February 22, 2013
Nova Scotia

Area residents seek rejection of South Canoe wind project

By JOANN ALBERSTAT Business Reporter | The Chronicle Herald | February 21, 2013 | thechronicleherald.ca

A group of New Ross-area residents is asking the Municipality of the District of Chester not to approve a development agreement for the South Canoe wind farm.

Members of the Friends of South Canoe Lake were planning to voice their concerns at a public meeting Thursday night in Chester.

Group member Nance Ackerman, whose family has a cottage at Lewis Lake, said Thursday she is in favour of community-based energy projects, not industrial-scale wind farms.

“I looked at my 80-year-old mother and said, ‘This place that has been such a magical place of peace and quiet … and pristine cottage life … we won’t be able to come here.’” Ackerman said in an interview. The Halifax journalist, who has a blog about wind power, said she is concerned about the potential health effects of the project.

While the group is fighting against the wind farm, other area residents support it.

Chester businessman Kerry Keddy said the project will bring economic benefits, including tax revenue and jobs.

Local businesses have received inquiries about lodging and rental space related to South Canoe construction, Keddy said.

“Already, without the shovels in the ground, we’re already getting inquiries this early on.”

The wind farm, which will be on a 3,044-hectare property near New Russell, will produce enough electricity to power 32,000 homes. That is equal to all of the homes in Lunenburg County and western Hants County combined.

The 92-metre towers, of which there will be 34, will be at least 1.2 kilometres from the nearest residence.

Project spokeswoman Mary-Frances Lynch said wind farm officials have attended various public meetings and listened to the concerns.

“We feel like we’ve addressed a lot of those in the studies that we’ve conducted for the project through our environmental assessment.”

South Canoe received Environmental Department approval in July.

Lynch said a recent Corporate Research Associates survey found that 87 per cent of area residents support the project.

The telephone poll was conducted earlier this month and involved 300 residents.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/02/22/area-residents-seek-rejection-of-south-canoe-wind-project/