Wind farm proposal whips up a wind storm

Stratford Beacon Herald

http://www.stratfordbeaconherald.com/2012/05/23/wind-farm-proposal-whips-up-a-wind-storm

The potential for a 69-megawatt, 27-turbine wind energy project in North Perth and Perth East is expected to draw big crowds to a pair of open houses planned for June 6 and 7.

“It will be well attended,” said Warren Howard, a North Perth councillor and a member of Elma-Mornington Concerned Citizens, a local group fighting the planned low-density wind farm north of Milverton. “I’m sure there will be a lot of people there.”

That reflects what Howard suggested was considerable resistance among area residents to the proposed installation, known as the Conestoga Wind Energy Centre.

“There is very little support – and strong opposition,” he said, noting there is a “very narrow” group of landowners in North Perth who are involved in the project, and some of them have hired lawyers to try to get out of their lease agreements. “I think it’s fair to say the rest of the community opposes it.”

According to a draft project description report, the development would see as many as 27 wind turbines installed on privately owned agricultural land about five kilometres north of Milverton, bordered by Hwy. 86 to the north, Hwy. 23 to the west, Line 72 to the south and Road 121 to the east. The tallest turbine tower is expected to be 105 metres in height, spinning at between five and 20 revolutions per minute.

The company behind the project, Conestogo Wind Power Partnership and its parent Invenergy Canada, has already obtained a Feed-In Tariff (FIT) contract. The local meetings June 6 and 7 are part of the public consultation required through the province’s Renewable Energy Approval (REA) process.

But the municipality is not exactly rolling out the welcome mat for the project’s developers.

At their May 14 meeting, North Perth council members unanimously endorsed a motion (in a recorded vote) indicating that council does not support Invenergy’s proposal for the local wind turbine development.

“It was blunt,” said Howard of the motion, which was prompted by a request from Invenergy for the municipality’s help in identifying potential members of a community working group.

The aim of that group, according to the letter from Invenergy’s director of business development James Murphy, is to find community members “interested in collaborative discussion who can identify and surface issues of concern related to the wind facility.”

Asked Tuesday about council’s decision, Murphy offered the following comment in an e-mailed response:

“We’ve previously had productive conversations with North Perth, and have not received a formal response about our invite to participate in the Community Working Group,” he said. “If they have determined not to participate, we will continue to find ways to have constructive dialogue.”

As for the potential for opposition at the public meetings, Murphy suggested that, as with any new project, “it is welcomed by some and opposed by others. We’re grateful for the support we’ve received and working where possible on issues that have been raised.”

He added that the company has seen “lots of support, though it is fair to say that some individuals make it uncomfortable for people to demonstrate their support for the project.”

The first open house on the project will be held in Milverton June 6 from 6-8 p.m. at the Perth East Recreation Complex. The second one will be held in Listowel June 7 from 6-8 p.m. at the Royal Canadian Legion.

Murphy said the open houses will start with a brief presentation on the status of the project, followed by a moderated panel that will receive written questions and provide answers. There will be information boards in the room for people to gather additional information.

Pending provincial approval of the project, Invenergy’s proposed timeline would see construction begin toward the end of 2013.

mike.beitz@sunmedia.ca

So what is East Perth’s stand on wind turbine development?

MPP standing up for our concerns

The link is Perth-Wellington’s MPP, Randy Pettapiece’s latest letter to  to the Premier. It follows up on  his earlier open letter regarding his wind energy Town Hall meeting, and the Premier’s response.

Premier – May 18, 2012

Atwood area resident calls police on Invenergy surveyors

Listowel Banner

http://www.southwesternontario.ca/news/resident-calls-police-on-invenergy-surveyors/

BY SHANNON DUFF, BANNER STAFF
NORTH PERTH — An Atwood-area farmer called police last Tuesday in an effort to get Invenergy Canada surveyors off his land.

Koos Wilting said he received correspondence from Invenergy Canada stating the company’s intention to survey Wilting’s three parcels of land. Wilting’s lawyer responded to the company, writing they wouldn’t be permitted to do so. This correspondence went back and forth for about a month to a month and a half.

On Tuesday, May 8, Invenergy Canada representatives arrived at one of Wilting’s properties. “They visited the house after,” said Wilting. “We just talked. We came to the conclusion that we disagreed.”

Wilting said his lawyer had advised him he could contact the authorities should surveyors show up and not wish to leave. So he telephoned the police and gave them the cell phone number of one of the Invenergy representatives. An officer called the representative and they spoke by phone.

Wilting says the group then proceeded to his third property. He called police again, who attended the scene.read article

North Perth Sets Turbine Building Permit Fee

ionstratford

http://ionstratford.ca/2012/05/09/north-perth-sets-turbine-building-permit-fee/

After much discussion and research, a building permit fee for wind turbines has been set in North Perth. Council here has agreed to $20,000 per turbine.

Officials indicate it is an appropriate cost recovery option for a list of potential municipal expenses including engineering and hydrological studies.

Councillor Warren Howard says it would be great if the figure could be higher but it has to be justified. He feels the current set of numbers will stand up against all challenges.

The wind turbine building permit fee is now part of North Perth’s rates and fees by-law which better prepares the municipality for future projects.

Invenergy Canada is proposing a 23 to 27 wind turbine development in the area.

Milverton/Listowel Invenergy open houses

Conestogo Wind Energy Centre:
Project Draft Description

Date:   June 6
Time:  6PM-8PM
Place:  Perth East Recreation Complex, 40 Temperance Street, Milverton MAP

Date:   June 7
Time:  6PM-8PM
Place:  Royal Canadian Legion, 565 Elizabeth St E, Listowel, Ontario MAP

• 
  

Maps

St. Columban

HEAT tells St. Columban community not to give up

Mitchell Advocate

Wind development opponents strategize during final days before last public meeting

By Susan Hundertmark

Now is not the time to give up.

That’s the message Huron East Against Turbines (HEAT) brought to a half-empty Knights of Columbus Hall in St. Columban last Thursday, May 3 when organizers presented their financial statement and offered to help local landowners present their concerns about the proposed 15-turbine St. Columban Energy LP wind development.

“The crowd is a little bit small tonight and we know the community is losing faith in what’s going to happen here. But, it’s not the time to lose hope,” said HEAT member Gerry Ryan, who encouraged St. Columban residents to continue to make their concerns known to the Ministry of the Environment, the municipality of Huron East and the wind development company’s consultant Stantec.

With the final public meetings being held this week (May 8 and 9) by St. Columban Energy LP in Seaforth and Brussels before the proposed project is submitted for approval to the Ministry of the Environment, HEAT members urged local landowners to have their say as soon as possible.

“On May 8, we will have 30 days and in theory, they could make a decision on the 31st day so in June, we could hear if the wind project’s been accepted by the MOE. And, then that would give us 15 days to appeal the approval if they get it,” said HEAT member Jeanne Melady.

While HEAT received a binder containing the 1,354-page St. Columban wind draft plan two weeks ago, Melady said HEAT members had pledged to Huron East council that they would do their best to plow through the report and bring their questions to council, who could then pass them on to the MOE.

“We should all be screaming about the pressure to do consultation when there is no time. We need to tell the Ministry that this is not true consultation,” she said.

HEAT asked for an extension of the 30-day consultation period to 90 days, a request that was endorsed by Huron East council at its May 1 meeting but Melady encouraged ratepayers to contact their councillors asking Huron East to write a letter of their own to the MOE with the same request.

Ryan showed community members a map of the location of proposed turbines in the project, pointing out circumstances when turbines are located too close to the roadway or close enough to a bordering neighbour that they would end up on the neighbour’s property if they fell over.

Read more: http://www.mitchelladvocate.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=3555723

 

County wants uniformity on turbine rules, fees

The Stratford Beacon Herald

http://www.stratfordbeaconherald.com/2012/05/04/county-wants-uniformity-on-turbine-rules-fees

Perth County council was careful not to drift into the contentious wind turbine debate Thursday but wants some direction on what member municipalities can and can’t do under the Green Energy Act.

Councillors approved a motion directing planning staff to prepare a background report on issues like building permit fees and security deposits related to the future dismantling of turbine installations.

The aim, said Coun. Bob Wilhelm, is to develop some consistency across the county.

“We thought perhaps it would be beneficial if the county took the lead and all the lower-tiers in Perth County had similar bylaws and fees,” said Wilhelm.

Perth South staff has already contacted other municipalities and found that fees are “all over the map,” added Coun. Jim Aitcheson, suggesting that some uniformity would serve the county well.

Planning director Dave Hanly was cautious.

“Certainly from a staff perspective, we don’t wish to be embroiled in the raging controversy out there over wind turbines and whether they’re good or bad,” he said.

Instead, staff would simply look at what’s being done in and around Perth County with respect to building permit and security deposit fees and “keep to the facts.”

No legal opinion would be sought, he said.

Coun. Julie Behrns, North Perth’s mayor, said her municipality has also done some legwork on the issue and would be happy to share that information. She also acknowledged Hanly’s concerns.

“We’re not asking you to take an opinion on wind turbines,” she said. “We’re just asking you what do we have a right to ask for or not ask for in a development like this.”

For many municipalities, it’s a matter that’s “outside of our normal scope,” said Behrns.

A question from Coun. Bill French about land-use planning for wind turbines and how to minimize the amount of agricultural land eaten up by the installations brought a quick response from Hanly about jurisdiction.

“It is my understanding of the Green Energy Act that the province has essentially written upper-tier and lower-tier municipalities out of the equation when it comes to Official Plan and zoning matters through the legislation,” he said. “It is within the province’s domain.”

Municipalities may be able to encourage the use of common laneways to access wind turbines, for example, he said, but have little control over things like the actual location of the towers.

mike.beitz@sunmedia.ca