Public online forum about World EnergyGH2's plans for wind-projects shows political concerns

The company submitted a 4000 page environmental impact statement, and government is expected to make an announcement in the next couple of weeks.

People had a chance to find out more about the plans World Energy GH2 has for the Port au Port Peninsula and Codroy Valley areas during an online forum last night. It was hosted by Enviro Watch NL and Mi’kmaq Matters. 11 o’clock last night was the deadline to make comments about World Energy GH2’s plans, which includes the construction of over 300 wind turbines. The company submitted a 4000 page environmental impact statement, and government is expected to make an announcement in the next couple of weeks. Forum Co-chair, Tara Manuel of Envirowatch NL, started the event with a statement which clearly shows what they want, saying it must be built correctly. Russell Williams is with MUN’s Political Science Department. He says important lessons learned from Muskrat Falls should have been used to assess this project. Williams says government failed to protect public interests, and there was no environmental assessment of any kind. He says Williams says there was no opportunity for any outside or independent assessment of claims being made by supporters. He says rushed projects almost always make mistakes, especially when you talk about auctioning off public land. Williams says the way people are finding out about support given to this project is very concerning, like federal tax cuts, a port, an airport, and more. Williams says the relationship between senior government officials and World Energy GH 2 is unsavory. He says we need some serious independent assessments and not trips to fishing lodges and company jets.