Prince Edward County Mayor Leo Finnegan is adamant a public information session on windmills this week won't turn into a debate. "That's not what this is about," he said. "We have people coming to give information about windmills because it is a very important issue here right now. The presenters will take about half an hour each and then there will be a question period but it won't turn into a debate.

A wind-power project to erect six turbines in Lakeshore met little opposition at a public meeting in St. Joachim Tuesday. Wind Prospect Inc., a U.K.-based company which has an office in Windsor, plans to erect the 80-metre turbines between Belle River and St. Joachim. The turbines will be in farm fields near Concession 3 north of County Road 42 and south of the CP railway line.

Chatham-Kent council reaffirmed on Monday that it is open for business when it comes to renewable energy. The decision followed a presentation of a wind turbine action plan by economic development services. Kim Cooper, agricultural co-ordinator with the department, said there were concerns with mixed messages, especially since council recently voted to increase turbine minimum setback distances.

The amendment stated al­ter­native energy systems and renewable energy systems will be permitted in the urban and rural system in accordance with provincial and federal re­quire­ments. "These systems should be sited, designed, and construct­ed to minimize impacts on agri­cultural operations, enjoy­ment of property, sensitive land uses, and the greenlands system. ...The policies are intended to provide orderly and com­pati­ble development of systems and en­sure a co­ordi­nated, integrat­ed, and com­prehensive ap­proach to wind energy development. The county stated flatly that wind energy systems may not be permitted in the greenlands system.

Farmers hoping to build wind turbines in West Lincoln will have to wait until September to allow regional policies to be put in place. A public meeting concerning wind energy policies and rules will be held at the September 8 planning committee meeting in West Lincoln. Currently, there is a delay on the creation of any wind energy facilities within the region, so that policies can be put in place prior to the processing of any winder energy project applications.

He also cites a report from the Canadian Wind Energy Association that states wind turbines can have an impact on radio communications and radar signals. Gaye Trombley, also of the Innisfil Wind Watchers, operates an organic apple orchard called Avalon Orchards on Line 5 next to the proposed site. "We want to make sure Schneider Power understands that we're not going to back down, and are very determined that our concerns are addressed," she said. "It's not just the company, but the various levels of government involved as well," she added. John Lundy, chief executive officer of Schneider Power, hopes that providing information to residents living near the proposed project will ease their concerns.

A decision from Chatham-Kent council to boost the turbine setbacks near shorelines had wind energy officials shaking their heads on Tuesday. Councillors made the changes during the previous night's meeting after a spirited debate. Jay Wilgar, AIM Powergen's vice-president of field operations, said the company is determining exactly what this could mean for its proposals, in particular, its Erieau-Blenheim project. ...Weaver said the successful amendments were realistic and a reasonable compromise. "I would expect the residents who essentially say they don't want wind power to say it's not enough and I would expect the companies to want as few rules as possible," he said.

There will be a little more room near the shores of Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair, as Chatham- Kent council tweaked its wind turbine setbacks Monday. Setbacks -- or minimum distances from a structure or site -- have been a source of controversy since wind energy companies first showed an interest in the municipality. Tom Storey of Storey Samways Planning provided a report with recommendations and comparisons to other centres with turbines. ...Chatham Coun. Doug Sulman offered a successful amendment to increase the setback around all of Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair to one kilometre instead of 500 metres.

A wind farm atop Nuttby Mountain has cleared another hurdle. On Monday, Environment Minister Mark Parent approved the environmental assessment with conditions for the wind farm project. ...The conditions include developing and implementing a program to monitor birds and bats, develop a turbine lighting plan, monitoring noise levels, develop a complaint resolution program to address public concerns and submit an environmental protection plan.

At least two companies are interested in offshore wind development in New York's Great Lakes waters - BQ Energy, which developed Lackawanna's Steel Winds, and AWS Truewind. "I don't think it's inevitable, but I think it's very likely," said Bruce Bailey, AWS Truewind's president. There are significant obstacles and unknowns. ...Installing wind turbines in water can be at least twice as expensive because of the cost of mobilizing marine crews, the specialized nature of the installation equipment and the turbines and the need to move the power onshore, experts say. And that doesn't factor in what would be necessary to deal with the ice that often covers the eastern end of Lake Erie in winter.

The region is creating a comprehensive list of do's and don'ts for wind power development in the peninsula. Council has also partnered with St. Catharines-based Rankin Construction to build a $23-million, five-turbine commercial wind farm in Wainfleet. But in April, project partner Tom Rankin blasted the proposed policies as "complete nonsense" that could render the regional partnership "uneconomical."

A proposal for Canada's largest wind farm project took a big leap forward Tuesday with Ontario Municipal Board approval of official plan and zoning bylaw amendments. It took some last-minute negotiations, but the town and Brookfield Renewable Power finally agreed on the interpretation of the amendments for the $500-million commercial wind farm. That compromise -- after town council rejected the project by a 3-3 tied vote in December and the company appealed that decision to the OMB -- averted a full OMB hearing that could have lasted six to eight weeks.

In a press release issued the next day by the Essex County Wind Action Group, they said they were "disappointed" by the quality of questions asked and accused some members of county councillors of not doing "no real investigation of this issue on their own." "Many Councilors relied on the industry lobby group, CanWEA for all their information. What county council didn't realize last night is the fact that with no minimum setbacks in their regulations they have opened the door to litigation against the proponents and themselves on every single turbine installation. The cost of future OMB, and/or dispute resolution hearings and lawsuits will be borne by the taxpayers, and in all likelihood will amount to millions of dollars," ECWAG states.

The Municipality of the District of Digby will soon draft its first wind farm regulations. With an announcement made just three weeks ago that a 30-megawatt wind park comprising 20 big turbines is proposed for Digby Neck, the mostly rural municipality held a public meeting Wednesday to talk about wind park regulation. The municipality now has no way to regulate or control wind farm developments within its boundaries. ...During this week's public meeting, Mr. Millier said the beginning phase of his work will involve research and analysis of wind farm regulation in other areas.

The best spots -- at least on land -- are around the Hudson Bay coast, but feature difficult terrain without any road access. So there is no question why more than a dozen wind companies have already flocked to Chatham-Kent, with the number of proposals drastically exceeding what could realistically be constructed. ..."The advent of wind energy has added yet another dimension to the planning landscape," he said. "There are different issues associated with wind energy. We're learning along the way." In April, councillors voted for staff to create a report on the potential proliferation of wind turbines and ways to mitigate the impact. This report would come before the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) proceeds with its third round of RFPs. Tim Taylor, OPA spokesman, said the draft RFP for renewable energy supply (RES III) is scheduled for release this month and involves approximately 500 megawatts.

Essex County council unanimously approved a set of planning amendments Wednesday for massive wind turbine projects despite complaints from homeowners that the new rules lack essential protections against noise and other effects. "I don't think any of them really know what they've done," Bill Anderson of the Essex County Wind Action Group said after the decision. Without a minimum standard for setbacks from homes and turbines, every project will be a battle, said Anderson.

A Prince resident received answers to numerous questions she asked council earlier about why Brookfield Renewable Energy Inc.'s wind farm, a major industry, ended up in the shield zone, and what sort of tax revenue the wind farm brought to the township. Answers to Amy Zuccato's questions, asked at a previous council meeting, arrived in a two-page report, headed Issues Related to Wind Turbines. It was prepared for council by former Prince administrator Rachel Tyczinski, currently with Ironside Consulting Inc.

The road to economic prosperity is paved green. That's the pitch the town's business and political leaders will hear at an economic summit next week. ...It's not clear if the town is ready for a green revolution. Businessman Lori Collazino ran into considerable opposition with his proposal to turn toxic General Chemical lands into a wind farm. ...While some towns in the county have set up their own rules on wind farms, all are waiting for countywide policies that go to county council for approval on Wednesday. More than a dozen wind farm projects have been proposed, but there is also considerable resident opposition.

Revisions to a proposed Wellington County policy on wind turbines met with some questions from residents at a public meeting at the Arthur arena Tuesday evening. About 40 people, staff and politicians attended the meeting to voice their opinions of the policy drafted by county planning staff. The meeting came a week after a public meeting to introduce the draft policy was held. Ward 3 councillor Walter Trachsel, chair of the county planning committee, chaired the meeting. More public input is being sought as the plan is expected to be dealt with at the committee level again on June 12, before possibly going on to county council for consideration. Several projects are proposed for Wellington County and Wellington North Township.

Opponents of the South Side Wind Farm project aired their views to town council Monday night. Council heard three delegations on GenGrowth's wind farm proposal including one from lawyer Anthony Leardi. Leardi, the town's former Deputy Mayor, was representing two clients but suspected others in the area of the proposed project near Malden Centre would share similar views. According to Leardi, he said the The Jones Group - the consultants working on behalf of the County of Essex - stated that renewable energy generation facilities may be restricted or prohibited "in order to ensure that Ontario's long term prosperity, environmental health and social well being is respected." ...Deputy Mayor Robert Bailey suggested it could be a while before any decisions are made.