Summerside Council heard resident's concerns last night and agreed to postpone a vote on zoning parts of the city that would allow turbines as close as 400m from residences. Just as we told our Councilors, they are not opposed to wind turbines, but they should not be located too close to residences.
Spokesperson, Keith Tanton asked Council to consider that they consider the setback used by countries with a long history of wind energy that have increased their setbacks away from residences. He cited that Germany, a country with a high population density and with the world's greatest number of turbines, has setbacks of 1.6km.
Perhaps with some new Councilors at Cumberland County, there's a chance that the dozens of people who sent their concerns to Council 1.5 years ago will also now be heard.
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http://www.cbc.ca/canada/prince-edward-island/story/2008/10/21/pe-sside-windmills.html
Residents' concerns delay vote on wind farm
Summerside city council has decided to wait a month before voting on a wind-energy farm planned for the western P.E.I. city.
Council was set Monday night to make the changes needed to rezone a part of the city for turbines, but people living near the proposed wind farm were able to temporarily push back plans. Some of the about 40 residents at the meeting were clearly angry about the proposal.
"Now we're getting windmills? Like, what the," said Roland Perry. "I better stop. Thank you very much."
Keith Tanton, official spokesperson for the group, said council needs to reconsider plans for the wind farm in the North Drive area of Summerside.
"There seems to be a huge rush to chase the money surrounding wind energy, but please remember this project will forever change our community," said Tanton.
"Before you spend millions of dollars on a wind farm, let's make sure you get it right."
Provincial guidelines require a buffer zone for wind turbines — no homes within a distance equal to three times its height. In this case, that's 400 metres. The four turbines proposed for Summerside would meet that requirement, but Tanton points to Europe, where buffer zones of 1.5 to two kilometres are in place.
After hearing the residents' arguments, Coun. Garth Lyle, asked that the vote be postponed for a month.
"I think for the slowdown this is going to cause, it's also going to give peace of mind to the residents in the area that we're not going to ram this through, and that they're going to be looking at windmills before they even have a further say on the situation," said Lyle.
Council asked city staff to research the health effects of wind turbines so they can make an informed decision when the matter comes back for a vote next month.
The wind project in Summerside is part of the city's plan for the local utility, and separate from a $1 billion wind-energy development plan announced by the province on Friday.
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From yesterday's Journal Pioneer:
Wind turbine opponents to make pitch to council tonight
STAFF
The Journal Pioneer
Keith Tanton and a delegation of concerned neighbours want Summerside City Council to reconsider plans to build a new windfarm development in the city’s North Drive area.
Tanton, representing his parents who live in the area, and other residents opposed to the development, will be appearing before council at tonight’s meeting, beginning at 6:30 p.m.
There are simply too many health and property issues for the plan to go ahead in its present form, said Tanton.
Minimum setback distances for wind turbines in countries such as France range from 1.6 km to two km., he said.
The distances being considered by the City in its plan are 400 to 500 metres, “less than a third” of recommended distances, said Tanton.
“I’ve also confirmed that Germany, with more wind turbines than any other country, has a setback of 1.6 km.”
In other jurisdictions where giant wind farms have taken root, including parts of the Island, residents have complained of sleep problems, headaches, dizziness and other health issues, he said.
Residents within the 2 km. area proposed for Summerside's development number in the hundreds, estimated Tanton.
“I am asking Mayor and Council not to vote in favour of the proposed rezoning. Please revisit the selection process and come up with a plan that does not situate this development in an area that will impact residents,” wrote Tanton, in a recent letter to council.
http://www.journalpioneer.com/index.cfm?sid=181862&sc=118
1 comment:
This item made me go looking for the health issues and setbacks mentioned . Everything was circular and no primary documentation was uncovered by various searches.
All enquiries about the "syndrom" lead to Nina Pierpoint. Apparently noone else is publishing . She has released her book, which I havent read, but it seems that her whole case is based on 10 houses world wide. This miniscule sample sure makes the PEI tourism study look definitive.
Setbacks in Holland, Germany, California are characterised as 1.6 to 2 km. No original information was found: anti-wind sites use these figures but there are no news reports, press releases or studies available contain this information. This site is one of the references Google found, but like the others the statements were unsourced.
California, I found, has different setbacks county by county. While one county may have a 1.6 km setback others have 400 m. It is no more honest to say California has a 1.6 km setback than it is to say it's 400m. As anyone who attended he special Cumberland Council information meeting knows 2different sources said that Germany uses a sound level to determine setback. No particular distance is used. Some turbines are as close to residents as 400m because at that distance there is no problematic noise.
While seaching, I came across 2 articles by Eric Curren (the bizzare dance of wind power).While I wonder about the nuclear lobby supporting anti-wind sentiment he presents the links between right wing think tanks and anti-wind websites. The Heartland Institute who engaged in the delaying tactics used by big tobacco publish rather questionable article about bird kills. With the Cato Institute, the ties between global warming denial and anti-wind politics is seen . These 2 think tanks have funding ties to tobacco as well as oil, coal and nucler power. Mr. Curren sees local protesters as people of good will but deplores the influence the Heartland Institute et al have on the debate.
In West Virginia, Tucker County Tourism officials think wind farms are good for tourism " only 1 or 2 out of a hundred complain". Next door in Preston County, Cannan Realty says that a local wind farm as had no efeect on property values.
Mr Curren describes a 5 year US study in which all houses sales within 5 miles of all wind farms over 10 megs were tracked. Prices were mostly stable, losses weren't a problem and in some areas prices rose
When Summerside staff research these allegations, they will find problems. The whole of this anti-wind protest will then be credibility challenged.
John McManus
John
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