"All of these contracts are ba­sically being done on the back of Nova Scotia Power's balance sheet," Chris Huskilson, presi­dent of Emera Inc., told The Chronicle Herald's editorial board Tuesday in Halifax. "Any­body telling me they can't raise money on Nova Scotia Power's balance sheet . . . I have a little trouble with that."

The Town of Essex became the first area municipality to propose a ban Monday on wind turbine projects until all health questions raised by residents are clearly answered by provincial experts. "We are gambling with the health, safety and quality of life of the people around us," said Coun. Ron Rogers, who proposed the ban. "We need answers and guidance from our provincial ministries." ...Maureen Anderson of the Essex County Wind Action Group said a handful of Ontario municipalities have already proposed bans on wind turbines, and the number appears to be growing.

The idea is to promote the safe, effective and efficient use of small wind energy systems to reduce on-site consumption of utility-supplied electricity while providing reasonable controls to protect public health and safety without significantly increasing the cost or decreasing the efficiency of a wind-energy system. ...Any wind turbine that goes up must be set back at least 2.1 times the height of the turbine from the property line, 1.2 times the height back from any road, right-of-way, trail and public space boundaries.

Council spent several hours discussing wind energy as part of a series of amendments to the official plan in order to bring Oxford's planning rules into compliance with provincial policy. ...The only speaker to this parcel of amendments was Joan Morris, neighbour to the proposed development in Norwich and founding member of the Oxford Wind Action Group. Morris led council through a presentation encouraging it to delay and defer any planning rules that would facilitate large-scale wind farms until epidemiological medical studies on their impact had been completed.

A Nova Scotia developer poised to build a $150-million wind turbine park next year near New Glasgow is looking for more time to get the project up and running. Mike Magnus, president of Shear Wind, said the current economic climate has made it difficult for wind developers to raise money. "I think there are (wind) projects jeopardized and challenged right now," Mr. Magnus said Friday.

Hot air in the council chambers could lead to stiffer Barrie breezes down the road. Unhappy with planning staff's policy review of wind turbines, city councillors decided Monday they'd like it to consider higher structures and turbines in some residential areas. "It is not progressive enough," Coun. Lynn Strachan said of the policy review. "It does not support what we are trying to do.

Tension over the wind farm project seems to be reaching a breaking point in the Guildwood community. A thousand people flooded into an information session hosted by Toronto Hydro at Sir Wilfred Laurier Collegiate Institute on Nov. 24 where they debated the positive and negative effects of the proposed offshore wind farm.

An Ontario Municipal Board decision on Grand Valley Wind Farms is expected by the end of next month, but the proponent isn't certain when construction might begin, even if the project is approved. ...A decision in favour of the project would not solve all of the problems Wind Rush might be facing prior to construction. Wind Rush president J.C. Pennie said in an interview that a contract he had for the turbines expired on July 31 because of the lack of a municipal approval by that date.

Innisfil council wants more time to research the ups and downs of wind farms. Spearheaded by Coun. Rod Boynton, council was expected to approve an alternative energy adhoc committee ...which would report back to council in five months, would include proponents and opponents, Boynton told the Journal. "There is so much passion on both sides," he said. "I think we need to perform more research to find a made-in-Innisfil solution."

Worried by rising fuel costs and keen to demonstrate concern about climate change, politicians across Canada are devoted to renewable energy. But even some environmentalists are questioning whether the push to introduce such energy sources -- and particularly wind power -- has overtaken the responsibility to prudently plan. "People want to get in on wind power," said Mark Mattson, president of Lake Ontario Waterkeeper. "It's good public relations.... But when you look at it from a provincial point of view and the ratepayers who are paying for it, it's not clear that it's in the best interest to build them."

Scotian Windfields and Skypower have released the proposed locations for the 20 wind turbines to be built in the Rossway area-and their map shows 12 of the towers will be built on properties owned by Americans. The Digby Neck Wind Farm, scheduled for construction in 2009, was the subject of a presentation made by Barry Zwicker, CEO of Scotian Windfields, Nov. 10 at the Municipality of Digby's meeting.

The last significant planning barrier to Canada's biggest wind energy project is expected to be removed in little more than a week. Brookfield Renewable Power hopes its $600-million commercial wind farm in Lakeshore and Kingsville will get underway early next year. County council expects to pass final changes to its alternative energy zoning regulations at its next meeting. The Ministry of Municipal Affairs is promising approval the day after.

A few details still need to be hammered down before a wind energy project near Arthur can get off the ground. On Monday, councillors here held a public meeting with representatives of Schneider Power to review its proposal for a 10megawatt windfarm northeast of Arthur - Part Lots 2 and 3, on Concession 2. The application before coun­cil was for a zoning bylaw amendment to allow the additional use of five commercial wind turbines to generate electrical power to be sold to the Ontario power grid.

Wind power is easy to set up and creates no greenhouse gases. So why are so many communities rallying against them? ...Residents complain that straight answers are scarce, with towers designed to measure wind speed popping up across the valley, even as local officials say they have not received any applications for zoning bylaw changes. A community group called Save Our Skyline, or S.O.S. Renfrew County, has formed to fight at least four separate proposals along the Madawaska Valley. Two weeks ago, S.O.S. joined with 23 other local groups to create Wind Concerns, an umbrella organization dedicated to "protecting rural Ontario for future generations." Similar fights are underway across the rest of Canada.

The proposal is from SkyPower Inc. of Toronto, a company that has established wind turbine projects around the world. The firm wants to test the viability of two local sites for wind-powered energy generation. ...The two properties would have to be rezoned to allow the meteorological towers to be installed. Vanderdonk and his neighbours received official notification about the plan a couple of weeks ago. "There's a string of houses on 14th Line on both sides of Yonge Street," he says. "No one can figure out why they would put something so close to a residential area."

The Township of Madawaska Valley this week pledged that any decision of the future of wind turbines in the area would be made only after a full public discussion on the issue. Meanwhile, however, SOS (Save Our Skyline), a group of about 400 citizens opposed to the construction of wind turbines called on the township council to take a cue from a neighbouring council and impose a moratorium on the approval of any large-scale win project until more is known about their impact on the communities in which they are located. In mid-October, council for the Township of South Algonquin imposed a 10-year moratorium on approval of any wind turbine projects.

A plan to build a five wind turbine facility northeast of Arthur could be moving closer to reality as Wellington North Council firms up new regulations governing the new technology. The Arthur Wind Farm Project is proposed by Schneider Power Inc. on a 350-acre parcel of farmland known as New Obelink Farms. Company President and CEO Tom Schneider attended a public meeting at council Monday evening to talk about the status of the plan. Schneider Power, according to Mr. Schneider, has done the necessary studies required by the provincial Ministry of the Environment (MOE) and has fine-tuned some of those plans as a township draft of regulations has been considered.

Mike Magnus says he hopes the latest discussion regarding the adjustments his company has made to the proposed wind turbine project in eastern Pictou County will allay local concerns and allow the major project to proceed. "We've taken all the comments to heart and have engaged folks to look at the changes," the chief executive officer of Shear Wind Inc. said Saturday, following the company's latest information session that attracted more than 100 people to the Lismore Community Hall.

The proposal for what would be Canada's largest wind farm ran into a surprising amount of flak at a planning meeting Monday, but still won a 6-4 vote from town council to move ahead. Brookfield Renewable Power hopes to win a contract from the Ontario Power Authority to start building its $600-million wind farm next year. ..."Why is it that you have to ruin the entire landscape of the county?" asked Robert King of Stoney Point. He said wind power is going to contribute relatively little to Ontario's future energy needs. "Our property values will go down," he said.

Chatham-Kent's largest wind farm to date received a nearly unanimous thumbs up last night. A council planning meeting was held for AIM PowerGen's Erieau-Blenheim wind farm, which will consist of 52 turbines. ...While most at the table believed the company met the test, Chatham Coun. Anne Gilbert called the project unfortunate for South Kent. "This is the most culturally sensitive vista in all of Chatham- Kent," she said. "I can't support this one. It isn't good planning."