July 31, 2013
Ontario

Samsung wind project receives approval

By: John Spears Business reporter, Published on Tue Jul 30 2013 | Toronto Star | www.thestar.com

Samsung Renewable Energy and two partners have received provincial approval for a 270 megawatt wind power project in western Ontario.

The K2 project in Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh Township near Goderich has received renewable energy approval for the 140-turbine development, the company said Tuesday.

Samsung’s partners in the venture are Pattern Energy and Capital Power.

The companies say they hope to start construction later this year, with operation starting in 2015.

Samsung has signed an agreement with the township to deliver $15 million in funding for community initiatives over the next 20 years. It will also pay $1,500 a year to the owner of any home within one kilometre of a turbine.

But the project, which has already been taken to court once, could be subject to legal challenges.

Shawn and Tricia Drennan, who farm in the area of the proposed wind farm, argue that the development could threaten their health, as well as the health of their livestock and the value of their farm. That violates their right to security of the person under the Charter of Rights, they argue.

Earlier this year, a judge dismissed their challenge as premature, but said it could be argued before the province’s environmental review tribunal once the renewable energy approval was granted.

Shawn Drennan said Tuesday that the couple is now considering how to proceed.

Samsung signed a controversial agreement with the province in 2010, giving it the right to develop 2,500 megawatts of renewable power. Samsung also committed to opening four manufacturing plants; its total investment was to be $7 billion.

But the developments have ripened more slowly than anticipated, and incentive payments that Samsung was to have received have been trimmed.


URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/07/31/samsung-wind-project-receives-approval/