• Executive Summary of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Report: New scientific analysis released yesterday by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change confirms the dramatic threat posed by increasing global warming. High energy consuming nations such as Canada and the US need bold climate protection measures to cut fossil fuel use and air pollution, said Gerry Scott, Director of the David Suzuki Foundation's Climate Change Campaign.
• Coal Power Plants in Ontario (SES/Osprey Medial Poll): The government of Ontario is in the process of closing down all of Ontario's coal burning power plants. Do you strongly support, somewhat support, neither support nor oppose, somewhat oppose or strongly oppose this decision? (Jan 30 - Feb 3, 2006).
• Living Off-Grid in the Yukon- Efficient Renewable Energy Use and Practices: The Yukon off-grid residential renewable energy project is a collaborative effort of Natural Resources Canada and ESC. The project consisted first of a survey of 254 Yukon off-grid residence owners. This was followed by a baseline study of the renewable energy usage and energy efficiency of 30 of these off-grid residences. 2005.
• Acoustic Tests of Small Wind Turbines: A white paper presented at the 2004 Wind Energy Symposium in Reno, NV. written by P.Migliore, J. van Dam and A.Huskey from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden Colorado. The analysis was conducted on turbines rated ranging from 400 W to 100 KW.
• Roof-Top Mounting and Building Integration of Wind Turbines: Mounting wind turbines--of any kind--on a building is a very bad idea. I've yet to see an application where this has worked or will likely work. Paul Gipe, December 12, 2005.
• Design Considerations for a Sustainable Hybrid Energy System: This paper outlines the design considerations needed to produce a sustainable energy system for night-time lighting of footpaths. IPENZ Transactions, 2000, Vo. 27, No. 1/EMCh.
• Wind Turbine Acoustic Noise: This papers examines in detail the properties and characteristics of unwanted sound, identifying possible mechanical sources from wind turbines focused on small wind turbines. Renewable Energy Research Laboratory, University of Massachusetts, June 2002 - amended January 2006.
• Optimizing Photovoltaic Arry Size in a Hybrid Power System: This paper describes a programming model to minimize the life cycle cost of a hybrid power system consisting of a photovoltaic array, engine generator and battery. Department of Engineering Science, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby BC. 2000.
• Design of a Hybrid Energy System for Households in Newfoundland: This paper describes design, simulation and feasibility study of a hybrid energy system for a R2000 compliant house in Newfoundland.
• Comments Regarding the Ontario Power Authority's Supply Mix Advice Report: This brief paper written by Suzuki Foundation policy analyst Jose Etcheverry looks at the Ontario Power Authority's advice on the province's electricity future. The Suzuki Foundation paper highlights the need for renewable energy, conservation and efficiency.
• Urban Turbines: What Are They and What Makes Sense: Urban wind turbines are common in continental Europe although less common in the Netherlands, Great Britain and the USA for political reasons. This article describes the numerous drawbacks with respect to small/micro turbines installed on roof-tops, and also presents successful urban turbine deployments such as Toronto, and school deployments in Iowa. Paul Gipe. May 1, 2006.
• Fantasy Wind Turbines or If It's Too Good To Be True...: A candid and frank review of the claims of vendors offering new and unusual and unproven designs of wind turbines apparently able to solve all of the energy needs of the consumer. Paul Gipe. April 24, 2006.
• Wind turbines and birds: Do wind turbines present a risk to birds? Virtually all tall man-made structures present a collision risk to birds, yet the risk from wind turbines is very small when compared to structures like communication towers, tall buildings and transmission towers. And the impact of wind turbines on birds fades into insignificance in comparison with the impact that domestic cats have on wildlife.
• Birds, bats and wind energy: CanWEA and NRCan have published that studies show that modern wind farms with sensitive siting have no significant adverse effect on bird populations. The wind energy industry is investing in closely monitoring this important issue and continues to work vigilantly to avoid any significant impact.
• What Kills Birds?: Curry & Kerlinger has compiled the following information from environmental organizations and goverment agencies.
   

• Ontario Wind Atlas: The wind resource Atlas of Ontario is first and foremost a prospecting tool. These maps should be used as a guide towards development and give excellent information on wind speeds and local wind climates.
• Canadian Wind Energy Association (Small Wind Turbines): This site provides the information and decision-making tools you need to learn about small wind energy systems (i.e. turbines with rated capacities under 300 kilowatts).
• Canadian Wind Energy Association (Main Site): The Canadian Wind Energy Association supports the appropriate development of wind energy in Canada. Its goal is to encourage investment in wind energy for 10,000 MW by 2010, providing 5% of Canada's electricity.
• Canadian Solar Industries Association: CanSIA works to strengthen the Canadian solar industry, increase the professionalism of companies, foster domestic and international markets, and promote the use of renewable energies.
• Ministry of Natural Resources - Magnetic Declination Chart : produces a 1:10000000 scale chart showing lines of equal magnetic declination and annual change over Canada. The charts are based on the Canadian Geomagnetic Reference Field, a mathematical model of the magnetic field produced every five years. The latest charts are for 2000.
• Ministry of Natural Resources - RETScreen International: is a FREE decision support tool from the Canadian Government (Natural Resources Canada) for evaluating the energy production, life-cycle costs and greenhouse gas emission reductions for renewable energy technologies.
• Wind Basics: An excellent resource for those entering the world of wind renewable energy generation through turbine technologies.
• American Wind Energy Association - Discusion List: A Yahoo discussion list intended for those with questions about household energy systems that include wind as a component. Questions about wind turbines, batteries, inverters, towers and other relevant equipment are welcome, and will be answered by persons with hands-on experience.
• The Ontario First Nation Guide to Wind Power Development: In August 2003, the Government of Canada announced new funding totalling approximately $30.7 Million over 4 years for climate change and energy initiatives in Aboriginal and northern communities. The Aboriginal and Northern Community Action Program (ANCAP), is focussed on engaging Aboriginal and northern communities in all provinces and territories to become active partners in climate change action.
• Small Wind Electric Systems: A US Consumer's Guide: An excellent guide offering details on the steps involved to determine the need and sizing of wind turbine solutions, and questions regarding interfacing to the grid.
• Hydro One - Net Metering: Hydro One's Net Metering program offers residential, farm, and business customers the opportunity to lower their electricity bills by using environmentally sound Renewable Energy Technologies ("RETs").
• Clearing the Air - Home Power Dispels the Top Renewable Energy Myths (2004 Home Power Inc.): An informative and cleverly illustrated article that dispels the many myths regarding renewable energy, including such myths about danger to birds, an explaination describing solar generated power and a piece on lead-acid batteries.
• Top Myths About Wind Energy: The British Wind Energy Association had collated their favourite myths, and offered a response to these myths, including bird kills.
• 1997 Survey of Household Energy Use - Summary Report: Natural Resources Canada - The 1997 Survey of Household Energy Use has found that the average heated area of houses (excluding the basement and garage) built since 1961 has progressively increased, stabilizing at around 1600 sq. ft. after 1983. An analysis of heating bills from households that use only electricity in their homes reveals that they consume on average 23,367 kWh (84.1 GJ) each year. Households that use both electricity and natural gas consume on average 8,587 kWh (30.9 GJ) of electricity and 122.1 GJ of natural gas.
• Windstuffnow.com: An informative and easy to read website targeting the "do it yourselfer" in designing and creating your own wind turbines both HAWT and VAWT types.

July 10, 2007