousands of new jobs in our City. He will tell us to watch as our Mayor one-ups the four Liberal MPPs and their renewable energy conference. Just as Eddie tried to do with Gord's help on the Sutherland call-centre jobs.

The basis of the WATTGREENLINK program is a new tariff system under the proposed new Green Energy Act:

• "Often hailed as the best and fastest way to deploy a large amount of renewable energy, a FIT sets a price per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of generated renewable energy that is high enough to properly compensate the generator and make a project profitable. Utilities are then obligated to purchase renewable energy at that set price. Tariffs are usually lowered every couple of years based upon the amount of capacity installed."

One downside is:

• "utility customers pay a bit extra on their electricity bill to support the FIT."

In other words, renewable energy project costs are too expensive compared with the traditional way of producing electricity. If someone started a wind project today as an example, it would not be profitable. In order to encourage renewable energy, the Government will agree to purchase energy from the producer at a price that should generate a profit for that producer.

Of course, someone has to pay for that extra price and that person is you and I on our utility bills. However, it will be justified as a small price to pay to save the planet and to make our City the leader in North America.

If you really believe this nonsense about perishable goods airport hubs and that Eddie went to Germany to learn about them, then you do not understand our Mayor. It is nothing more than a cover for his real WATTGREENLINK purposes. As the Guardian reported:

• "Mr Renn is part of a revolution in renewable energy that is sweeping Germany and bringing citizens of every kind into the fight against global warming...
  
  Germany has 200 times as much solar energy as Britain. It generates 12% of its electricity from various renewables, compared with 4.6% in Britain. It has created a quarter of a million jobs in renewables - a number that is growing fast...
  
  Indeed, by the time Britain starts its first eco-town in 2016, Germany will have 50 or 60 eco-cities...
  
  The secret of German success is the "feed-in tariff" (FIT). Anyone generating electricity from solar PV, wind or hydro gets a guaranteed payment of four times the market rate - currently about 35p pence a unit - for 20 years.
  
  This reduces the payback time on such technologies to less than 10 years and offers a return on investment of 8-9%. The cost is spread by generating companies among all users and has added about one cent/kwh to the average bill, or an extra €1.50 (£1) a month.
  
  The Germans introduced the FIT in 1999 and tweaked it in 2004, since which time things have gone mad. FITs have now been adopted in 19 EU countries, and 47 worldwide, but not in Britain. German renewables firms are now world beaters and the German economy has been strengthened, not weakened, by a rush into renewables."

Here is what the Star reported on Saturday so you know the well-organized PR campaign is starting as we see more news stories to "educate" us:

• "Are there jobs in the wind?
  
  A major wind energy conversion company backed by a European conglomerate was in Windsor last week scouting locations for a new manufacturing centre, according to sources.
  
  The WindsorEssex Development Commission would not reveal the company's identity, citing confidentiality around negotiations and potential property acquisitions...
  
  Local MPP and International Trade and Investment Minister Sandra Pupatello said Friday Windsor may be within months of seeing business growth and jobs in renewable energy.
  
  She toured a plant in Germany this week, regarded as the green energy industry hotbed. "I toured a company and named them the companies in my backyard that could supply them products," she said on Friday."

Of course, you remember that Eddie and Sandra just happened to meet in Germany during one of Eddie's overseas jaunts just over a year ago. What a remarkable co-incidence.

• "Francis left for Germany this week to lure unnamed cargo and food distribution warehouse operations to Windsor's airport...
  
  Francis said one company, based outside Frankfurt, could hire between 50 and 500 local people if it strikes a deal in Windsor.
  
  Francis wouldn't put a time frame on that, but said "a lot of the legwork is completed."
  
  He joined forces Friday with Economic Development Minister Sandra Pupatello, who also happened to be in Germany, to visit one of the sites."

Ach du Lieber! So much for fruits, vegetables and cut flowers as the basis of our economic recovery.

WATTGREENLINK will build on this concept so that the Eddie can play in this new entrepreneurial arena too. One East End arena deserves another especially if it is at taxpayer expense and risk.

What was discussed by Gridlock Sam in passing about how to make money on Greenlink becomes clearer now. Do you remember the discussion about selling air rights over the road for example? The question was asked who in their right mind would buy the airspace over a truck road.

Now we know.

Giant wind turbines will be located in the Parkettes over Greenlink, especially where the jet fans exhaust all of the fumes from the Schwunnels. The combination of the exhaust and the trucks moving at high speed along the Greenlink corridor because there are no longer any red lights will create a massive amount of wind pressure that will make the Turbine fan blades turn to generate huge amounts of energy. That energy will be sold into the Hydro grid for cash that Enwin will generate. That revenue of course will go to the City eventually as a dividend provided that Enwin has not been sold off or leased out in the interim to some P3 operator who will reap the benefits of the turbines.

The flow of wind will be constant because trucks will flow constantly along the Greenlink corridor. Remember that DRIC claims that they will take traffic from other locations to their new crossing which means that we will have an increased number of trucks coming here as well. The more trucks, the more wind, the more power generated, the more cash for us.

The Turbines will face towards the West not only to exhaust fumes away from most Windsorites but to force them westward into the United States. Moreover, the theory is that if they spin fast enough they will push back all of the American pollution as well back to where it came from thereby ending all health problems in Windsor. That will teach those Americans!

Other utilitities will be green with envy as Enwin makes all of this green by becoming green by selling the electricity into the grid. Of course, taxpayers may turn green at the thought of how much extra will be tacked on to our electrical bills as a green levy to pay for all of this.

What the heck, that is the price of making us a world-class green City and being the leader as North America's first ECO-CITY.

Imagine all of the knowledge-based industries that will flock to our City since their trendy owners will want to be part of what we are developing. Consider the private equity companies that will want to pour money into our new businesses. Imagine the seniors who will want to live here because of our clean air. Renewable energy companies will come here as their testbed for new sources of energy. Can you imagine how many schools from across North America will make trips to Windsor to teach their students about renewable energy. The possibilities are endless.

Most of all, do not forget the jobs, jobs, jobs that will be touted too!

While you may not believe what I am saying, understand that:

• "The Ontario Power Authority will take a lead role in the development and implementation of Ontario's FIT Program. The OPA will be engaging stakeholders throughout the spring to seek input and feedback on the draft FIT Program Rules and Contracts."

Now you know. This is a Government-backed program that will ensure that the Liberals are reelected as well no matter how much it costs us and no matter whether it works or not.

I expect that a giant turbine will be set up in the park near City Hall soon as an experimental part of this WATTGREENLINK program, a prototype if you will. The wind generated by the hot air at City Hall should let us know whether this Green Energy vision is feasible or not.

Soon, when the DRIC road to the Ambassador Bridge is being constructed, you will hear embarrassed Councillors who lost the road battle saying WATTGREENLINK. Just pretend that you do not know it really means "GREENLINK, WHAT GREENLINK?"