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Shoreline Beacon — The Enbridge wind power proposal will dot the countryside with massive renewable wind energy systems, if the company can convince the residents of Kincardine and Saugeen Shores that the project is of value to everyone.
Shoreline Beacon — The Enbridge wind power proposal will dot the countryside with massive renewable wind energy systems, if the company can convince the residents of Kincardine and Saugeen Shores that the project is of value to everyone.
The visual barriers on neighbouring residents, along with concerns over the impact on migratory birds, are the most serious concerns that have surfaced from the project, but Enbridge said they’ve followed all the rules in their planning for the development.
“The majority of the general population and elected officials believe it’s a good project,” said Lisa Lawler, project manager for Enbridge Ontario Wind Power. “We’re going to make sure this is a safe and appropriate land use.”
With the recent release of their environmental screening report, available to the public at local libraries, the town office and online, Enbridge encourages those interested to review the research before the issue is brought to the planning advisory committees in …
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With the recent release of their environmental screening report, available to the public at local libraries, the town office and online, Enbridge encourages those interested to review the research before the issue is brought to the planning advisory committees in …
The visual barriers on neighbouring residents, along with concerns over the impact on migratory birds, are the most serious concerns that have surfaced from the project, but Enbridge said they’ve followed all the rules in their planning for the development.
“The majority of the general population and elected officials believe it’s a good project,” said Lisa Lawler, project manager for Enbridge Ontario Wind Power. “We’re going to make sure this is a safe and appropriate land use.”
With the recent release of their environmental screening report, available to the public at local libraries, the town office and online, Enbridge encourages those interested to review the research before the issue is brought to the planning advisory committees in Saugeen Shores and Kincardine.
Lawler said a date for the public meeting has not been set.
“We’re hoping for sometime in June,” she said.
Many of the neighbouring property owners feel the rural landscape will be ruined forever and that their quality of life will be drastically affected by the 121-turbine project. Of the 156 proposed locations, 24 are in Saugeen Shores and 132 are proposed for Kincardine.
With the recent release of their environmental screening report, available to the public at local libraries, the town office and online, Enbridge encourages those interested to review the research before the issue is brought to the planning advisory committees in Saugeen Shores and Kincardine.
Lawler said a date for the public meeting has not been set.
“We’re hoping for sometime in June,” she said.
Many of the neighbouring property owners feel the rural landscape will be ruined forever and that their quality of life will be drastically affected by the 121-turbine project. Of the 156 proposed locations, 24 are in Saugeen Shores and 132 are proposed for Kincardine.
“It’s pitting neighbour against neighbour,” said Kathy McCarrel, a Saugeen Shores resident who has owned a farm on the boundary between the two municipalities for over 20 years.
McCarrel is a member of the Windfarm Action Group (WAG) opposing the projects and said the land owners who’ve signed leases to their land for the turbines will be the only ones who benefit financially. She added many neighbouring property owners know little of how the project will impact them and may regret keeping quiet on the issue when the turbines are up.
“Why should a handful of residents determine the fate of the natural landscape we’ve enjoyed for the last 30 years?” she said. “It’s of public interest, but there’s been no debate for residents to become informed.”
Lake Range Road resident Rob Byrne is also concerned about the visual impact of the industrial project, which he believes many tourists come to the area to escape.
“People have no idea what these things are going to look like in the areas they’re proposing,” Byrne said. “People come from the city to get away from that.”
He suggested Enbridge should give the public a photo representation of how the wind turbines will look, then people will have an idea.
“People will not believe it.”
Lawler said the environmental screening process online at www.enbridge.com/ontariowindpower gives extensive detail on the provincial and federal regulatory requirements, project description, public consultation procedure, environmental conditions, effects, assessment and protection plan, a list of advantages and disadvantages of the project, as well as supporting documents.
There are also dozens of tables on everything from construction schedules, project activities, reports on flora and fauna and numerous pieces of data on migrating birds in the region and how they’ve been monitored.
“When you do a project, you want to balance and minimize the environmental impact,” Lawler said. “The issues are well known with wind farms.”
These issues, from migratory bird studies, noise and flicker are the fodder WAG is using to get their point across that the turbines provoke a major change in scenery and will affect the birds and the lives of landowners.
“These turbines will be here a long time,” said WAG’s Catherine Crawford. “We feel there needs to be more study, since the experiences around the world with wind farms have been quite poor.”
Crawford said there were only about 12 days spent in total on the 2004 and 2006 bird studies, which they feel is inadequate.
“This study is completely lacking and requires more methodology and a longer time period,” she said.
Lawler said she understands WAG’s concerns, but said Enbridge research indicates that the migratory routes to the south of the proposed site, are far more sensitive than the area in question. She said about two birds are killed per year on average, which is acceptable for this type of project.
“Buildings kill more birds when they fly into the windows,” she said.
Enbridge has been working closely with the Ministry of Environment throughout the screening process in order to answer the concerns that surface from the public.
“It’s a good project and we want to make it as public as possible for everybody,” Lawler said.
The issues raised by land owners are in direct conflict with Enbridge’s research.
McCarrel, among other WAG members, are dissatisfied with the 50 metre setback from property lines as the structures stand almost 120 metres tall. She feels the setback should be at least the height of the turbine, so as not to encroach on their property line.
Lawler said the setbacks fall within the provincial guidelines. The minimum 350 metre distance was also used as a guideline in terms of spacing turbines away from occupied buildings, she said.
“The way the turbines are spaced, we don’t want them to rob wind from each other,” said Lawler.
In response to small aircraft concerns, 36 lights will be placed along the perimetre of the development, as per Nav Canada regulations.
These lights are also a concern for McCarrel, who’s a stargazer during the summer months.
“The flicker will certainly be a disappointment,” she said.
Crawford didn’t expect much co-operation from Enbridge at their Wednesday meeting with company representatives, and the result was no more than what they expected.
Carol Clark, a Kincardine resident on Bruce Concession 12, said their two main requests for a full, voluntary environmental assessment (EA) and a time extension for further review of the screening report beyond the May 19 deadline, were denied at the meeting.
In response to this, WAG members will be writing letters and are requesting area residents to write to the Ministry of Environment asking for a mandatory elevation to a full EA.
“We think this process is being pushed along faster than we would like,” Clark said. “The timeline being imposed to review and digest this information is rather tight. If they were seeking genuine public input, they would have accepted the 60-day extension.”
But Lawler said the project screening report demonstrates that the project is of value to the area and the province, so a full EA is unnecessary. She said the screening report is one phase of an on-going environmental screening program throughout the project.
“Certainly we have every intention of having an environmentally sound project,” Lawler said, adding that their experts will be meeting with individual WAG members to pin-point and address each issue directly. “From this we can understand and incorporate their concerns into future documentation. By listening to people’s concerns we will create a better project.”
Clark said when it came to asking questions of Enbridge representatives, WAG didn’t get the impression Enbridge wanted questions asked of them.
“That wasn’t the way they received us initially,” she said.
WAG did point out an error in the screening report, which Enbridge acknowledged, listing the project area as 35,000-acres, which has since been increased to 45,000. This brings the project closer to Kincardine from Con. 4 and 5 to Con. 1 and 2.
“We expanded the project boundary and failed to change the literature,” Lawler said. “We had no intention of misleading anyone.”
But Lawler said the opposite of Clark’s claim about questions being asked.
“They were reluctant to get into specific questions,” she said.
Lawler said Enbridge will continue to work with WAG and other concerned individuals to make sure concerns are addressed.
The 121 turbines will produce 200 megawatts of electricity during peak performance, with the project covering a 45,000-acre radius. It will provide up to 300 construction jobs and five to 10 permanent positions, providing enough electricity for about 70,000 homes.
Enbridge will pay out a total of $300,000 in municipal taxes each year and $300,000 in lease payments to property owners.
Lake Range Road resident Rob Byrne is also concerned about the visual impact of the industrial project, which he believes many tourists come to the area to escape.
“People have no idea what these things are going to look like in the areas they’re proposing,” Byrne said. “People come from the city to get away from that.”
He suggested Enbridge should give the public a photo representation of how the wind turbines will look, then people will have an idea.
“People will not believe it.”
Lawler said the environmental screening process online at www.enbridge.com/ontariowindpower gives extensive detail on the provincial and federal regulatory requirements, project description, public consultation procedure, environmental conditions, effects, assessment and protection plan, a list of advantages and disadvantages of the project, as well as supporting documents.
There are also dozens of tables on everything from construction schedules, project activities, reports on flora and fauna and numerous pieces of data on migrating birds in the region and how they’ve been monitored.
“When you do a project, you want to balance and minimize the environmental impact,” Lawler said. “The issues are well known with wind farms.”
These issues, from migratory bird studies, noise and flicker are the fodder WAG is using to get their point across that the turbines provoke a major change in scenery and will affect the birds and the lives of landowners.
“These turbines will be here a long time,” said WAG’s Catherine Crawford. “We feel there needs to be more study, since the experiences around the world with wind farms have been quite poor.”
Crawford said there were only about 12 days spent in total on the 2004 and 2006 bird studies, which they feel is inadequate.
“This study is completely lacking and requires more methodology and a longer time period,” she said.
Lawler said she understands WAG’s concerns, but said Enbridge research indicates that the migratory routes to the south of the proposed site, are far more sensitive than the area in question. She said about two birds are killed per year on average, which is acceptable for this type of project.
“Buildings kill more birds when they fly into the windows,” she said.
Enbridge has been working closely with the Ministry of Environment throughout the screening process in order to answer the concerns that surface from the public.
“It’s a good project and we want to make it as public as possible for everybody,” Lawler said.
The issues raised by land owners are in direct conflict with Enbridge’s research.
McCarrel, among other WAG members, are dissatisfied with the 50 metre setback from property lines as the structures stand almost 120 metres tall. She feels the setback should be at least the height of the turbine, so as not to encroach on their property line.
Lawler said the setbacks fall within the provincial guidelines. The minimum 350 metre distance was also used as a guideline in terms of spacing turbines away from occupied buildings, she said.
“The way the turbines are spaced, we don’t want them to rob wind from each other,” said Lawler.
In response to small aircraft concerns, 36 lights will be placed along the perimetre of the development, as per Nav Canada regulations.
These lights are also a concern for McCarrel, who’s a stargazer during the summer months.
“The flicker will certainly be a disappointment,” she said.
Crawford didn’t expect much co-operation from Enbridge at their Wednesday meeting with company representatives, and the result was no more than what they expected.
Carol Clark, a Kincardine resident on Bruce Concession 12, said their two main requests for a full, voluntary environmental assessment (EA) and a time extension for further review of the screening report beyond the May 19 deadline, were denied at the meeting.
In response to this, WAG members will be writing letters and are requesting area residents to write to the Ministry of Environment asking for a mandatory elevation to a full EA.
“We think this process is being pushed along faster than we would like,” Clark said. “The timeline being imposed to review and digest this information is rather tight. If they were seeking genuine public input, they would have accepted the 60-day extension.”
But Lawler said the project screening report demonstrates that the project is of value to the area and the province, so a full EA is unnecessary. She said the screening report is one phase of an on-going environmental screening program throughout the project.
“Certainly we have every intention of having an environmentally sound project,” Lawler said, adding that their experts will be meeting with individual WAG members to pin-point and address each issue directly. “From this we can understand and incorporate their concerns into future documentation. By listening to people’s concerns we will create a better project.”
Clark said when it came to asking questions of Enbridge representatives, WAG didn’t get the impression Enbridge wanted questions asked of them.
“That wasn’t the way they received us initially,” she said.
WAG did point out an error in the screening report, which Enbridge acknowledged, listing the project area as 35,000-acres, which has since been increased to 45,000. This brings the project closer to Kincardine from Con. 4 and 5 to Con. 1 and 2.
“We expanded the project boundary and failed to change the literature,” Lawler said. “We had no intention of misleading anyone.”
But Lawler said the opposite of Clark’s claim about questions being asked.
“They were reluctant to get into specific questions,” she said.
Lawler said Enbridge will continue to work with WAG and other concerned individuals to make sure concerns are addressed.
The 121 turbines will produce 200 megawatts of electricity during peak performance, with the project covering a 45,000-acre radius. It will provide up to 300 construction jobs and five to 10 permanent positions, providing enough electricity for about 70,000 homes.
Enbridge will pay out a total of $300,000 in municipal taxes each year and $300,000 in lease payments to property owners.