Concerned Residents Meet to Discuss Wind Turbine Solicitation

Over 80 residents and landowners including a representative from Brookfield Properties met at Galerie Q on June 16th to discuss the arrival of companies seeking to lease land on behalf of industrial wind turbine operators for new turbine development. The meeting was very informal and was designed to gage interest in developing an effective strategy ward off these unwelcome overtures. Residents in some areas in the north end of the township have found business cards in their doors, while others on the 4th Line have been approached at their doorsteps in locations where the elevation and density of homes would allow an effective installation.

Mayor McFadden and Councilor Heather Stauble from the City of Kawartha Lakes joined the group after participating in a radio interview on the topic with the CBC. Stauble took the lead during a good portion of the meeting, sharing her distressing experience with wind companies on the projects in her district which includes four projects in the Bethany and Pontypool area.

As noted in his article on page —, Ron Awde describes how opponents to the neighbouring wind projects have spent over $50,000 during their three year challenge on a single project. Adding the bills accumulated in fighting the Sumac Ridge and Settlers Landing projects brings the total amount spent to almost $350,000.

One of the speakers at the meeting was David Frank of the grassroots Cavan Says No organization that was successful in shutting down the Stoneboat project located at the west end of Stewart Line in 2012. This was a rare success story in the history of wind projects in Ontario. Provisional contracts had been signed by several landowners with deep roots in the community. Fortunately the concerned neighbours were able to convince the key landowners that the project was not in the interests of the community at large, and the contracts were rescinded.   A similar project slated for the 4th line also failed for similar reasons, but these are the exception. Unlike the fledgling operators in the past, new project developers have strong political backing and hefty financial resources. Their lease contracts for wind projects include punitive clauses and are draped in secrecy, as non-disclosure is part of the deal. Once signed, these agreements are almost impossible to overturn.

According to Stauble, the Green Energy Act is one of the most powerful pieces of legislation ever seen in Ontario. It offers lots of flexibility to developers and removes all power from local municipal governments. Stauble explained that in the experience with the projects in her area, the wind company, WPD, made promises and outlined reasonable procedures they intended to follow in their projects, insisting that they would follow all of the existing Oak Ridges Morraine restrictions in their projects. This would include conducting standard precautionary procedures such as hydrological and noise studies prior to the projects going ahead. Once provincial approvals were in place, these studies never took place, nor were they required under their agreement with the government. Nor was support received from the Ministry of the Environment or the Board of Health.

Residents asked Mayor McFadden if the township would approach potential target landowners directly, but in fact the best approach is neighbour to neighbour. At the end of the meeting, participants were invited to sign up as a contact for their road, to establish a point person who was known in the area.

Stauble suggested concerned citizens go further and do their own home work with a map and a compass. Suitable sites that have elevation, can adhere to the 550 meter setback that can accommodate at least 5 turbines in close proximity are easy to identify, and wind opponents could approach those landowners who are the most likely targets.

It is hard to argue with the economic benefits these projects offer to the host property owners, who earn $8,000 to $31,000 per turbine each year. This windfall is earned at the expense of neighbouring property owners. Absentee and transient landowners are particularly open to these proposals as they have less invested in the community.

The key to keeping wind turbines out of the community is prevention, and that can only happen through education. Frank explained that conversations between landowners who are predisposed to accepting these installations should be done carefully so as not to alienate them.   As one speaker put it, local turbine opponents are not against a greener planet, but question the environmental impact of these towers with concrete bases reaching 12 to 18 feet underground. Audience members also wondered about the impact of the decommissioning process when the turbines reach the end of their useful lives, and who would bear the expense.

As in most things, prevention is the best approach to keeping our township skyline clear. Councillor Stauble summed it up by saying that it is infinitely better to avoid the signing of any contract than to try to unwind a signed agreement. KG

Tagged , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply