Iroquois Falls residents push back against wind turbine proposal 

A packed council chamber made one thing clear: many Iroquois Falls residents don’t want wind turbines in their backyard.

About 30 people turned out to support two residents – Lisa Mousseau and Cathy Deforge – who presented to Iroquois Falls council on Monday (July 21), urging members to reject a proposal by U.S.-based energy developer Invenergy to install between 19 and 21 wind turbines on rural land south of the community.

Council did not make a decision at Monday’s meeting, but committed to voting on the project no later than September.

“You brought a lot of things to light here this evening,” Coun. Gilles Giguère said after the presentation.

“Even if we looked at the best-case scenario of what this company is willing to invest in our community, I think we’d be giving up lots more than a couple of dollars.”

That comment drew applause from the room.

Giguère confirmed to TimminsToday that Invenergy is focused on rural parts of the municipality, including areas south and southeast of town. Some of the areas of particular interest include Monteith Road, Plummer Road, and Clarks Road.

No representatives from Invenergy were present at the July 21 meeting. Its original pitch to council was on May 26. TimminsToday reached out to the company for comment and has not received a response.

Mousseau, who was born and raised in Iroquois Falls, started a petition last month opposing the project. It now has 1,079 signatures, more than half from rural residents.

She asked council to reject the turbines, citing concerns about environmental impact, noise, health risks, and the visual impact on the local landscape.

“We are here as concerned citizens, requesting you oppose the installation of any industrial wind turbine project in our community, making us unwilling hosts,” she said.

“This has been a collaboration of passion between a group of people who love their community and who want to maintain and protect every aspect of the quality of life that we have here now.”

Deforge lives on Plummer Road, southeast of the town. She raised concerns about health, wildlife disruption, aviation safety, and potential interference with radar, telecommunications and emergency services. She also questioned how the area’s clay and shale soils might be affected by the vibrations caused by turbines.

“Wind power, is it green energy? The wind, we think, is pretty green. The harnessing of its power, I think, is not quite there yet,” she said.

She warned of effects like “shadow flicker” and “infrasound,” as well as risks to birds of prey and migratory species.

“They’re tall structures. They impact migratory birds. There’s a noise factor. And then there’s infrasound, sound you don’t hear, but you feel,” Deforge said.

Deforge added that she and others on her road were approached by Invenergy representatives, who offered the chance to enter a “lottery” to host a turbine on their property in exchange for potential annual payments of $20,000.

“He answered all my questions and spent a lot of time at our house,” she said. “But we got a lot of information from him, too.”

Deforge was first approached by Invenergy on July 15, 2024, and again on Sept. 14. She said others along Plummer and Clarks roads were also contacted.

Council members said the project needs more discussion before a final decision is made, though some expressed clear opposition.

Coun. Ben Lefebvre said he wants to hear more perspectives, but added the presentation by Mousseau and Deforge was thoughtful and well-researched.

“The town and council really has to take time to discuss, orally, with the help of our residents as well, what is it that we want Iroquois Falls to look like going into the future?” Lefebvre said. “I think this is a golden opportunity to actually look at that.”

Giguère pushed for a clear timeline, saying many rural residents are still being approached the company.

“Residents are getting their door knocked on. I think by the presence of the people here this evening, and by how many people signed the petition that live out in the country, I just don’t want this to go on for the next three months where this company is bothering people and where we haven’t made a decision,” he said.

“I think we owe it to the community to come up in a timely matter.”

Mayor Tory Delaurier said council would vote on the matter either in August or September.

Mousseau told TimminsToday she was encouraged by council members’ response at the meeting.

“About 30 years ago, my husband and I went through Mount Forest, where they had turbines, and we talked to a family who had to leave their home because of the effects,” she said.

“I remember saying then, ‘I will never see them in my backyard.’ And so 30 years goes by and I see this proposal and I thought, no, I have to step up. Not in my backyard.”