The latest news is that the current crop of windmills will not be completed until the end of June. The excuse, according to the official spokesperson, is that construction has been delayed because of the unusually bad winter! Only this morning we were discussing on the boat how tame a winter we have been having compared to previous years. The lake is smooth enough to skate to town--if you were crazy enough to try--we recalled winters where the frozen lake took on an otherworldly look. I can only wonder how much Canadian Hydro pays their weather experts. I really hope it isn't too much.
Of course the extension is good news for the people who are renting out properties to the construction workers; the restaurants who feed them; and the young women who are seeking love in the hordes of heavily accented, fair haired Danes. Which makes me wonder... will there be a surge of little windbabies? Turbotots?
But there is a spanner added to the works. During the month of March, the MTO dock in Kingston will undergo an upgrading, no doubt necessary because of the abuse rent by the heavy construction equipment. At the same time, the Wolfe Islander III will go to St. Catherine's for it's five year refit, leaving residents with the considerably smaller Frontenac II. What this means is longer line-ups, longer waits to get home after a hard day's work, more cutting in line and most of all, short fuses. It is a recipe for disaster, and I can only hope the ones most affected can go home and picnic under the shade of their wind turbine!
As of today, Sea Wreck is proudly announcing there are 45 turbines erected, but not yet running. This represents slightly over half of the intended number, 86. Needless to say, the skyline of Wolfe Island will never again be photographed as an example of unblemished nature.
