Wind Power News: Canada
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Nihtat Gwich’in Council cancels court challenge to wind project near Inuvik
The Nihtat Gwich’in Council has dropped a court challenge to a proposed wind turbine that could replace costly diesel energy in Inuvik with climate-friendly wind power. In a document filed with the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories Monday, the Nihtat Gwich’in Council, which represents Gwich’in in Inuvik, “wholly discontinues” the judicial review it requested last November. The court challenge had been filed last Nov. 27, the same day the Gwich’in Land and Water Board approved a water licence and . . . Complete story »
Mixed messages
An open letter: On Jan. 12, the Government of Ontario declared a state of emergency to address issues of the COVID-19 pandemic. Premier Doug Ford stated the government is following the advice of the chief medical officer of health for the province, Dr. David Williams. In North Stormont, the Nation Rise Wind project, comprising 29 3.44-megawatt Enercon wind turbines, is being constructed and it is anticipated they will become operational soon. People in our community and beyond believe the Province of . . . Complete story »
Ontario town reignites opposition to wind farm after court overturns cancellation
Residents of an Ontario town still want the government to know they don’t want a wind farm after a court decision overturned a previous project’s cancellation. The community of North Stormont, Ont. has repeatedly asserted its unwillingness to host the Nation Rise Wind Farm, despite the previous Liberal government’s attempts. The project was cancelled in 2019 by Ontario Progressive Conservative Environment Minister Jeff Yurek due to concerns for local bat species, however this decision was reversed by the Ontario Superior . . . Complete story »
Proposed wind farm near Brooks would be largest in Canada
A huge new wind farm is being proposed southwest of Brooks. The Buffalo Plains Wind Farm would consist of 86 turbine towers and a peak capacity of 514 megawatts. It would be the largest in Canada when fully built out near the village of Lomond, in Vulcan County, potentially by 2023. The developer, a Canadian subsidiary of German renewable company ABO Wind, submitted its formal application for the project to provincial regulators on Wednesday. The Alberta Utilities Commission posted the . . . Complete story »
Nihtat Gwich’in Council and Gwich’in Tribal Council continue to clash over $40 million wind farm
Gwich’in Tribal Council Grand Chief Ken Smith is not impressed with the latest potential delay in development of a $40 million Wind Project that will be build in the Inuvik area. After the Gwich’in Land and Water Board overruled a bid by NGC to block the project Oct. 29, Smith told Inuvik Drum he was happy the project would be going forward and the GTC was pleased with the GLWB’s decision. But on Nov. 30, the NGC filed a new . . . Complete story »
Nihtat Gwich’in Council to have day in court over Inuvik wind turbine project
The Nihtat Gwich’in Council is going to court in an attempt to stop the N.W.T. government’s proposal to build a wind turbine near Inuvik. The Gwich’in Land and Water Board approved a water licence and land use permit for the Inuvik Wind Project on Nov. 27, the same day the Nihtat Gwich’in Council asked the N.W.T. Supreme Court to overturn an earlier board decision on the project. NT Energy, a sister company of the Northwest Territories Power Corporation, wants to . . . Complete story »
America’s greenest energy giant isn’t trying to save the planet
NextEra’s strategy relies heavily on taking advantage of state and federal incentives and shunning publicity. The company has made use of state-level requirements for utilities to buy more renewable power, targeting building projects in those states before wind and solar became cheap enough to be profitable nationwide. This approach also involves mining federal tax credits—$3.1 billion over the last 10 years, according to filings—to help finance growth. It’s in the enviable position of taking credits aimed at a struggling new industry and using the lobbying and political muscle of a huge power company to bake those credits in Complete story »
West Prince residents want high-voltage power lines moved
More than 50 people who live in the western P.E.I. community of Forestview have signed a petition calling on the provincial government to move high-voltage power lines away from their homes. The lines run along Howlan Road and carry electricity generated at the West Cape wind farm. The province did remove three-quarters of the lines in 2008, says local resident Clyde Penney, and promised at that time to move the rest once future wind turbines were established in that area. . . . Complete story »
Questions stirred up by inaudible sound waves
Can inaudible sound waves caused by wind turbines lead to adverse health effects? Nobody can really answer that question, North Stormont council has been told by the Eastern Ontario Health Unit. “No conclusive statements are possible on wind turbines and infrasound in the absence of evidence,” Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Paul Roumeliotis wrote in a letter to the municipality. Infrasound, also known as low-frequency sound, describes sound waves with a frequency below the lower limit of audibility, generally . . . Complete story »
26 turbines on the way for Rattlesnake Ridge wind farm
The developer of a major wind farm project near Medicine Hat has secured delivery of 26 turbines ahead of major construction in 2021, BHEC announced Wednesday. The $200-million Rattlesnake Ridge wind farm is approved to be built on land north and south of the hamlet of Whitla in the County of Forty Mile, and would supply 130-megawatts of power in peak conditions to the Alberta electricity grid. On Tuesday, Berkshire Hathaway Energy Canada announced it had secured orders for higher . . . Complete story »
