A majority of "construction ready" wind projects in Ontario won't go forward if the province passes regulations that keep wind turbines a minimum distance from residences, roads and railway lines, warns Canada's wind energy association.

"The net effect is that 79 construction-ready projects representing 2,591 mega­watts would either be rendered immed­iately non-viable or would require a complete ‘back to the drawing board' redesign," said association president Robert Hornung.

The association is concerned about two rules - one that would require turbines to be 550 metres from residences, and the other that would require turbines to be 120 metres or more from roads, rail­way lines, and property lot lines.