Council makes change to wind turbine setback
After more than a year of discussion, Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh Twp. has made a decision with its wind turbine setbacks.
Council voted to change the wind turbine setbacks for vacant lots and residences to 450 metres from 400 metres, at the March 3 meeting. The decision came after receiving a response from the Ministry of Environment, which council has been waiting on for several months.
Council has also been listening to concerns of ratepayers and reviewing reports on wind turbines for over a year. Council’s decision to change the setback, will be passed at a future date, if no appeals are made, with the township’s comprehensive zoning bylaw.
“The ministry has completed its review of the G. P. Van Den Berg Dissertation and is in the process of posting this review. Based on this review, the ministry has determined that although its current noise policy for wind turbines does require clarification of some aspects, the ministry’s current noise limit for wind turbines will remain at 40 decibels at the point of reception for the time being. As well, the ministry does not intend to introduce setback distances for wind turbine operations. Municipalities, however, may set requirements for wind turbine set backs under the authority of the Planning Act,” wrote Doris Dumais director of approvals program, environmental assessment and approvals branch for the MOE, in a March 4 letter.
“To date, the ministry’s wind turbine policy review has identified several areas where the existing guidance documentation could be clarified in order to ensure that proponents of wind turbine projects are provided with guidance to properly assess noise emissions, to ensure that the predicted worst case scenario is assessed.
See this week’s Lucknow Sentinel for the full story.
By Sara Bender
11 March 2008
Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
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