June 21, 2012
Ontario

Developer upset by Kings County wind turbine debate

CBC News | www.cbc.ca 20 June 2012

A wind developer says it’s unfair to reverse a decision to bring wind towers to Kings County.

“It’s very frustrating after waiting so long for the opportunity to do projects in the area, for that opportunity to be taken away,” says Dan Roscoe, of Scotian Windfields Inc.

Roscoe is proposing a single tower on the south mountain – part of local community-based project in the works for five years.

However, one year after inviting wind farm development, Kings County is hosting the last public meeting tonight before determining whether it will reverse the decision to bring wind turbines to the area.

The pushback against wind farms came after Acciona Wind Energy took Kings County up on its new rules promoting wind development and proposed a 25-tower farm on top of the north mountain.
Should Kings County get wind turbines?

Currently, there are no large-scale wind turbines in Kings County, but the current bylaw allows them to be 700 metres away from dwellings. Residents told CBC News that’s too close.

“If they move these, or bring the wind turbines here, we will move somewhere else,” said Alan Whincup, and he says no one he knows wants the turbines either.

“We moved here for the beautiful countryside, and not to see these wind turbines that are going to be as high as the mountain itself.”

Whincup and other opponents like Ted Van Trigt have convinced Kings County to reconsider its rules.

“If we can’t get the decision overthrown, then our whole livelihood is at stake – our savings, our retirement, the landscape,” said Van Trigt.

Kings County Council is considering whether it will allow large wind farms like the one proposed near Halls Harbour.

Kings County spent three years developing its bylaws opening up wind development.

Three companies have expressed interest in setting up large-scale wind turbines in Kings County: Scotian Windfields Inc., Watts Wind Energy and Spanish-company Acciona Energy, but the county has yet to receive a formal applications from wind developers.

“Municipal council is considering amending their plan to effectively rescind the current regulations, so effectively prohibit any large-scale wind turbines in the municipality,” said Ben Sivak, director of planning for Kings County.

“The step to ban winds turbines outright is actually outside of the responsibility granted to them through the municipal government act,” Roscoe said.

Kings County is set to decide on wind in early July.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/06/21/developer-upset-by-kings-county-wind-turbine-debate/