Committee OKs wind farm motion; Council expected to defeat push for provincial moratorium
Rideau-Goulbourn Councillor Glenn Brooks is pushing for the moratorium because Prowind Canada is working on getting a wind farm approved in his ward, near North Gower. Some area residents aren't happy with it, including those who claim turbines make people sick.
Brooks says he thinks the application and approval process for wind farms should continue, but none should be built until the study is done.
On Thursday, he brought a motion to the rural affairs committee seeking to have the city petition the province to conduct the study and impose the moratorium.
The first part passed unanimously, but the second part squeaked by on a 3-2 vote amongst councillors sympathetic to rural concerns.
At full council, the moratorium is expected to be defeated by councillors who believe green energy is necessary to supply future hydro needs and for environmental reasons.
Knoxdale-Merivale Councillor Gord Hunter and Cumberland Councillor Rob Jellett, who chairs the committee, voted against the moratorium. Osgoode Councillor Doug Thompson and West Carleton-March Councillor Eli El-Chantiry supported Brooks.
Jellett said he's all for looking at the health effects of turbines and other renewable energy projects, but he said slowing the province's effort to create more clean electricity is not something council should be urging.
"This is the way of the future," he said. "The environmental arguments for these types of projects are solid, and this is the way we are going."
Some doctors have reported that low-level noise and vibrations coming from the turbines cause everything from headaches and queasiness to heart problems, depression and insomnia. Other doctors say there is no evidence the turbines cause any health problems or even have the potential to do so.
Ontario's Green Energy Act, which is making its way toward implementation, aggressively promotes renewable projects such as wind farms.
The government says the proposed rules on how close turbines can be to residences (600 metres) and other aspects of the projects are based on the "best scientific evidence to date."
Still, the province is creating an oversight office specifically tasked to monitor the "ongoing health and environmental impacts" of various renewable energy projects, including wind farms.
If legitimate health concerns relating to wind power generation are discovered, changes could be made to the program.