Wind Power News: Manitoba
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational effort 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.
Wind turbine projects make short list
Several wind farm proposals in the Red River Valley have made it to the next stage of the wind Request for Proposal (RFP) process, after Manitoba Hydro announced a shortlist of 10 possible sites. Seven wind developers represent the 10 locations across Manitoba, and they have been invited to provide final offers to develop and supply wind-generated energy to Manitoba Hydro. Glenn Schneider, division manager of public affairs said one of the projects is in the Rosenfeld area, proposed by . . . Complete story »
Wind energy debate blows through AMM
Power companies do not seem concerned the Government of Manitoba might be dragging its heels on wind power. The issue was a hot point of discussion last week at the Association of Manitoba Municipalities convention in Brandon when David Huggill, Western Canada policy analyst for the Canadian Wind Energy Association, took Manitoba Hydro to task for not moving fast enough in getting wind energy projects off the ground. “There are some players,” said Huggill,”who are quite prepared to walk away . . . Complete story »
Wind farming about to take flight
A proposal to rezone an area of land in the Rural Municipality of Cartier, which may one day be the site of a new wind farm project, will be the subject of a public hearing next month. On Dec. 4, residents will meet with White Horse Plains Planning District at St. Francois Xavier Community Hall at 7 p.m. to discuss rezoning the land for the municipality of Cartier. “The zoning will allow it to happen,” said RM of Cartier Reeve . . . Complete story »
Group seeks changes in wind by-law
Norman Schmidt hasn’t always been opposed to wind farms. In fact, when Sequoia Energy Inc. held an open house in Altona in 2006, he said he saw the technology of wind energy as a bright, environmentally-sound solution to hydro, and a great supplement to agriculture. But soon, Schmidt began to question how these enormous wind turbines would affect the people who had to live near them. He and his wife moved to their 12-acre property near Altona in 2003 with . . . Complete story »
Wind farm debate rages in Cartier RM
Questions and concerns about a proposed wind farm in Rural Municipality of Cartier continue to stall a council vote on a zoning bylaw for the project. The 7,769-hectare wind farm proposed for the south side of Trans-Canada Highway between Dacotah and Elie is an issue of contention for many residents. Their concerns with the 63-turbine project range from health issues to the effects the structures may have on property values. Council halted a vote on a zoning bylaw for the . . . Complete story »
Locals running against the wind
A number of St. Joseph residents are not impressed with the proposed wind project in the area. BowArk Energy Ltd. plans to begin Phase 1 of the St. Joseph Wind Project next summer. When completed, there will be 43 wind turbines dotting 19,000 acres of countryside. They’ll be hard to miss, since they stand about 30 stories tall. About 120 landowners in the R.M. of Montcalm have already signed land lease contracts, allowing the developers to use their land in . . . Complete story »
Against the wind: questioning wind farms treated as heresy by converted
The province, the wind industry, residents of St. Leon, even David Suzuki have made Manitobans aware of the benefits of wind energy. We hear about all of the benefits. Without a doubt it is amazing. That said: What’s up with the opposition in St. Joseph or in Elie? Why is the Greenwing wind project at Swan Like in abeyance? Why are folks up in arms in Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Texas, Australia, Germany? Some say opponents are uninformed, anti-green, against . . . Complete story »
Local residents fear noise, annoyance from proposed wind farm
Potential neighbours of a proposed wind farm near St. Joseph, Man., are raising concerns about problems the turbines could bring to their community. Manitoba Hydro has been encouraging new wind farms across the province. The Crown utility is currently reviewing 83 proposals submitted by 17 developers in response to a request for proposals in March. One of the proposals calls for 63 wind turbines to be installed near St. Joseph, Man., 85 kilometres south of Winnipeg. The proposed wind farm . . . Complete story »
Tilting at windmills
Anyone who has travelled to southwestern Manitoba to see the “wind farm” at St. Leon knows what a remarkable, other-worldly – some say magical – vista it presents. Over there, a row of giants pinwheeling above a bucolic setting of haystacks and barns. Over here, more reflected in the small lake where a heron rises on wings as aerodynamically perfect as the wings of the behemoths, which make a sound like that of a Jedi’s light sabre as they swoop round and . . . Complete story »
Wind farm no breeze
A whirlwind of questions will be addressed before a zoning bylaw is complete for a 10-hectare wind farm expected on the south side of the Trans-Canada highway between Dacotah and Elie. The reeve for the municipality, Ronald Rasmussen, said it will take some time for council to research concerns about noise, aesthetics, ground clearance for crop spraying and the impact large scale wind farms have on property values and development. Council will look to the provincial planning department for answers. . . . Complete story »
