"There are only 50-some bald eagle nests in Ontario," he said. "This is one." "There's no end to the limits that the government will go to accommodate the wind industry," he added. He also cautioned that the issue is much more far-reaching than Haldimand County.

The global financial crisis has forced the Dokie wind energy project in northeast B.C. to seek court protection, in order to hold off creditors who are looking to recover $131 million in debt. EarthFirst Canada Inc. announced recently that it obtained creditor protection. A press release stated that the crisis in global financial markets hindered the company's ability to develop alternatives for financing or completing the sale of the company.

The cash-strapped proponents of B.C.'s most advanced wind farm project have obtained court protection in a bid to hold off creditors. EarthFirst Canada said Tuesday an Alberta court has granted protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act ..."EarthFirst has sought protection under the CCAA as its current cash in hand would not allow it to meet its obligations and its obligations with respect to the construction of its 144 megawatt Dokie 1 wind energy project in British Columbia," the release said.

The Prince Edward Island community of Eastern Kings is taking a stance against wind development projects, but no one representing the community is willing to talk about the details. The local council held a vote Tuesday night in response to a proposal made by PEI Green Energy Inc., which wants to install 28 turbines near East Point.

Two of the turbines at P.E.I.'s $47-million wind farm in East Point are under repairs for the second time in just over a year. The V-90 turbines - named for their 90-metre blade span - are having problems with their gear boxes, the same thing that took them down last spring. ...MacQuarrie said Vestas, the manufacturer of the turbines, is still refining the gearboxes.

An economist at the University of Guelph says if Ontario's experiment with green energy is similar to what's happened in the European Union (EU), the province can look forward to higher taxes, a net loss of jobs, and little difference in terms of green house gas emissions.

Wellington North should develop local guidelines for development of wind energy projects, its Economic Development Committee (EDC) decided last Wednesday. ...Mr. Taylor said the county regulations failed to address specific setback issues with regard to how far a wind turbine should be located from sensitive areas. "There was little or no reference to bird migration," he said. "They talk about being concerned about being beside our greenlands, but they don't say how far." Concern at the EDC revolves around the impact wind turbines might have migratory bird routes at Luther Marsh. The regulations also fail to address a process for public input on wind developments.

A few studies will proceed immediately to see if wind turbines are appropriate for Caledon. The studies Caledon council wants undertaken are for setback, noise and flicker effects. The results will be brought back to a public meeting. Councillors spent more than three hours on the issue at last Tuesday's meeting. They heard presentations from concerned residents living near a potential wind project site, as well as a representative from Windy Hills Caledon Renewable Energy.

A retired Queen's University physics professor says wind farms don't live up to the hype generated by energy companies and governments. John Harrison says that for the final six months of 2009, the Wolfe Island wind farm operated at about one-quarter efficiency.

Ian Tillard, chief operating officer for Shear Wind, said it took about an hour for the fire to burn itself out. ...He acknowledged the company will have to work with local firefighters in the future about responding to such situations.

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.

The caribou are major, albeit silent, figures in a growing debate over whether to reroute a proposed massive transmission corridor that would carry electricity from Manitoba to the Toronto area, so that it could also tie in to hydro and wind sources in Northern Ontario.

Despite throwing out a sweetener - a promise of more than $8 million in local benefits for Snowy Ridge and Settlers Landing wind projects - Sprott Power got the same chilly reception from hundreds of people who attended the meeting. The company has promised to form a community liaison committee prior to construction, to improve community relations and so locals can be informed.

The noise and vibration from heavy equipment has been known to frighten emus to death, Debi VanTassel said in a recent interview. She wonders what living near a wind turbine will be like. Ms. VanTassel has another worry, though. Her husband is an epileptic who may have grand mal seizures. They can't have wallpaper in their home because the patterns could seem to come alive and bother Mr. VanTassel.

Enbridge has a number of planning hurdles to overcome in the coming weeks, as public opposition to its wind proposal continues. The Enbridge Ontario Wind Power Project Environmental Screening Report (ESR) was accepted by the Environmental Assessment and Approvals Branch (EAAB) on March 19, after 21 requests were issued to elevate the project to a full Environmental Assessment (EA) last year. "(The EAAB) evaluated all the environmental work that was done, using the various criteria," said Debbie Boukydis, Enbridge's director of public and government affairs. "From that they determined we met the ESR requirements." Boukydis said they knew a wind project had never been elevated to a full EA and awaited the result with confidence. As of the April 2 deadline to appeal the EAAB decision, 10 individual appeals were filed from the original 21 requests. Boukydis said Minister of Environment (MOE) James O'Mara now has 45 days to review the EAAB decision, before making a final ruling. Kathy McCarrel, a resident at the border of Saugeen Shores and the Municipality of Kincardine, is one of the 10 appellants fighting the EAAB decision. McCarrel was concerned that the decision will be looked upon as an example to other wind projects, ultimately impacting future decisions across Ontario, being that Enbridge's is the largest proposed in Canada to date.

The list of issues for appealing the 110-turbine Enbridge Ontario Wind Power Project will be put forward in the coming weeks, after last week’s Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) pre-hearing. A crowd sat in on the three-hour meeting at the Municipality of Kincardine municipal building Jan. 25, to determine which groups would be representing the appellants, how the issues will be brought forward during the appeal and how information will be shared between appellants and the proponent. The hearing has been scheduled for a maximum of eight weeks starting April 23.

Shoreline Beacon — Enbridge is pulling its wind power interests out of Saugeen Shores, for the foreseeable future. The 11 sites of the 121-turbine project within the municipality are no longer being looked upon as possibilities within the timeline of the project, so the company is proceeding with 120 zoned sites in Kincardine. “The bylaws passed (in Saugeen Shores) do not allow anyone to install a turbine on any lot, because the setbacks are too great,” said Bob Simpson, a general manager for Enbridge in Kincardine. “Public support is really not there, neither is it from council at this time.”

"The FIT program is affecting everyone in Ontario through higher electricity rates," said president Jane Wilson. "And it's not necessary. Coal is virtually gone as a power source. We don't need more expensive unreliable wind power, and Ontario electricity customers don't need to be subsidizing huge power corporations. End the FIT, now."

Under the P.E.I. Energy Accord, the government announced it will add 30 megawatts of publicly-owned wind power on P.E.I. by 2012, along with 10 more megawatts at the Wind Institute in North Cape. That 40 megawatts is a long way from the 130 the province was looking for last spring when it put out a request for proposals, and even further from a 500 megawatt plan unveiled two years ago.

The chair of the Yukon's energy corporation says wind energy isn't viable for the Yukon.