Islanders debate wind turbines; Info needed to address concerns

Where were Islanders when the decision was made to increase a proposed wind turbine farm from a few turbines suggested in 2005 to a proposed 43 turbines at a public meeting a couple of weeks ago?

Northland Power held a public information meeting to present its new proposal. According to the local press, many who attended were quite shocked to hear of the

expanded version. A project of this scale will involve 20,000 acres and as I read the article and the following one a week later, I became more and more nervous about what impact this will have on Manitoulin.

If you think this is just about Northeastern Manitoulin and the Islands (NEMI), there are also plans in the works for an additional seven wind farms on the Island.

Before we go any further, let me address something that comes up every time someone asks questions about a green project in this province. It’s a favourite tactic of our Liberal government to dismiss concerns of their constituents as being NIMBYism (Not in My Backyard), or those people don’t want to help the planet. A word of warning to the province: that kind of dismissal here on the Island just makes Islanders dig in harder.

As far as I can tell, the concerns of this citizens group are legitimate and I believe they need to be addressed before Northland Power is allowed to go forward with the McLean’s Mountain Wind Farm Project.

This group of citizens has made it clear in an article and letter in the local press that they are not against wind farms and green energy, but they do believe that everyone needs to have more information.

A document sent to me this morning by Ray Beaudry, a spokesperson for the citizen’s committee, outlines concerns that were presented at a NEMI council meeting last Thursday night. According to Beaudry, about 40 0r 50 people attended. Some of their concerns and information are:

* Health concerns, which have become an issue for communities in southern Ontario living near wind farms due to low frequency noise. The noise limit by the Ministry of the Environment is 40 db and once the 40db of sound encroaches on neighbouring property, this will limit the adjacent landowners’ ability to secure building permits, if their proposed dwelling projects fall within that limit.

TURBINE NOISE

The turbine generates 103.5 db of noise on all good running conditions. The noise is allowed to cross adjoining land that did not sign agreements where no dwelling exists. Setback limits are currently being increased as per the Green Energy Act and are to be implemented in late summer 2009. Northland Power falls under the old setback requirements of the Canadian Wind Energy Association.”

My question: Why is Northland Power trying to rush this project through before the changes in the Green Energy Act, which would hopefully take care of the concerns of low frequency noise with further setback limits for the turbines?

In Europe, the setback limits are 1,000 to 1,500 metres and given they have much more experience with turbines for decades perhaps we should be paying attention to why they chose to do that.

* There are seven additional wind farm projects being proposed on the island. A letter dated Dec. 14, 2006, to the Ontario Power Authority has identified Manitoulin as an area to be exploited for wind generation.

My question: Exploited? I guess their plan is the less we know about this, the easier it is to be taken advantage of.

* The issue of transmitting the electricity between towers to the proposed transformer station, which generates its own noise, on Green Bush Road area allows Northland Power to take the shortest route possible on leased land to access the station.

This station requires a usual standard of 60-foot poles or higher where required to accommodate the 115-volt line.

NEMI is proposed by the Ontario Power Authority to have two 230,000-volt poles or towers to be constructed. One south of Manitowaning and the other circuit to the west due to the proposed seven additional wind farms projects on the Island with the bottleneck at Little Current across the channel. The high voltage lines cause major tree removal and are usually controlled with herbicide use.

These are some of the concerns raised by this citizen’s group and recommendation was also made to council which reads: “To decrease the local impact we would like to request NEMI revoke all prior bylaws or resolutions regarding Northland Power wind turbine setback limits. We would request a new bylaw or resolution that requires the standard to be set within the Proposed Green Energy Act. This includes further setback requirements from the public due to the noise impact from multiple towers.”

PUBLIC COMMENT

The public has until July 24 to submit their comments to the EBR at www.ebr.gov. on.ca, posting number 010-6708.

I think it’s time we started paying close attention to the changes that are being proposed on the Island.

It’s time we decided what kind of place we want for our future.

Wind farms are a part of a needed green energy plan for our province, but the people who live near and around them need to be considered and consulted at length before they are allowed to proceed.

It doesn’t seem to have been the case for McLean’s Mountain Project.

Look for part two of this saga next week.

* Ruth Farquhar is a freelance writer based on Manitoulin Island.

By Ruth Farquhar

The Sudbury Star

13 July 2009

Tags: Wind power, Wind energy

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