Originally published Oct. 7, 2024 at The Narwhal. Read the full story here.

Ron and Karin Armstrong’s immense yard in the middle of the Alberta Prairies is not without a bit of whimsy. Metal sculptures crafted by Ron are scattered about the acreage, including an old tractor refashioned into a dinosaur named Harvestosaurus. Their house overlooks a private airstrip used by the local bible school, which offers aviation programs. The property is perched atop of one of the hills that give the surrounding county its name, offering an endless view of prairie from their front porch.

It’s the view that Ron talks about when he talks of his home, a place he and Karin moved to 24 years ago after farming and raising cattle in Youngstown, Alta., 150 kilometres away.

But that view could change. A renewable energy company wants to build turbines, big ones and lots of them, on the fields that stretch off into the distance, angering some in the community. 

That anger has morphed into a group calling itself Wind Concerns Kneehill County, which has been busy fomenting opposition to new wind turbines. They’ve been gathering signatures for a petition, organizing meetings, speaking to the local council and trying to catch the ear of the provincial government. 

In August, about a dozen people met with The Narwhal in the Armstrong’s garage to lay out their concerns, meandering from the verifiable to the conspiratorial — concerns that are a microcosm for a larger push against renewable energy projects in Alberta and beyond, and which echo the political and policy shifts of the provincial government. 

Should rural Albertans bear the burden of industrial developments that feed the electricity needs of cities? Why should a turbine the size of a skyscraper ruin the view? What happens to the farmland, to the birds, to the turbine blades that can’t be recycled or the landowners anxious about everything from health concerns to property values? Does renewable energy even provide the energy we need? Is anyone taking their concerns seriously?

At the same time, society faces a pressing need to reduce pollution. Moving away from electricity produced by burning fossil fuels like coal and natural gas reduces carbon pollution that causes climate change, which exacerbates drought, wildfires, flooding and more. Renewable energy sources also produce less air and water pollution than burning fossil fuels.

In some ways, the debate around renewable energy is an extension of familiar battles around industrial development, property rights and the balance between individuals and the greater good. But on another level, the debate is hopelessly entangled in the divisive politics of the climate crisis era and economic transition — as well as the swirl of misinformation that too often defines it. 

There are big questions at the heart of the debate, and even bigger implications — political, economic, social and environmental — if we get it wrong. Getting it right requires understanding what it all means on a smaller scale: a province, a county, a town, an acreage, a garage overlooking the fields, pumpjacks and farms of Alberta. 

For Kelly Tainsh, the organizing force who brought everyone together on the Armstrong property, it’s not a philosophical debate, it’s personal — and so are the potential impacts.

“There aren’t very many nights now that I don’t wake up in the middle of night, and the first thing on my mind is this,” she says.

READ THE FULL STORY AT THE NARWHAL.