HomeMy WebLinkAboutLakeshore Advance, 2013-10-02, Page 2524 Lakeshore Advance • Wednesday, October 2, 2013
ADVERTISEMEN'I'
d Be
Wind Farm
nity News
Gord Potts
Director Business Development
and Project Manager
Grand Bend Wind Farm for
Northland Power Inc.
Residents should
feel secure
knowing that their
municipally elected
officials are keeping
their long-term
interests in mind.
•
Building Permit Fees
for Wind Farms
To build any type of energy project in Ontario, there are a number
of processes that must be followed. Such processes are put in
place to ensure that all projects follow a clear, transparent set of
steps, and that the companies developing the projects are held
accountable for completing all project requirements; it also ensures
that de ;elopers can plan and finance projects appropriately.
Ontario municipalities with wind farms in development
or construction must follow the standard building permit
process as established in the Ontario Building At t and Code.
These regulations must be followed when setting fees for any
construction project, including wind farms, for which building
permits and fees are primarily related to the work required to
excavate and pour the concrete banes for the turbines.
One of the requirements for municipalities when setting permit
fees, is that they "must not exceed the ant is ipated reasonable
costs to administer and to enforce' the Building Ac t, in its
respective jurisdiction. To that end, at its August .rith meeting,
Bluewater Council approved a building permit fee of $14,000 per
turbine. With approximately 90 turbines being erected in the
municipality of Bluewater,(by Northland and others), this works
out to $1.16 million.
The Corporation of the Municipality of Itluewater describes in their
bylaw how the building permit fees ate determined:"...Fees for an
application, fees for any required permits and fees for maintenance
inspections shall be deemed to have been calculated on the basis of
full cost recovery for the building service and shall inc lode both the
direct and indirect costs of the administration and enforcement of
the Act... this shall include plan review, field inspections, clerical
support .and overhead costs of the building dep.utmem and other
building department related support services."'
Some cornnaunity members had previously requested that the
building permits take into account the cost of decommissioning
the turbines. Decommissioning refers to the process of
dismantling the wind farm once it ceases operation, and
returning the land to its original state. Some had expressed
concern that once the Grand Bend Wind 1 arm ceases operation,
Intelligent energy for a greener planet
http://grandbend.north%andpower.ca
by Gord Potts
the turbines would be left standing, creating an obligation for
the municipality to remove them at its expense.
At the Grand Bend Wind Farm, the Siemens turbines that will
be used have a typical operational lifespan of 20 — 25 years.
When the time comes, we will execute our decommissioning
plan; a requirement of any successful Renewable Energy Approval
application. It includes:
• Ensuring access roads will be modified back to construction
phase standards;
• Dismantling and removal of the wind turbines using a crane;
• Removal of electrical system;
• Removal of foundat ions and access roads not requested for
future purposes;
• Replacement of removed material with clean topsoil; and,
• I nsuring there are minimal environmental impacts related to
decommissioning activities.'
On top of this prerequisite, the municipality of Bluewater will
require all developers to provide an assessment of the scrap
value of the wind farm, as well as an assessment of the cost to
decommission the wind farm, every five years. These assessments
will be done by .1 third party, and if the scrap value is Tess than the
estimated deccrnaa1issioning cost, the wind company will be required
to post the difference in a letter of credit. This requirement would
also apply to any future owners of the wind (aria.'
Uric Gillespie, the Municipality of Bluewater's lawyer, stated
that this is "till. best piece of legislation that has been before a
municipal count it .anywhere".' Residents of Itluewater should feel
secure knowing that their mimic ipally elected officials are listening
to their concerns .and keeping their long-term interests in mind. I'd
like to assure you that we are, as well. As always, please contact me
at grandbendenorthlandpower.ca with your questions.
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