Enniskillen is taking a second look at its rules around wind turbines.

The township was one of many which declared it didn’t want the turbines when then the Ontario Liberal government introduced the Green Energy Act. It made it more difficult to turn the projects down. 

Critics had a laundry list of issues with the program including the lack of control municipal governments had over the planning of the projects, the amount of farm land they used, the amount of steel and cement used to build them and the illnesses some people linked to the low level sound created by their operation. 

Recently, Wind Concerns Ontario reviewed all the bylaws across the province and around the world regulating the placement of them. It has concluded the turbines should be no closer than two kilometres from all buildings, including homes and schools.

“We believe this is a reasonable compromise and is more likely to be protective of health and safety than the current Ontario government setback of 550 meters which is unchanged since 2009,” says WCO President Jane Wilson in a letter to the council.

“The Ontario government pledged to monitor research around the world and revise regulations as required, but this has not occurred,” she says adding the province did give municipalities more power to site the wind turbines but did not give them any guidance as to what the new zoning bylaws should look like.

Wind Concerns Ontario says it is particularly important for municipalities to look at the issue since wind companies, which are now limited from setting up new projects, are repowering existing turbines.

Enniskillen Clerk Duncan McTavish says that could become a problem for some municipalities. “The people owning them will likely try to increase the capacity of the turbines, rather than putting up more new ones in those cases that we trying to rebuild them so that they produce twice or three times the amount of electricity from the same site.”

Enniskillen didn’t end up with any turbine sites, McTavish told council Monday, because the local power grid couldn’t accept anymore power. “There is today capacity within the grid to plug them in,” he said.

McTavish suggested it might be the right time for Enniskillen to review its rules around turbines since he’s heard there are developers considering projects in Chatham-Kent.

McTavish says since the changes to the Green Energy Act in 2019, “there is a greater potential for slowing things down” but it is still difficult to stop any projects at the municipal level.

Councillor Mary-Lynne McCallum wanted the municipality to have Planner Rob Nesbitt to take a look a the bylaw regulating wind turbines in Enniskillen and make some recommendations. 

Council agreed to the move.

Enniskillen is taking a second look at its rules around wind turbines.

The township was one of many which declared it didn’t want the turbines when then the Ontario Liberal government introduced the Green Energy Act. It made it more difficult to turn the projects down. 

Critics had a laundry list of issues with the program including the lack of control municipal governments had over the planning of the projects, the amount of farm land they used, the amount of steel and cement used to build them and the illnesses some people linked to the low level sound created by their operation. 

Recently, Wind Concerns Ontario reviewed all the bylaws across the province and around the world regulating the placement of them. It’s concluded the turbines should be no closer than two kilometres from all buildings, including homes and schools.

“We believe this is a reasonable compromise and is more likely to be protective of health and safety than the current Ontario government setback of 550 meters which is unchanged since 2009,” says WCO President Jane Wilson in a letter to the council.

“The Ontario government pledged to monitor research around the world and revise regulations as required, but this has not occurred,” she says adding the province did give municipalities more power to site the wind turbines but did not give them any guidance as to what the new zoning bylaws should look like.

Wind Concerns Ontario says it is particularly important for municipalities to look at the issue since wind companies, which are now limited from setting up new projects, are repowering existing turbines.

Enniskillen Clerk Duncan McTavish says that could become a problem for some municipalities. “The people owning them will likely try to increase the capacity of the turbines, rather than putting up more new ones in those cases that we trying to rebuild them so that they produce twice or three times the amount of electricity from the same site.”

Enniskillen didn’t end up with any turbine sites, McTavish told council Monday, because the local power grid couldn’t accept anymore power. “There is today capacity within the grid to plug them in,” he said.

McTavish suggested it might be the right time for Enniskillen to review its rules around turbines since he’s heard there are developers considering projects in Chatham-Kent.

McTavish says since the changes to the Green Energy Act in 2019, “there is a greater potential for slowing things down” but it is still difficult to stop any projects at the municipal level.

Councillor Mary-Lynne McCallum wanted the municipality to have Planner Rob Nesbitt to take a look a the bylaw regulating wind turbines in Enniskillen and make some recommendations. 

Council agreed to the move.