Wind Storm

Residents angry over wind farm project
SARAH REGAN
The News, New Glasgow
18 September 2008

LISMORE – Tempers ran high as roughly 40 residents showed up at a public information session last night to oppose the development of a wind farm in Bailey's Brook.

One by one residents filed into the Lismore Community Centre. They pulled up a chair and waited for the show to begin.

"I'm not leaving until I get answers," said Linda McCallum.

However, many homeowners left the session two hours later none the wiser.

Their anger was amplified when they realized no representative from Shear Wind Inc, the company responsible for the project, was at the open house.

Fulton Energy Research, the company hired by Shear Wind Inc. to document the environmental assessment, was on hand, as well as a former regional biologist and an environmental scientist.
While they were able to answer questions concerning how 30 turbines will affect butterflies and eagles, they weren't able to comment on how the farm will affect residents of the area.

"This thing is going to go ahead and nobody cares what I have to say," says McCallum.
Shear Wind Inc. is proposing to construct a 60-mega watt wind energy park near Barney's River Station in Pictou and Antigonish counties. Shear Wind Inc. anticipates construction will begin in 2009 and the park will be fully operational by 2010.

Once developed, this wind park has the potential of providing power for approximately 50,000 homes per year.

Kristen Overmyer was just one the residents to show up at the open house to raise concern over the project.

Overmyer says his home on Brown's Mountain will be 640 metres from the closest turbine.
The mechanical engineer says he has conducted weeks of research, studying bylaws and conducting audiology tests using a similar wind turbine on Fitzpatrick Mountain.

For those who think wind turbines emit little to no noise, Overmyer says think again. One day, he says he measured the sound coming from the turbine at 43 decibels.

"Sometimes, when the wind is high, it sounds like a jet aircraft. Other times it emits a low thumping, the sound sneakers make when tumbling in the dryer. Either way, it's annoying, like someone continually poking at you."

McCallum said many of the homeowners in the area feel "deceived" by Shear Wind Inc.
When the project was announced in April, Mike Magnus, president and CEO of Shear Wind Inc., told The News 95 per cent of the turbines are located three to four kilometers away from the closest residence.

But Lisa Fulton of Fulton Energy Research says that is not the case. The closest home will likely be 680 metres from the turbines.

"Plans change," she said.

Overmyer says the company hasn't given the public enough time to react, putting residents at a disadvantage. The deadline to submit a concern to Nova Scotia Environment is Friday.

"I personally admit that more could have been done to inform the public, but we did what we could with the information we had," says Tom Windeyer, a senior environmental scientist with Stantec Consulting.

Another public open house will take place tonight from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Lismore Community Centre, Lismore.

http://www.ngnews.ca/index.cfm?sid=172429&sc=49