LOCATION/TYPE

NEWS HOME


[ exact phrase in "" • results by date ]

[ Google-powered • results by relevance ]

Archive
RSS

Add NWW headlines to your site (click here)

WHAT TO DO
when your community is targeted

Get weekly updates
RSS

RSS feeds and more

Keep Wind Watch online and independent!

Donate via Stripe

Donate via Paypal

Selected Documents

All Documents

Research Links

Alerts

Press Releases

FAQs

Campaign Material

Photos & Graphics

Videos

Allied Groups

News Watch Home

Court asked to set aside turbine guidelines 

Credit:  John Spears, Business Reporter, Toronto Star, www.thestar.com 24 January 2011 ~~

The Ontario government failed to ask any doctors about how large wind turbines affect human health when it drafted rules for the devices, a lawyer for a wind power skeptic told divisional court Monday.

But a lawyer for the province said the government used guidelines set by the World Health Organization, as well as other expert advice, in setting rules for how close large wind turbines can be to dwellings.

Ian Hanna, a resident of Prince Edward County, has asked the court to set aside the current rule stating that large turbines must be set back at least 550 metres from a home.

He’s arguing that the 550 metre setback isn’t based on any proven scientific evidence.

If Hanna succeeds and the policy is overturned the ruling could put further wind power development in Ontario on hold.

It would also put a crimp in Ontario’s just-announced long-term energy plan, which forsees a significant expansion of wind-generated electricity.

Hanna’s lawyer Eric Gillespie Monday told the panel of three judges that the province failed to get expert medical advice when it made the setback regulation.

It consulted acoustic engineers, he said. It consulted an expert in land use planning. It enlisted senior staff from the ministry of energy.

The province also collected many studies on the health effects of turbines, he said. But it did not seek out a doctor to review those studies on human health.

“It is not enough for a land use planner to say in a sentence and a half in an affidavit: We considered it,” said Hanna.

He likened the government’s approach to asking an accountant to give an expert opinion on medical evidence.

Gillespie submitted affidavits from three doctors who said the effect of noise and vibration from large wind turbines isn’t fully understood.

One, Dr. Robert McMurtry, is also a resident of Prince Edward County and a former dean of medicine at University of Western Ontario.

Source:  John Spears, Business Reporter, Toronto Star, www.thestar.com 24 January 2011

This article is the work of the source indicated. Any opinions expressed in it are not necessarily those of National Wind Watch.

The copyright of this article resides with the author or publisher indicated. As part of its noncommercial educational effort to present the environmental, social, scientific, and economic issues of large-scale wind power development to a global audience seeking such information, National Wind Watch endeavors to observe “fair use” as provided for in section 107 of U.S. Copyright Law and similar “fair dealing” provisions of the copyright laws of other nations. Send requests to excerpt, general inquiries, and comments via e-mail.

Wind Watch relies entirely
on User Contributions
   Donate via Stripe
(via Stripe)
Donate via Paypal
(via Paypal)

Share:

e-mail X FB LI M TG TS G Share


News Watch Home

Get the Facts
CONTACT DONATE PRIVACY ABOUT SEARCH
© National Wind Watch, Inc.
Use of copyrighted material adheres to Fair Use.
"Wind Watch" is a registered trademark.

 Follow:

Wind Watch on X Wind Watch on Facebook Wind Watch on Linked In

Wind Watch on Mastodon Wind Watch on Truth Social

Wind Watch on Gab Wind Watch on Bluesky