The draft zoning bylaw threatens the hard-won fight to keep wind turbines out of the County, says the Alliance to Protect Prince Edward County. 

The Alliance spearheaded the fight against the White Pines Wind Farm – a green energy project of 29 wind turbines, then later 9 turbines, planned and partly installed in South Marysburgh. 

APPEC fought the $100 million project, a Liberal government initiative with Toronto-based renewable energy company WPD Canada, in a five-year court battle that only ended when Doug Ford took office in 2018. 

The siting of wind turbines and green power generation facilities had been a matter for Queen’s Park — but Ford’s Green Energy Repeal Act restored decision-making power to municipalities, and in the process canceled 758 renewable energy contracts across the province, including White Pines.

At a Draft Comprehensive Zoning Bylaw Open House in Picton on September 17,  APPEC member Liz Driver noted the new bylaw retained provisions from 2006, when turbines and wind farms were in their infancy in Canada. “These provisions need to take account of the years of research and scientific study since then,” argued Driver. 

The minimum setback for a turbine should be 550 metres from the nearest habitable dwelling, as set out in Ontario’s Environmental Protection Act. The County’s draft bylaw states the minimum setback must be just 46 metres to 183 metres from the nearest dwelling.

“There is no awareness in the zoning bylaw of what’s happened in the past ten to fifteen years,” she said, referring to a table entitled “Provisions for Wind Turbines” in Section 3.38 of the Draft.

“We have concerns with the location, setbacks and siting of wind turbines,” she said. She asked for refinements to the provisions for turbines consistent with those laid out by the Government of Ontario. 

“The Green Energy Repeal Act revoked industrial wind turbines,” noted Ms. Driver. “But the wind energy regime in Ontario is coming back.” The provincial government anticipates a doubling in demand for energy by 2050. In August, the government said it will reinvest in renewables by incentivizing projects in northern Ontario, and unlocking Crown lands for development. It will avoid putting turbines on  farmland.

The County’s Official Plan must be amended to keep step with provincial policy. If the province allows wind turbines, in other words, the County may have to as well. Zoning will be an essential tool.

“The fear is that the zoning bylaw is black and white,” said Ms. Driver.

Michael Michaud, Manger of Planning, agreed, noting, “zoning is black and white. The breadth and ideas and scope of policy are all in the Official Plan. When a site plan comes forward, that’s when we can bring other factors to bear on the black and white of zoning.”

Ms. Driver suggested a separate bylaw to govern wind turbines, similar to the separate bylaw created for STAs.

Wind turbines can be a threat to birds and animals, and may have mild effects on human health, such as sleep disturbance and noise exposure. The World Health Organization recommends keeping noise exposure from turbines to below 45 decibels. The Audubon Society, an American nonprofit that supports birds and bird habitats, supports wind energy, but only “if the turbines are properly sited and located.”

Ms. Driver was confident the draft zoning bylaw project team understood the Alliance’s concerns about wind turbine provisions and would take a closer look at the current zoning as well as compare it to what is happening in other municipalities.