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| Members of the new CALUA board C. Davis photos |
(l-r) Julia Palmer (Secretary), Stephan Blum (Vice President), Pia Blum (Director), Anne Stevick (President), and Bruce Russell (Treasurer). Missing is Mike Vidricare (Director).
Chris Davis, Pincher Creek Voice
CALUA was formed in 2006 by landowners from the Twin Butte area who are concerned about industrial development encroaching upon the region, including windmills and power lines. In particular they are opposed to AltaLink’s proposed above-ground 240 kV Goose Lake to Etzicom Coulee Transmission Project. Opposition to that project by area landowners seems to be virtually unanimous.
At the May 8 meeting Agrologist and ranch owner/operator Larry Frith stepped down from the President's chair and a new board of directors was elected.
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| Anne Stevick |
CALUA Board (as elected/acclaimed at the end of this meeting)
The meeting began with an introductory address by Anne Stevick, followed by a detailed slide show presentation by Stephan Blum (Ph.D., P.Eng) who lists membrane technology, specialty chemicals, oleo-chemicals and energy industries as his areas of expertise. Stephan and his wife Pia live along the Drywood and have both frequently spoken against transmission development in the area.
Blum compared various sources for power, including coal, oil, and natural gas (fossil fuels) and solar, wind and other renewables such as biofuels and geothermal. He said wind power could be decentralized, with smaller windmills serving a specific locale and thus not requiring extended transmission lines. He praised Enmax for their efforts in that direction. He criticized the much larger footprint of wind farms and the transmission lines that come with them. Using graphs he illustrated a huge decline in demand for wind generated power stemming back to 2012, which he said was also causing a "financial collapse" of related share prices.
Blum said that energy imports were not so much a USA priority anymore, drastically negatively affecting the potential profitability for wind energy exports.
He also said subsidies were creating a false economy wherever they were applied globally. "There's no economy for wind power." He said liability for cleaning up wind installations after they were no longer viable for economic or life-cycle reasons was becoming a huge issue in places like Germany. He said Canada was dependent on non-Canadian manufacturers for wind energy installations. "We supply our own for natural gas." He raised numerous other points which will likely be presented in their entirety here at a later date.
A lively discussion followed. MD of Pincher Creek No.9 Reeve Bjorn Berg was in attendance and offered some comments and suggestions, which led to a suggestion that he join the board, which he declined. A poll was taken of the people in attendance, asking whether anyone was in favor of transmission lines in the area and seeking to clarify if CALUA should focus on opposing such development, which seemed to achieve unanimous assent.
According to Anne Stevick, the purpose of CALUA going forward is to "Keep the community aware of upcoming developments that would diminish the natural beauty of the area in the southwest portion of the MD of Pincher Creek and to attempt to prevent such developments. At present that would be further wind development and accompanying high voltage transmission lines."
Related background
Wildrose MLA for Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre Joe Anglin was the guest speaker at a CALUA sponsored event at Twin Butte Hall on June 20, 2012 which was attended by over 100 people. He has repeatedly voiced his opposition to windmill/powerline projects in southern Alberta.
President - Anne StevickLandowners were presented with a "Statement of Intent and Direction" upon entering the hall, which asked them to declare their opposition to any wind power developments and any 240kV or larger transmission line developments south of Highway 507 and west of Highway 810. The form provided space for them to give a land description of their property so it could be highlighted on a map of the area to give a visual representation of the area landscapes owned by those opposed to industrial development of this nature.
Vice President - Stephan Blum
Director - Mike Vidricare
Director - Pia Blum
Treasurer - Bruce Russell
Secretary - Julia Palmer
The meeting began with an introductory address by Anne Stevick, followed by a detailed slide show presentation by Stephan Blum (Ph.D., P.Eng) who lists membrane technology, specialty chemicals, oleo-chemicals and energy industries as his areas of expertise. Stephan and his wife Pia live along the Drywood and have both frequently spoken against transmission development in the area.
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| Stephan Blum |
Blum said that energy imports were not so much a USA priority anymore, drastically negatively affecting the potential profitability for wind energy exports.
He also said subsidies were creating a false economy wherever they were applied globally. "There's no economy for wind power." He said liability for cleaning up wind installations after they were no longer viable for economic or life-cycle reasons was becoming a huge issue in places like Germany. He said Canada was dependent on non-Canadian manufacturers for wind energy installations. "We supply our own for natural gas." He raised numerous other points which will likely be presented in their entirety here at a later date.
A lively discussion followed. MD of Pincher Creek No.9 Reeve Bjorn Berg was in attendance and offered some comments and suggestions, which led to a suggestion that he join the board, which he declined. A poll was taken of the people in attendance, asking whether anyone was in favor of transmission lines in the area and seeking to clarify if CALUA should focus on opposing such development, which seemed to achieve unanimous assent.
According to Anne Stevick, the purpose of CALUA going forward is to "Keep the community aware of upcoming developments that would diminish the natural beauty of the area in the southwest portion of the MD of Pincher Creek and to attempt to prevent such developments. At present that would be further wind development and accompanying high voltage transmission lines."
Related background
Wildrose MLA for Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre Joe Anglin was the guest speaker at a CALUA sponsored event at Twin Butte Hall on June 20, 2012 which was attended by over 100 people. He has repeatedly voiced his opposition to windmill/powerline projects in southern Alberta.
CALUA hosted a 'Town Hall' moderated by SASCI's David Green on July 11, 2012 at Twin Butte Hall which featured presentations from AltaLink and Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) representatives and closed with an open-mic question and answer session. That meeting can be viewed in its entirety by clicking here (in 3 parts).
The next upcoming planned CALUA event is a presentation to the council for the MD of Pincher Creek No. 9 as a delegation at the regular council meeting on Tuesday, May 28, expected to be a 10 minute presentation with 10 minutes for questions.
The next upcoming planned CALUA event is a presentation to the council for the MD of Pincher Creek No. 9 as a delegation at the regular council meeting on Tuesday, May 28, expected to be a 10 minute presentation with 10 minutes for questions.
Many of these "landowners" are retired acreage owners. They do not represent the majority of Twin Butte landowners. once again the "not in my back yard" attitude surfaces.
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