August 16, 2011
Ontario

Impact of wind turbines tops meeting concerns

By Margaret Kelly, www.sachem.ca 16 August 2011

The Haldimand North Shore Property Owners Association (HNSPOA) held its annual general meeting on Saturday, August 13 at the Rainham Community Centre.

The meeting was well attended and, with the deadline looming for comments on the Capital Power industrial wind turbine (IWT) proposal, the topic soon turned to the concerns over the proposed installation of IWTs in the area.

Ken Brownell, director for wind turbines for the HNSPOA, shared the most up-to-date information and answered questions from the floor.

“The goal of 15% of main capacity power from the proposed 200 turbines along the lakeshore is far beyond their actual capacity which, even with all 200 running, could only provide a maximum of 2% of the required power,” Brownell explained.

The questions put forward from the floor were diverse in nature and exposed the concerns of the people who would be living in the shadow of these structures.

The range of concerns went from legal and financial burdens to emotional and physical health issues.
It was clear that all of these questions had been well researched and a lot of discussion had uncovered the basic fears on these apprehensions.

“Our basic concern is that the long-term effects to (residents’) physical and emotional well-being have not been fully investigated. Another very real concern is the potential for explosions due to the number of unsafe or abandoned gas wells in the area. A large number of these wells are buried in agricultural fields and construction could create an explosive situation. Currently there are only location records available from 1948. We simply don’t know enough,” Brownell said. “We have been granted an extension to August 29 for comments and concerns.”

Those wishing to share comments and concerns are to contact Kristina Rudzki, senior project evaluator for the Ministry of the Environment, operation division, at the Environmental Assessment and Approvals Branch, 2 St. Clair Avenue West, Floor 12 A, Toronto, Ontario, M4V 1L5; or, they can email Kristina.Rudzki@ontario.ca, or call 1-800-461-6290.

Those contacting the ministry must refer to the project’s environmental bill of rights code, EBR-11-3099.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/08/16/impact-of-wind-turbines-tops-meeting-concerns/