While concerns with well water quality drew much of the attention, other issues were raised by local residents at a public meeting Tuesday for the Otter Creek Wind Farm project.
Kareen Springett, who lives near the Chatham-Kent-Lambton County border and within the site-line of the 19 new wind turbines being proposed for north of Wallaceburg, said the province doesn’t need any more electricity.
“Ontario, and we have known this for many, many years, have been producing so much electricity,” she said.
“An over abundance and they have been selling it for like cents to other provinces and to the United States and why do we need more electricity. The answer would be we do not and we do not need it here in this pristine hinterland of Toronto. Put the wind turbines in Kathleen Wynne’s neighbourhood. Wouldn’t she love that.”
Monte McNaughton, MPP in Lambton-Kent-Middlesex and a member of the Progressive Conservative Party, told the Sydenham Current he has been fighting the development of wind turbine projects in Ontario since he was elected five years ago.
“I am hearing overwhelming opposition to the Otter Creek project and to further wind turbine projects in the area,” he said.
“There are a number of concerns. One, energy bills keep going up in the province. I know that every time wind turbines are built it is going to cost more money to people at home and farm operations and small businesses. I am continuing to take this fight to Queen’s Park. I think we need to stop building turbines all together in the province.”
McNaughton said Ontario is over producing energy by 30%.
“We are spending billions of dollars to have the United States and neighbouring jurisdictions take the excess electricity,” he said.
“It makes no economic sense.”
McNaughton added he feels the Otter Creek project is already a done deal.
“The Liberal Government has certainly approved this project,” he said. “They have approved I think over a hundred renewable projects in the last number of weeks. It is a government out of touch. I urge the people to continue the fight.”
Adam Rosso, director of project development in Ontario for Boralex, said the entire purpose of Tuesday’s meeting was the answer questions and gather feedback.
“The whole purpose of tonight is to understand what people’s concerns are,” he said.
“Obviously water quality is one of those, but you know you have concerns around turbine siting and natural environment and sound. We take all of that information back. We essentially analyze it with our consultants and work within our ultimate position of our turbines to understand and address all of the concerns they might have.”
Rosso added: “The whole purpose of this meeting is to accumulate those comments from members of the public, put it in to the development machine and propose something at our second open house that reflects what we believe to be a lay out that minimizes the impact of the natural environment and to the community.”
Rosso said they are going through currently is the renewable energy process.
“The first public open house that we had was essentially informing the public that we are thinking of doing a project in the area,” he said.
“The purpose of that meeting was to cover off a process called the ‘LRP’ process which is the Large Renewable Procurement process in Ontario which was a provincial program to essentially compete for power of purchasing.
Rosso added: “So the announcement that you heard a few months ago was ‘hey, Otter Creek Wind farm, the wind farm that Boralex and RES, Walpole and hopefully Chatham-Kent are co-owning, will be a project that ultimately gets built. It is an over arching provincial permit that allows renewable energy projects to continue through the developing process and ultimately get to construction.”
Background
The project is to be located all within Chatham-Kent, just north of Wallaceburg.
The project would generally be bounded by Stewart Line and McCreary Line to the south, Whitebread Line and Kent Line west of Mandaumin Road to the north, Mandaumin Road to the east, and Payne Road to the west (see graphic.)
It was announced in March that the project had received provincial support.
Renewable Energy Systems Canada Inc. (RES) and its partner Boralex Inc. announced they have been selected by the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) and awarded a contract for the 50 MW Otter Creek Wind Farm Project.
The companies stated they have obtained the support of Walpole Island First Nation, who is slated to have a 10.5% ownership stake in the project.
RES will own 51%, while Boralex will own 38.5%.
The Municipality of Chatham-Kent has also put their support behind the project and has been granted an option to participate in the project up to 15% of the limited partnership interests following commercial operation.
Municipality of Chatham Kent means Hope and the councillors . The people of Chatham Kent DO NOT want these wind turbines. Just another way for Wynndbag to line her pockets and Randy Hope to line his. People are getting tired of paying more for hydro, when province sells it instead of giving the consumers the breaks.