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Wind farm proposal gets green light
private properties within an area bounded by Highway 417, County Road 22, and Conces- sion Road 5. A transmission line would connect with the distribution connection in Champlain Township linked with the provincial elec- trical grid. The proposed wind farm would be capable of a combined production of 40 megawatts of electricity. Steve Dick, a retired mechanical engi- neer living near Lemieux in The Nation, is a spokesman for Save the Nation. He also described the IESO approval as «extremely disappointing» and that Premier Kathleen Wynne, local MPP Grant Crack, and other provincial officials «have lost all credibility» because of alleged promises during the last provincial election that communities which declared themselves as «unwilling hosts» would not be forced to accept wind farm in their areas. But Bob Chiarelli, provincial energy minister, indicated in reports to media that municipal officials are misreading what the government stated. During a legisla- tive committee session in 2013, Chiarelli stated it would be almost impossible for wind turbine project to go into a community
«without some significant engagement.» But theminister later explained that did not mean a veto power. «We will not give a veto, and no jurisdic- tion gives a veto to a municipality on any kind of public infrastructure,» Chiarelli sta- ted. «That should have been clear to them.» Each wind project still needs separate environmental approvals as part of the appli- cation process. Dick indicated that Save the Nation is not finished opposing the Gauthier wind farm proposal. «The story doesn’t end,» he said. «The community is rallying once again. We know some of the landowners who signed agreements (with RES) are having second thoughts. Without the landowners on its side, a project can’t proceed.» Save the Nationwill now focus on convin- cing landowners, who have agreements to allowRES and Sierra Nevada Power to set up wind turbines on their holdings, to revoke those deals. Dick expressed confidence that the loss of a large enough number of agree- ments will make it impossible for the project to go ahead. «A number of those owners have already consulted us for information,» he said. complaints from mayors and councils for both municipalities and others. Both com- munities had declared themselves “unwil- ling hosts” and were under the impression that self-proclaimed designation would exempt them from having to accept wind farm projects. MPP Crack said the IESO did consider local support and “unwilling host” desi- gnations during its review of wind farm applications but that was just one part of the overall process and did not mean auto- matic rejection of an application. He also noted that provincial govern- ment’s application process for all current alternative energy projects is still ongoing with environmental assessment and other issues to consider now.
GREGG CHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
So far the chance of a wind farm in the St. Isidore village area is lookingmore certain all the time.Themayor forThe Nationmu- nicipality feels betrayed by Queen’s Park Three “green” energy projects proposed for the Five Counties region have received application approvals from the provincial government through the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) agen- cy. They include wind farms proposed for North Stormont and The Nation munici- palities. The Gauthier wind park project of Renewable Energy Systems Canada (RES), based inMontréal, and Sierra Nevada Power (Ontario) Ltd. has blown up some ill will among bothThe Nation municipal council and a local grassroots protest group, Save the Nation. «Disappointed,» saidMayor François St- Amour when asked for comment during a
WINDTURBINESmay be part of the future landscape view for residents around St. Isidore, thanks to provincial approval of a wind farm application. —photo archives phone interview. “We’ve declared ourselves an unwilling host.” St-Amour added that the provincial go- vernment’s green energy policy overrides municipal authority and concerns regarding land use and planning.The one hope left for The Nation now is whether themunicipality can influence the project developers during the next phase of the planning process before actual construction begins. “We’ll soon find out,” said St-Amour. The Gauthier wind park proposal fea- tures up to 15 wind turbines, located on
MPP defends decision process
GREGG CHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
A misunderstanding is how MPP Grant Crack explains the response to wind farm application approvals in the Five Counties region. The Liberal representative for Glengarry- Prescott-Russell explained during a phone interview March 14 that the IESO decision to approve two wind farmproposals forThe Nation Municipality and South Stormont Township considered a number of factors but the final decision was based on supply cost for electricity for the provincial grid. “It is unfortunate there’s been some misunderstanding,” Crack said, regarding
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Workplace safety report for school district Upper Canada District School Board trustees (UCDSB) received a reminder that the district must keep working on its own workplace safety record. Dennis Koluk, UCDSB health and safety specialist, reported the number of accident claims filed last year with the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board totalled 118 compared to 90 in the previous year. Koluk noted the district still has a lower-than-average overall accident rate compared to other school districts its size in Ontario. He recommended continued emphasis on workplace safety inspections, with a focus on reducing potential incidents involving slips, falls, and tripping, along with continued training for on-site safety inspections of schools and other district facilities. He also recommended updating health and safety programs to meet current provincial guidelines for chemical management and workplace violence prevention, and continuing to improve safety in technology education programs through purchase of standardized and updated safety tools and other equipment. – Gregg Chamberlain
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