September 19, 2017
Ontario

Wind energy company walks away from Clearview proposal

By Ian Adams | Wasaga Sun | www.simcoe.com

A wind turbine company is walking away from plans to erect turbines in Clearview Township.

WPD Canada has decided not to appeal a decision of the Environmental Review Tribunal to revoke the renewable energy approval (REA) for the Fairview Wind Project.

The company had until Sept. 15 to appeal the decision of the ERT, which determined the project would have posed a risk of serious harm to human health because of the proximity of the proposed eight 500-foot-tall turbines to the Collingwood Regional Airport and the Clearview Aerodrome, and the potential threat to human health.

WPD spokesperson Kevin Surette confirmed in an email to Simcoe.com the company’s board of directors had made the decision not to proceed. He stated the company would not make further comment.

Kevin Elwood, one of several residents who had been fighting the company’s plans for the last decade, called it a victory for both the local community and the aviation community.

“I don’t know how to sum it up in just one word, but it is a relief because it has taken a local time to achieve this outcome,” said Elwood, a pilot who owns the Clearview Aerodrome and flies out of the regional airport on a regular basis. “This has been a long and honorary effort to protect aircraft and aviation safety protocols.”

Elwood was one of several parties, along with John Wiggins, the Town of Collingwood, Township of Clearview, Simcoe County, and the residents’ group Preserve Clearview, to challenge the decision to award the REA.

He also acknowledged the debate had caused a rift within the community, which he blamed on the provincial government’s Green Energy Act.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2017/09/19/wind-energy-company-walks-away-from-clearview-proposal/