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Residents worry World Energy GH2s wind-to-hydrogen project will alter the peninsula
Tami Park-Tighes house is just off the twisty narrow road through Piccadilly, on Newfoundlands Port au Port Peninsula. Her front lawn is lined with fire wood, stacked in a perfect line.
She has lived here in this big house for 14 years: her hair salon is on the left, her dads apartment is on the right.
"My dad is an 82-year-old man. This is his home. He was born and raised down the road from where we are right here," Park Tighe said.
She and her father are Mikmaw, and she says since she got word of the potential wind-to-hydrogen project slated for her area, she feels shell lose touch with her history and culture.
World Energy GH2 plans on erecting 164 wind turbines, all of them 200 metres high. The company will also construct 197 kilometres of access roads, including behind Park-Tighes house.
"He still cuts his trees and gets his wood. Thats how we get our heat in the winter months," Park-Tighe said.
"We collect our berries on these mountains. Our water comes from these mountains. Everything is gravity-fed. When you disrupt this, there are definite repercussions that are going to happen to us."
As you drive along the twisting Route 463, youll spot large red and white signs plastered on garbage boxes at the end of peoples properties. In communities like Piccadilly, Mainland, Campbells Creek and Felix Cove, residents have posted signs that say "Protect our health," "Protect our wildlife" and "No windmills."
Inside Park-Tighes hair salon, she wraps a curling iron cord around and around. She has clients that come to her salon from nearby Stephenville regularly. Shes worried ongoing construction will destroy her business.
The companys environmental impact statement says both the Port au Port Peninsula and the Codroy Valley construction sites require 7 million kilograms of bulk emulsion explosives to install the turbines.
"Our roads are already really damaged. It is hard for us to fathom ... these heavy trucks on our roads," she said.
"Its going to affect us because we are going to have heavy trucks coming over our centre line and our roads are very narrow. There is no way people are going to make the trek out." |
