March 20, 2015
Ontario

New wind farm project proposed for North Kent

Sydenham Current | sydenhamcurrent.ca

A two-phase wind farm project is being proposed for North Kent.

The project by Samsung and Pattern Energy could lead to an additional 90 wind turbines being constructed in the former Dover and Chatham Townships.

Chatham-Kent staff is recommending that both phases of the project be approved by council.

After completing the South Kent Wind project last March, Samsung and Pattern informed Chatham-Kent staff they were moving forward with the North Kent Wind project.

A staff report indicates that phase one of the project will be approximately 100 megawatts and consist of approximately 40 to 50 turbines.

The turbines would be constructed on private land, and the design, specifications and layout are still under development.

The project will be subject to the Renewable Energy Approval process, a permitting process which evaluates projects for environmental, social and archaeological impacts, a staff report says.

The second phase is dependent upon an award by the Ontario Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO.)

If it proceeds, it will also be of a size between 50 to 100 megawatts and between 20 and 40 turbines.

Staff says Samsung and Pattern have offered the Municipality the option to purchase a “15% equity interest” in the North Kent Wind Projects, as an additional community benefit.

“Administration has undertaken a review of this opportunity and is recommending that this equity investment opportunity be entered into by Entegrus Inc., which is 90% owned by the Municipality,” a staff report says.

The potential property tax revenue from the project would be approximately $250,000 per year.

John Norton, the chief legal officer for Chatham-Kent and Tomo Matesic from Entegrus Inc. will be presenting to council on Monday about the proposed project.

Watch for more on this story.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2015/03/20/new-wind-farm-project-proposed-for-north-kent/