It was all a mistake, say Gabriola Islanders of a proposal to put windmills on some Gabriola parkland. "It's an unfortunate misunderstanding," says Leigh Anne Milman, Gabriola Land Conservancy president, of Zero Emissions Development's proposal for a wind farm to generate electricity for B.C. Hydro from Gabriola Community Park, otherwise known as 707 Lands. The proposal made it all the way to the Regional District of Nanaimo, which is now looking into the allowed uses under existing zoning for the land, located roughly in the middle of the island. ... "I suspect the idea of a wind farm on the 707 Lands is dead."

Colchester County council has delayed a decision on a bylaw regulating wind power development until further study. Some councillors were divided on how far the regulations should go following discussion at this week's council committee meeting so the issue has been sent to the municipality's planning advisory committee for more deliberation. While some councillors fear the proposed regulations border on excess government intervention, others believe landowners require the protection such guidelines would provide.

Just about 300 people packed the Essex Civic Center to hear the latest proposal from Ray Duhamel and the Jones Consulting Group. Among their objectives are to increase the renewable energy supply and make sure it's done in appropriate areas. ...Only a few people were fully in favour of the wind turbines.

The prospect of wind energy development in Essex County received mixed reviews Wednesday during a public meeting to hear comments on the county's proposed policy for commercial wind farms. Visual and noise impact, whether or not wind energy is a viable solution to global warming and other issues dominated the session attended by about 300 people, as well as county councillors. Amherstburg lawyer Anthony Leardi warned that wind turbine developments are not public utilities, and if they go bankrupt the cost of decommissioning them could be borne by the municipality.

A motion to implement municipal wind turbine setbacks was deferred for more information on Monday. East Kent Coun. Jim Brown had requested various mandatory distance requirements, depending on whether the property was residential or commercial in nature. While there are already guidelines from Ontario's Ministry of the Environment, Brown said much more needs to be done before any more wind farm applications come forward. "I don't believe we have formal enough zoning in place - we have to have something firm," he said. "We should have these setbacks in place before we go any further."

Municipal administration will ask council for a deferral on a wind energy policy on Monday. During the April 14 planning meeting, councillors voted for staff to create a report on the potential proliferation of wind turbines and ways to mitigate the impact. The report would come before the Ontario Power Authority proceeds with its next round of request for proposals (RFPs). ...An administrative report states "the potential number of turbines that can actually locate in Chatham-Kent are far less than the number coming forward for approval."

The environmental consultants 4Site Group, which has offices in Halifax and Yarmouth, has been awarded a contract to develop a wind turbine bylaw for the Municipality of Digby. The bylaw will deal with issues regarding the placement of turbines, and will define acceptable location, minimum distance between windmills and buildings, and the minimum acceptable setback from the road. While wind turbines are a source of ‘clean' energy, people living nearby sometimes object to noise created by their operation. Others suggest they should not be erected on sites of great natural beauty.

The good news for turbine opponents is how much ground those buffer zones cover. While other levels of government work on how to manage clusters of large-scale turbines 100 metres tall or more, commonly called wind farms, Niagara-on-the-Lake has been developing a policy to restrict turbine use to appropriate areas, a measure meant to incorporate the new technology supported by the province while protecting the town’s vital heritage. ...Charlene Quevillon has been following the policy throughout its two-year revision. She told council during Monday night’s public meeting that she no longer objects to the policy, but cautioned council to keep in mind the individual needs of the community as they strive for balance.

Niagara-on-the-Lake will likely be the first municipality in the Niagara region to pass regulations governing the erection of wind-energy turbines. Zoning bylaw and official plan amendments to regulate the installation of the machines were approved by the planning advisory committee Monday following a public meeting. Only one resident, Charlene Quevillon, spoke at the meeting, raising concerns about noise and the visual and environmental impact of the turbines. ...The town had passed an interim control bylaw two years ago to prohibit the installation of wind-energy turbines until research had been completed by a consulting firm and regulations were approved. A second interim control bylaw expires May 7.

New general provisions in the bylaw include: accessibility, bed and breakfasts, Conservation Authority regulated lands, ... setbacks from existing wind energy facilities, setbacks from drains or watercourses, wind energy facilities commercial scale and wind energy facilities small scale. Walker-Bolton noted that the commercial scale wind energy setbacks are 450 metres from neighbouring dwellings and 600 metres from urban areas. She added that AG2 (Restricted Agricultural zone) is now for wind energy.

The City of Summerside's bid to install four wind turbines in the old St. Eleanors landfill site drew fire at a public meeting last night. ...Neighbours expressed concerns about noise, sunlight reflecting off blades known as "flicker", blighted landscapes and declining property values. "It will devalue my property," said Waite. Sheila Compton lives nearby and runs a roadside vegetable business. The family owns agricultural property they fear will suffer declining values.

Plans for a high, large wind turbine in south-Barrie are already facing hot air from neighbours. It's being proposed by Jackson's Toyota, a Mapleview Drive West automotive dealership, but area landowners and businesses say the location is wrong and they also have concerns about its safety and size. ... "It is unimaginable for us to believe the city would even consider such an extreme exemption," Hassey said. ...A public meeting is one of the first steps in Barrie's planning process. Once it's held, city planning staff generate a report on the application and it is considered by city councillors.

After multiple meetings, Chatham-Kent council has given the green light for Gengrowth to move ahead with four wind energy projects. The Toronto-based company is planning a total of 20 turbines for Dover, Harwich, Howard and Tilbury East. Each of these five-turbine projects is rated at 10 megawatts of electricity. "At the end of the day, this is something we need to support," said Chatham Coun. Don Clarke during Monday's five-hour planning meeting. The recommendation was deferred from March 25 - as well as Feb. 11 - when opponents raised concerns ranging from noise to wildlife impact. Several final speakers brought forth the same issues Monday, but the majority of council believed they had heard enough.

Council decided Monday to direct its staff to negotiate an agreement with Brookfield Power Corporation and try to avoid a full Ontario Municipal Board hearing over what could become Canada's largest wind farm. Mayor Nelson Santos said it's a compromise that recognizes the needs of Brookfield Power and concerns council had. If the two sides can agree, the wind turbines would only be allowed in the northeast portion of Kingsville in the former Gosfield North Township north of Conc. 5 and northeast of Cottam.

The proposed line will be the subject of two public consultation sessions next week. The line would be approximately 64 kilometres long and would cost approximately $16 million to build. However, the utility claims the rates they charge will not be adversely affected. "This is a user-pay system," explained Maritime Electric's director of communications, Kim Griffin. The line is being built to transport wind energy from the Suez Energy North America's West Cape wind park to Sherbrooke, and will have the capacity to support future wind development projects. "What's unique (about the proposed line)," said Griffin, "is it's further expanding wind capacity."

The $23-million project in Wainfleet is supposed to start turning air into energy by 2010. But new wind energy rules suggested for Niagara could jeopardize the wind farm - or any new local wind project, Rankin told regional councillors this week. "These policies could render our own project uneconomical. It's complete nonsense," a visibly upset Rankin said. "This would be one of the toughest bylaws in Canada ... this seems like it's aimed at discouraging wind power in the Niagara Peninsula." ...Chief among Rankin's concerns are two regional recommendations: • Requiring turbine power cables to be buried underground; • Requiring large-scale windmills to be set back from all roads by at least the height of the turbine.

A wind farm proposal for the St. Joseph area east of Altona has emerged as the top contender for what could be a $600 million, 125 tower project. Manitoba Hydro spokesman Glenn Schneider said Hydro reviewed all 10 proposal on the shortlist and have focused on what were three separate projects put forward by BowArk Energy. He said the process will pick up pace over the next few weeks. ...Despite the optimism, the deal isn't set in stone. A final power sale agreement must still be agreed to, and BowArk must complete the environmental licensing process.

Chatham-Kent council will have to wait until April before deciding on four proposed wind projects. A special planning meeting was held Tuesday night, with a standing-room-only crowd in attendance - including many in an overflow room watching a television feed. During the five-hour session, more than 20 speakers - both for and against Toronto-based Gengrowth's application - made their submissions. Council had deferred the issue from Feb. 12 in order to allow residents to prepare presentations.

While officials were keeping mum about precise details surrounding the announcement, the Truro Daily News has learned the premier will confirm approval of a proposal put forth last fall by Cobequid Area Wind Farms Inc. Nova Scotia Power has called for proposals for alternative energy sources to meet a provincial objective to have nearly 20 per cent of the province's electricity come from green sources such as wind by 2013. Last year, Cobequid Area Wind Farm publicly introduced a proposal to construct up to 22, 120-metre tall turbines on Nuttby Mountain.

Planning committee chair Sandy McMillan said currently residential windmills are allowed in agricultural zones, but that could soon change. "We will be coming up with a policy in the near future but we want to look into this and make sure that we do the right thing for everyone.'' The issue arose when some residents and businesses requested permission to install windmills on their properties for a greener energy generation. The town has also looked at installing a windmill to generate power for Stratford town hall. But there are several issues to look into before anything definitive can be adopted, McMillan said. "The issues are noise, throwing off icicles, there's some discussion about the visual impact. We have to look at height - these sorts of things,'' she said. "And basically the impact on neighbours.''