A Prince Edward County man is going to court over Ontario's new setback rules for industrial wind farms. Lawyer Eric Gillespie, acting on behalf of client Ian Hanna, a resident of Big Island, has launched the first legal challenge to the Ontario government's Green Energy Act which requires wind turbines be located a minimum 550 metres from homes.

Nova Scotians may face higher electricity costs in the short term as the province moves toward cleaner and renewable energy, says the man in charge of overseeing Nova Scotia's renewable energy strategy. Dalhousie University's David Wheeler said Monday it is inevitable Nova Scotia Power customers will face a jump in prices ..."If we end up with a global carbon energy tax, then producing energy from coal is going to be very expensive for Nova Scotia consumers," Mr. Wheeler told reporters.

Ian Hanna said his application for judicial review, being called the first of its kind, is his latest appeal to the government after petitions failed to stop plans for five turbines about 900 metres away from his property on Big Island in the Bay of Quinte. The community of about 100 homes will be overwhelmed by the turbines, he charged. "My parents taught us when we were growing up that we should stand up for what we thought is good and right and whether that's for my family or for my neighbours, I intend to do that," he said.

"The Green Energy Act, 2009 and its regulations clearly do not appear to meet the requirements of law in the province of Ontario," said lawyer Eric Gillespie today in a news conference at Queen's Park. On behalf of his client Ian Hanna, Gillespie explained that a court application was filed earlier today for judicial review of the Green Energy Act, 2009 based on the Precautionary Principle as it applies to industrial wind turbine installations.

A farmer in Prince Edward County is taking the Ontario government to court over its plans to boost wind farm development across the province. The Ontario government has proposed building a wind farm containing five turbines within 900 metres of Ian Hanna's home on Big Island in the Bay of Quinte, just south of Belleville. His community of about 100 homes will be overwhelmed by the turbines, he said.

Wind turbines are turning neighbour against neighbour and Essex town council is caught in the middle. Farmers who have signed property leases for wind turbine projects spoke of them at a special meeting Monday as a renewable energy of the future that should be embraced.

The Supreme Court of P.E.I. has denied a request by Entegrity Wind Systems for an extension to devise a plan to avoid bankruptcy. The wind turbine manufacturer owes $11 million to creditors and has been trying to put together a business plan to prove it can turn the company around. It has been under court protection from creditors since August.

A group of Alnwick/Haldimand Township residents are banding together to oppose a proposed wind farm in their community. On Sept. 24, the Castleton Community Centre was overflowing with residents at a public information forum hosted by The Alliance for the Protection of the Northumberland Hills. Speakers opposed to the plan talked about serious potential negative health effects, ranging from sleep disturbances to vertigo and nausea.

Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound MPP Bill Murdoch is calling for a province-wide moratorium on wind turbine projects and is introducing a resolution at Queen's Park later this month. Through his resolution, which he expects to be debated on Oct. 29, Mr. Murdoch will call on the province and its chief medical doctor to state whether or not wind turbines cause health problems for people who live near them. Mr. Murdoch said the government has a responsibility as well as a mandate to investigate such claims.

Wind farm opponents plan to gather at Queen's Park this month to pressure provincial politicians to support MPP Bill Murdoch's bid to halt further turbine projects until Ontario investigates alleged health effects. "This might be our chance to make a statement," Georgian Bluffs resident Wendy McKee told a crowd during a community meeting on wind turbines and health. She said she will try to reserve a bus to transport concerned Grey-Bruce residents to Toronto for the Oct. 29 vote.

It wasn't her place to speak, but Tignish resident Mary Rae Lambert managed a one-word response Tuesday when Tignish Municipal Council voted against allowing wind turbines in the community. "Hallelujah," Lambert gasped before showering the council with applause. They voted 5-0 against a proposed official plan amendment to allow windmills in Tignish. It was Lambert who was most vocal against windmills during a public meeting two weeks ago.

Recently, Innisfil council sent a letter to the provincial government, expressing concerns over the regulations. The letter encouraged the province to accept recommendations from the town's Innisfil Alternative Energy Ad Hoc Committee, which call for changes to setbacks for renewable energy projects, clean-up requirements and other aspects of the Act. The Act also gives jurisdiction over project approvals to the province, said Jackson.

The answer is blowing in the wind, at least for the provincial government. Local residents aren't so sure, if a meeting held last week in Walkerton is any indication. And now they're getting backing from MPP Bill Murdoch, who announced he plans to ask for a moratorium on wind turbines until health impacts are looked at. The province's Green Energy Act, passed on May 14 of this year, streamlines the approval process for wind turbine projects. The provincial government is committed to eliminating its coal operated electrical generating plants, and promoting green energy projects is a key part of the plan to make that happen.

For Ontario to blow $1 billion over seven years not delivering on electronic health (eHealth) records, as Auditor General Jim McCarter documented last week, is frightening. But here's something just as scary. Everything that went wrong with eHealth can just as easily go wrong with Premier Dalton McGuinty's similarly half-baked plan to make us a "renewable" energy giant. Right down to the fact the same cabinet minister in charge when most of the damage was done at eHealth, is now in charge of renewable energy.

Green energy is the only option for ending Ontario's reliance on coal plants, a spokeswoman for Energy and Infrastructure Minister George Smitherman said yesterday. While there may be unanswered health questions related to industrial wind turbines, there's no doubt about health risks associated with coal burning power plants, Smitherman's press secretary Amy Tang said. "We have to remember why we entered into renewable energy in the first place, which was our commitment to get off coal," she said.

The province has turned down a request by Entegrity Wind Systems for an additional $350,000 loan. Jim Heath, the U.S. president of Entegrity, wanted the loan from P.E.I. Business Development so he could pay his employees the thousands of dollars they're owed in back pay. The troubled wind turbine company already owes P.E.I. taxpayers $370,000. The information came to light during a Supreme Court hearing Friday in Charlottetown.

Some independent energy producers in Nova Scotia were cheering Friday after the Dexter government announced a delay of the province's green energy plan that threatened them and Nova Scotia Power with potential fines. ...The change adds a year to the deadline that required Nova Scotia Power to obtain five per cent of its electricity from renewable sources by Dec. 31, 2010. The utility now has until Dec. 31, 2011, to meet that target.

Mounting questions about how wind turbines affect people's health justify MPP Bill Murdoch's new call for a provincial moratorium, the region's top doctor said yesterday. "To me this is a real welcome move," said Dr. Hazel Lynn, the Grey Bruce medical officer of health. "When there's as much upset as there is, I think the politicians should be paying attention to it." Murdoch, the Conservative MPP for Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound, said late yesterday he will introduce a resolution Oct. 29.

Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound MPP Bill Murdoch said he would call for a province-side moratorium on wind turbine projects later this month. Murdoch expects his resolution to be debated on Oct. 29 at Queen's Park. ...Murdoch said the Liberal government moved very quickly with the Green Energy agenda, that Bill 150 was passed into law within a short time, and as a result very many things got overlooked.

Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound MPP Bill Murdoch announced yesterday he will call for a provincewide moratorium on wind turbine projects later this month. Murdoch said in a news release yesterday he will introduce a resolution, which he expects to be debated on Oct. 29, that calls on the province and its chief medical doctor to state whether or not wind turbines cause health problems for people who live near them. Murdoch said the government has a responsibility as well as a mandate to investigate such claims.