Renfrew County unlikely to halt wind farms

Renfrew County council would probably not stand in the way of any industrial wind farm project if a municipal council already has approved it, Warden Janice Visneskie says.

Visneskie, who is also mayor of Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards Township, was speaking during that council’s Sept. 16 regular meeting. During a short presentation to council from industrial wind farm opponent Brian Tyrrell, Visneskie briefly donned her warden’s hat.

“I’ll tell you that … the process of the county is that we do not interfere in a local issue,” Visneskie said, explaining that this is because the county’s 17 member municipalities fought long and hard for the right not to have county council overturn their decisions on issues facing their communities.

“So now, when there’s a controversial decision, the municipalities can’t argue that they want to pass the buck to the county,” Visneskie said. It is they who “are going to have to make those tough decisions” on issues such as whether wind farms should be allowed.

The mayor added that she would soon be making a stop at an industrial wind farm near Goderich, Ont. “just to have a look-see” at the operation.

Several companies have proposed a series of industrial wind turbine projects for locations across the Madawaska Valley/Bonnechere Valley region. In the Township of Madawaska Valley, one proposal by SkyPower would see six of the massive turbines built in the hills north of Wilno.

Opponents of the projects, organized under the banner of Save Our Skyline, warn the turbines will cause health and environmental damage if politicians allow them to be built.

While as yet there are no wind turbine projects proposed for within the borders of Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards, both council and citizens are concerned what sort of impact wind turbine construction will have on township roads and other infrastructure.

Visneskie, stressing that no proposal for road use by wind farm operators has come before her council yet, said the council has not made any decision either for or against wind farms, but councillors nonetheless will be vigilant.

“Our concern is the protection of our roads,” she said. “As a municipality, I will offer to you that we will do everything in our power to protect our roads because we owe that to our taxpayers.”

Tyrrell, who presented council with a study of the Point Petre wind power project, asked council that it ensure that any tour of wind farms by local politicians be independent, not one guided by wind power companies, and that councillors meet with people affected by the projects.

“That’s sort of what we intended to do,” Mayor Visneskie said.

Several municipal councils, including Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards and the Township of Madawaska Valley, are considering a joint tour of wind farms near Sault Ste. Marie.

Tyrrell also read to councillors from a passionate letter by a woman whose home was hard-hit by a massive wind turbine project at Mars Hill, Maine.

Meanwhile, SkyPower Corp., which is involved in several industrial wind farm projects proposed for the Bonnechere/Madawaska Valley region, including the Wilno Hills proposal, put out a news release last week saying it was not involved in the massive bankruptcy process at Lehman Brothers Holdings in the United States.

Lehman filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. bankruptcy laws. Barclays Bank in Britain has since announced that it will buy up some of Lehman Brothers U.S. businesses.

SkyPower bills itself as a Lehman Brothers company and has several Lehman executives on its board of directors. However, in a news release on Sept. 17, the company said it “remains focused on its business plan and committed to pursuing the renewable energy projects in its Canadian and international portfolios.”

Also last week, area newspapers including Barry’s Bay This Week published a required notice of an environmental review for SkyPower’s “Hardwood Hills Wind Project” near Eganville.

The notice says the corporation is proposing “the development of a wind energy project southwest of Eganville.” The Bonnechere Valley project would be located near Highway 60 east of Highway 515 and south of Clear Lake.

The company says an environmental screening of the project under the province’s Electricity Projects Regulation has commenced. Under the regulation, SkyPower is required to have a screening of the project and then, if appropriate, a more detailed environmental review. However, SkyPower says that it will undertake an environmental review right from the start. It adds that, “SkyPower is also consulting with federal agencies to determine whether the environmental review will follow the screening requirements of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.”

SOS and other wind farm opponents – citing bird kills, loss of wildlife habitat, harmful low-intensity noise, visual pollution and a host of other environmental impacts linked to the massive industrial wind turbines – have called for a complete federal environmental assessment, not just a provincial review, for any and all proposed wind farm projects in the area.

By Douglas Gloin

Barry’s Bay This Week

24 September 2008