Dwayne Bailey has some simple advice for Gulf Shore residents fighting a proposed wind farm in their area, don't give up the fight because they may regret the consequences. Bailey recently abandoned his Elmira, P.E.I., home because noise from a nearby wind farm was becoming intolerable. It kept the family awake at night and impacted their health with headaches and vision problems. "Don't let them put up the windfarm, it's way too close to the houses. It chased us out of our house and it could happen to someone else. We didn't have much a choice and it resulted in us leaving our home," Bailey said, adding his parents also abandoned their home.

PUGWASH - The head of a citizens group fighting a proposed wind farm in the Gulf Shore area is asking the province to stop the project until its safety can be proven. "Please err on the side of caution and call a moratorium of all wind power developments that are any closer than two kilometres of a residence until independent and government research has been done to establish the safe and healthy distance from a turbine people should be living," Lisa Betts said in a letter to Premier Rodney MacDonald.

Atlantic Wind Power Corp had participated in the Wind Power Production Incentive (WIPPI) which is a grant of $10 million (of tax payer's money) over a period of nine years. Natural Resources Canada (NRC) has asked AWPC to produce a proposal as to how they can mitigate the excessive noise at Pubnico. If they cannot produce a proposal (and act on it) to NRC's liking they can cancel the grant. Last May, NRC retained Howe Gastmeier Chapnik Limited (HGC Ltd) to conduct a noise study (again, tax payer's money) of the Pubnico wind farm. This was in response to noise complaints by Daniel d'Entremont and his family.

Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh Twp. Council recently received a letter of response back from the Minister of Environment, Laurel Broten, following their meeting in February. The letter from Broten states, "The Ministry of the Environment (MOE) is involved with setback distances between wind turbines and points of reception for the purpose of compliance with the ministry's noise limits. Wind turbines require a Certificate of Approval (Noise) under section nine of the Environmental Protection Act (EP A) unless the project is specifically exempt.

Following complaints from farmers, the U.S. Department of Energy is now planning its toughest environmental review of a proposed $120 million power transmission line between Great Falls and Lethbridge, Alberta.... Wind farm developers have said the line is critical to construction of their projects. To date, three companies have signed up to use capacity on the line to ship power from wind farms they're planning between Great Falls and the Canadian border.

A proposed plan for a wind farm at the western end of Brome-Missisquoi has been modified, but the community remains divided on whether it should exist at all. Several of the 300 people who packed into Bedford's community centre Monday night called for a moratorium on windmills, or a referendum. While a number complained of a lack of transparency, others commended Groupe SM International and the municipalities on their efforts to inform the population. "The support of the municipalities and the MRC will be helpful in getting the project approved by Hydro Quebec," said Arthur Fauteux, warden of the Brome-Missisquoi MRC. He said the MRC will take a final position on the windmill issue at the end of August.

The appellants of the Enbridge Ontario Wind Power project wrapped up their portion of the turbine noise arguments at the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) hearing last week. The hearing reconvened after the holiday weekend on May 23, with testimony by meteorological and atmospheric specialist Dr. Jim Young, who sat for part of Thursday as well. He was followed by acoustic engineer John Coulter later that day, with Enbridge and the Municipality cross-examining him on Friday. Both were arguing that there will be unwanted noise impacts to local residents, if the turbines remain in their current proximity to homes; the closest of which is 450 metres.

The Ontario Municipal Board wrapping up the second week of hearings into the Enbridge Wind Farm project in Kincardine.

Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh Township council is sending a letter to the Ministry of Environment asking for an immediate response to a report on the affects of noise from wind turbines. At council's March 20 meeting, Reeve Ben Van Diepenbeek said the township still has not received a response back from Minister Laurel Broten who they met while attending a conference in Toronto in late February. Coun. Doug Miller said it was the minister, herself, who said the ministry would respond to their questions and a report by Dr. Vandenberg,

P.E.I. has hired a consultant to review the level of noise coming from wind turbines at the new Eastern Kings Wind Farm. Some people living in the area complain the noise is keeping them up at night. One resident says he may move if the noise problem continues. “We’re going to have monitors set up right at the wind farm, another monitor probably halfway between the wind farm and the individual’s house and then we’ll have the third one at the individual’s house — outside,” Environment Minister Jamie Ballem told CBC News Wednesday. “We’ve also asked the people to record or keep a diary. So that way we can find out if it’s wind conditions, are the turbines even turning, which direction is the wind, so we can really narrow down what the issue is here.” The government has hired the consulting firm of Jacques Whitford to do the study. The final report will be presented to the government in a few weeks with any recommendations for change.

People can co-exist with wind farms, but only if there's sufficient space between them. Lisa Betts doesn't think that's the case with a proposed wind farm along the Gulf Shore and she's urging Cumberland County to take another look at a proposed bylaw that would require 300 per cent separation between turbines and residences. "That's not even close to enough. It should be two kilometres," Betts said. "We've got to have the county set these things back enough that they don't bother anybody, whether it's a cottager or if they're sitting trying to do lessons in schools or if they are a young family. This county's big enough for both of us, but this particular one just seems so wrong."

Noise from the new wind farm at East Point on P.E.I. is loud enough that some some residents of Elmira say it wakes them up in the middle of the night. "It's something like a washing machine when the clothes get off to one side. It goes thump, thump, thump. It's similar to that. Some people say it's like a jet engine," said Elmira resident Dwayne Bailey, who lives about one kilometre away from the turbines.

UPPER GULF SHORE - Lisa Betts considers herself an environmentalist, but she's preparing to do battle with wind turbine companies and local governments because of plans to build towering windmills too close to residential areas. "I've been a green person since I was a kid more than 40 years ago. I recycle and compost. I'm pro being green, so it's kind of hard taking on a sacred cow of the move toward green energy," Ms. Betts said in an interview Saturday. "But I feel I have to. What is being proposed as setbacks (the distance the closest turbine can be to a home) for wind turbines by Cumberland County Council just isn't sufficient. "I moved here because of the peace and quiet. What they are proposing will alter that because they will be allowing companies to build way too close to residential areas."

Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh Twp. council is sending a letter to the Ministry of Environment asking for an immediate response to a report on the affects of noise from wind turbines. At council's March 20 meeting, Reeve Ben Van Diepenbeek said the township still has not received a response back from Minister Laurel Broten who they met while attending a conference in Toronto in late February. Coun. Doug Miller said it was the minister, herself, who said the ministry would respond to their questions and a report by Dr. Vandenberg,

SCOTSBURN – Residents living near a wind turbine on Fitzpatrick Mountain want stricter regulations put in place to prevent the turbines from being put too close to homes. In the right weather conditions, says nearby resident Wayne Pierce, the turbines can make a “noise like a jet aircraft in place overhead.” County council is in the process of creating a new bylaw to put regulations in place on the distance wind turbines must be from other properties. The proposed bylaw would require turbines to be placed three times the height of the turbine from the property line. That’s not enough for Pierce, however, who believes the distance should be taken from adjacent homes.

The Grey Bruce Health Unit needs to be more vocal. A few wind turbine concerns need to be addressed by the public health unit. Huron-Kinloss Mayor Mitch Twolan says comments on the wind turbine proposals may put some of the public’s concerns at ease. He says it would provide some reassurance to the public and to the area councils that another body has looked at the proposal and feel comfortable with the project. Wind turbines have raised a number of health related concerns including noise, blade flicker and shadow, ice throw and possible collapse. Twolan says the health unit normally doesn’t get involved, but if there are potential health risks the health unit needs to assess and address the issues. There are a few wind turbine project proposals in Bruce County, the largest being 110 turbines to be erected in Kincardine.

He put his existing knowledge together with a little research and has now come to the same conclusion as Dr. David Suzuki: Wind farms have a place in Ontario’s energy mix, but it’s a small role, and the turbines need to be placed where the pollution from wind farms isn’t a threat to humans and animals. One key point that needs to be understood, says Lee, is that the practicality of wind power is generally overstated in the public conscious. Wind power, of course, is only available when the wind blows, which means that when the wind isn’t blowing you’d have to switch back to fossil fuel generated electricity anyway to keep the lights on — and that means wind power can’t be built out to replace our fossil fuel base load. In fact, countries in Europe that have installed wind power as base load find they end up buying power on the spot market when the wind isn’t blowing and then selling their wind power at a loss when the wind is blowing (but air conditioners aren’t being used as intensely). Denmark is often considered a leader in wind energy but according to Lee it ends up selling 84% of its power at a loss. “European countries that have put in a lot of wind power end up subsidizing their neighbors,” says Lee. “Wind power has not yet enabled the closure of a single fossil-fueled generating station anywhere in the world.” .........According to Lee, it’s often been suggested that the theoretical maximum for the amount of base load that can be derived from wind power is 15%, but even that seems to be a stretch. A more likely percentage seems to be 3% or 5%, says Lee.

Amaranth Township Council will seek to have the Canadian Hydro Developers existing transformer substation included as an issue at an Ontario Municipal Board hearing into the Melancthon II wind-turbine project. Mayor Don MacIver told township CAO Sue Stone to advise the CHD lawyers accordingly, after the council had heard a recording of noise levels near the substation, said to be as high as 65 decibels, at Wednesday’s meeting, In playing the recording, Paul Thompson, a neighbour of the substation, said there is a constant hum from the transformer — constantly at 40 dB, he said — but rising for about 10-20 seconds to as much as 65 when the CHD transmission goes back on grid after being off for a time, according to his recorded demonstration, although the under-construction sound barriers are intended to reduce it to 31 dB. Mr. Thompson said the sound reflects off a metal shed on his property. “If you listen (long) it gets in your head, and you can’t get it out,” he said.

A Nova Scotia man and his family claim to have been left homeless after the noise from a nearby windfarm made his family home in Lower West Pubnico uninhabitable. Daniel d’Entremont says that two of the 1.8-megawatt turbines that make up the 17 turbine farm, are located just 300 metres from his home. As a result he says that his children developed disruptive behaviour and his family’s health suffered. D’Entremont’s angry that when councillors from the Municipality of Argyle, which covers Pubnico, developed their bylaw determining the location of wind turbines in relation to residential properties they came up with a 300-metre setback.

A Nova Scotia man who abandoned his home, claiming noise from a nearby wind farm made his family sick, says a study by an audio expert proves his case, even though a report to the federal government concludes the exact opposite. Daniel d’Entremont and his family left their home in the southwestern Nova Scotia community of Lower West Pubnico last February. D’Entremont says the 17 wind turbines that tower over the community — the closest just 400 metres away — were sending low-frequency vibrations into the house. This inaudible noise, he claims, deprived his family of sleep, gave his children and wife headaches and made it impossible for them to concentrate.