Although Ontario municipalities are still learning the details regarding their role in future ‘green energy' projects throughout the province, Scugog councillors have commented to the province on the potential impact to rural lands from a new provincial act that may also exempt the township from the decision-making process when it comes to planning renewable energy developments.

The debate got heated Monday as opponents of wind turbine projects urged the Town of Essex council to delay any more zoning approvals until the regulations from Ontario's new Green Energy Act kick in. Coun. Paul Innes got into a shouting match with one resident -- farmer Colette McLean -- and asked that she be thrown out. However, tempers calmed and McLean finished her pitch for a municipal delay.

In 2007, Niagara council voted to partner with St. Catharines-based Rankin Construction on a five-turbine, 10-megawatt wind farm in Wainfleet. The joint project, supposed to be underway by 2010, was initially expected to cost about $25 million, with both parties putting up $4 million each and financing the remainder. The turbines are coming from Germany, however, and changes in the exchange rate for euros have added an extra $3 million to the cost, according to a regional report.

At 20.6 metres, the tower, with its distinctive black bands on the three sides facing the water, is the tallest structure along the coast. It is, however, dwarfed by the 80-metre towers in the nearby West Cape wind farm. This wind farm is still growing; some of the towers haven't been completed.

Town council has given administration the go-ahead to proceed with the Official Plan Amendment (OPA) and Zoning Bylaw Amendment (ZBA) in relation to the wind farm proposed by genGrowth. However, they noted it is merely a starting point for discussion with more input and details to come. ...Councillor Bob Pillon, who has been vocal at previous meetings about health risks, was at least willing to explore the matter further. "Now they are in a position where council needs answers," said Pillon. "I have many questions, trust me."

Action on two wind farm proposals was deferred Monday by Chatham-Kent council because of new provincial legislation. The deferral action was recommended by consultant Tom Storey as a result of changes being considered by the province under the Green Energy and Green Economy Act. The council chambers was packed for the council planning session by supporters and opponents of wind farms.

Under the proposed regulations, noise levels also would need to fall to 40 decibels at receptors, such as dwellings or businesses. The ministry said a turbine with a sound power level of 106 decibels would have to meet a setback of 950 meters, or about 3,100 feet, from the nearest house or business.

By 2015, new wind-power developments will double the amount of wind energy produced in Canada. But as government investment in wind power has increased, opposition has risen in tandem. Local and provincial legislators are finally acknowledging opponents' growing concerns, but they certainly aren't putting the brakes on development.

New rules proposed by the Ontario government would forbid the placement of large wind turbines closer than 550 metres to a residence, a distance that could affect the economic viability of many wind projects across the province. The province-wide regulation would create for the first time a minimum setback distance for wind turbines from dwellings, roads, railway lines, wetlands and other environmentally sensitive lands or airspace.

The two solitudes of the wind energy debate were on display at Grey Highlands council Monday morning. Grey Highlands council had multiple delegations concerning a wind energy project that is proposed for the municipality. The first delegation was from AIM PowerGen - the company that has made an official application for a wind energy project in the municipality.

The Ontario government is proposing new regulations that would keep wind turbines at least 550 metres away from any house. The province wants that minimum distance, or "setback," to be mandatory for wind developers who install one to five turbines emitting the lowest allowable noise level.

New rules forcing wind farms to keep their giant turbines at least half a kilometre from the nearest building will not affect a proposed local wind project, according to the firm behind it. ...The proposed new regulations also set 40 decibels as the target noise level at the nearest dwelling.

Gene Chartier, Scugog's commissioner of planning and public works, told councillors that there will probably be a public open house on the matter, but stressed most likely "none of the decision-making will be in (council's) hands." Instead, he said, there may be a process "similar" to those held when the Township is notified of the need for a new telecommunications tower in the municipality.

Telell Waldhaus of Masset has fished Hecate Strait for crab for more than a decade. He's concerned the wind farm will harm stocks, and said "considering the extreme biodiversity of fish in this area, would you look at longer term studies and also different studies, like mid-water, surface.Would you prolong the assessment process to cover a longer period. Do you feel the studies that have been done are substantial and significant enough?"

Opposition to wind turbines in Pigeon Bay has even reached the Ontario legislature. Last week MPP Bruce Crozier presented a petition signed by "thousands" of area residents opposed to any wind generating projects in the bay. And despite the mounting pressure on the government, the company behind the proposal says it will be answering all the questions its detractors have raised.

Dissent is roiling the Liberal government with MPPs ignoring Premier Dalton McGuinty's edict that "NIMBYism" will not be tolerated to stop green energy projects. In an unusually brazen protest, three Liberal MPPs tabled petitions in the House this week with thousands of signatures opposing wind turbines and gas-fired power plants in their ridings.

Billions of dollars in upgrades to Alberta's power transmission network will hit consumers in the pocketbook. The province's electrical operator says the average consumer will see power bills go up by $8 a month to pay for the first phase of projects, which have an estimated price tag of $8.1 billion.

Ontario could become a North American environmental leader, but municipalities can't stand in the way of wind power. That was the message Tuesday from Ontario Energy and Infrastructure Minister George Smitherman as he toured a hydroelectric plant here. Smitherman, also Ontario's deputy premier, praised Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. for its operation of the eight-megawatt plant.

Prowind's plans for Gunn's Hill Road have drawn plenty of public outcry and opposition from those saying the large wind turbines with their low-frequency vibrations and stray voltage cause health problems for nearby residents. The movement there grew into the Oxford Wind Action Group, a member of Wind Concerns Ontario -- both are lobby groups opposed to the development of industrial wind farms near residences.