HomeMy WebLinkAboutLakeshore Advance, 2012-11-07, Page 2510 Lakeshore Advance • Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Wind debate blows into Bluewater
Vanessa Brown
Clinton News Record
Members and supporters of Bluewater
Against Turbines (BAT) packed the council
gallery to standing -room only last week for a
plea from the group's president that council
fight for the health and safety of its residents
and lobby for longer setbacks from homes
than the current 530 metres.
"We do not want these turbines - we don't
want them ever, to be quite frank," stressed
BAT president Dave Griffiths. "And if this so-
called government -for -the -people manages
to shove them down our throats, as they seem
to be so good at, I am asking our council to
please, please ask for longer setbacks from
your citizens."
Griffiths's delegation at Bluewater council
last Monday came on the heels of a presenta-
tion from employees of NextEra Energy Can-
ada, which is developing two wind energy
projects that, if approved by the Ministry of
Environment next year, would see about 60
turbines erected in Bluewater.
Mayor Bill Dowson, deputy mayor Paul
Klopp and Hay East Councillor John Becker
declared conflicts of interest and didn't par-
ticipate in discussions.
Like neighbouring anti -turbine groups
Central Huron Against Turbines and Huron
East Against Turbines, Griffiths's deputation
criticized the provincial Liberals for their han-
dling of the Green Energy Act, outlined sev-
eral European countries' wind -farm failures
economically, and implored council to be
cognizant that signing lease agreements with
a developer pits "family member against fam-
ily member, neighbour against neighbour,"
while causing unrelenting civil unrest.
In July, NextEra received feed -in -tariff con-
tracts, which authorize the company to sell
power to the grid, for the 60 megawatt, 37 tur-
bine Bluewater Wind Energy Centre and the
Goshen Wind Energy Centre project,
described as a 102 megawatt project with 63
turbines, one third of which will be located in
Bluewater.
At this stage, project director Nicole Geneau
and community relations consultant Derek
Dudek visited council for a project update in
advance of three public meetings scheduled
for the first week in December. A drop-in cen-
tre will be held at the Zurich Community
Centre on Dec. 6 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. A pub-
lic meeting will be held Dec. 7 in Varna that
will focus on the Goshen project, which
extends into South Huron. The next day, on
Dec. 8, a third meeting will run in Seaforth to
discuss the Bluewater project, which needs a
transmission line running through Huron
East to Seaforth's transition station.
"This past summer, we also reached out to
a number of local community organizations,
and we've been making presentations to local
chambers of commerce," Geneau said. "We've
been trying to take that feedback into account
in our project design."
She said a draft layout that will include the
locations of turbines will be available to the
public the first week of December. The Minis-
try of Environment mandates a certain
number of public meetings must be held dur-
ing the renewable energy approval (REA)
process. NextEra has hosted extra consulta-
tion sessions, such as meeting with chambers
of commerce and the all -day Dec. 6 session,
that are optional, Geneau noted.
If the Ministry of Environment Issues the
company renewable energy approvals, which
are expected next year, construction should
begin in spring 2013. The turbines will then
be operational before the end of that year.
According to Geneau, the projects will cre-
ate about 400 temporary construction jobs -
positions NextEra will be looking to fill locally.
Once the turbines go online, 14 to 18 perma-
nent jobs in operations and management will
be retained with an operations centre located
either in Bluewater or South Huron, Geneau
said.
She added that the construction teams will
benefit the local economy by frequenting res-
taurants and auto shops, among others.
Because Bluewater will see less than half of
the estimated $148,000 NextEra assumes it
will pay in taxes on the turbines each year
(the rest goes to the province and county) the
company will commit to a community
vibrancy fund for such things as recreational
activities, tourism, and community projects
to be controlled by Bluewater. Geneau said
the company is looking to contribute about
$3,500 per megawatt and $5,000 per kilome-
tre of transmission line that's located under-
neath public spaces. Based on those figures,
NextEra would pay Bluewater as much as
$435,500 annually.
During question period, Hay West Coun.
John Gillespie said anecdotal evidence is cir-
culating that property values decrease in
areas with wind turbines. He asked how land-
owners and the municipality would be com-
pensated if turbines drove house values
down.
Studies have shown agricultural property
values in southwestern Ontario are actually
increasing despite turbines being erected,
Geneau countered.
She said property value reductions aren't
the company's responsibility and that Nex-
tEra hasn't experienced declining land values
near any of its turbines.
"Right. But that's not to say they won't, and
that's not to say that you shouldn't have any
contingency plan in place in case they do,"
Gillespie said. "But I think we've gotten your
response, which is it's not your problem."
On the issue of the costs of decommission-
ing a turbine once it's reached its end of life,
Zurich Coun. Janisse Zimmerman asked how
Bluewater can ensure NextEra will remove
the turbines.
Decommissioning is one of four reports the
developing company includes in its REA
application, and is a legal document, Geneau
said, adding that it's written into lease con-
tracts with landowners that they won't be
responsible for paying for them to be
dismantled.
Coun. Zimmerman, however, didn't appear
to be convinced.
"It's great to have reports expressing what's
going to be done and how you're going to do
it, but how do we guarantee it? What happens
if you don't carry through with anything?" she
questioned. "I'm sure your contract would be
cancelled by the province, but you come to
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