October 2, 2014
Alberta

Town seeks feedback on renewable energy policy

By: Lindsay Seewalt | Cochrane Eagle | Posted: Thursday, Oct 02, 2014 | www.cochraneeagle.com

The Town of Cochrane will be hosting a public conversation Oct. 20 to share ‘draft policy recommendations and gather further feedback’ on the Renewable Energy Framework (REF) policy the town has been working on over the last year.

The REF team will host two sessions at the RancheHouse that day – a stakeholder’s focus meeting (by invite only) from 1-3 p.m. and a general meeting open to the public from 6:30-8:30 p.m.

The five technologies that the town would be comprehensively examining include: solar (both solar thermal and solar photovoltaic); geo-exchange; small wind (turbines); biomass district energy; and micro-hydro pressure reducing valves.

For Brenda Samborski, a Cochrane Heights resident who was vocal with media in opposing the proposed Cochrane High School Sustainability Committee green energy project to put up a 60-foot-high Evance 9000 small wind turbine on school property in 2012, this is an opportunity for residents to voice concerns, learn about green energy and to help the town strike a balance with where green energy initiatives fit in urban areas.

Samborski is one of the organizers of the grassroots coalition ‘No Turbines in Town’ (NTT) who garnered 130 signatures from Cochrane Heights’ residents opposed to the small wind turbine project at the school; their opposition likely influenced Rocky View Schools’ decision to not give the green light on the project, at least until the town had a chance to draft an REF policy.

“I just want people to stay vocal and to start talking about this – no matter what side they’re on,” said Samborski.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2014/10/02/town-seeks-feedback-on-renewable-energy-policy/