Wind farm developer Shear Wind Inc. of Bedford received approval to install 14 turbines in Antigonish County on Tuesday night, despite opposition from residents living near the project in Pictou County.
Antigonish County council unanimously approved rezoning of nine properties between McArras Brook and Browns Mountain from a general use zone to a wind development zone, said Coun. Mary MacLellan, who represents the area where the turbines will be located.
Before council’s vote, residents of Pictou County came to a public meeting raising concerns about the noise of whirring blades and property valuations on Tuesday. There were also residents from Antigonish who supported the project, said MacLellan.
Shear Wind is proposing to build a 30-turbine project, called the Glen Dhu wind farm, located along the boundary of Pictou and Antigonish counties. The company wants to install 14 in Antigonish County and the remainder near Baileys Brook, Pictou County.
Donald Brown of Glen Dhu Road, Baileys Brook, retired to the area eight years ago from Toronto for the "view and the solitude."
He opposes Shear Wind’s $150-million wind development project, which is scheduled to start producing enough electricity to power 17,500 homes by the end of this year.
"I have great fears that the turbines will interfere with our lives," said the 81-year-old retired businessman on Wednesday.
From his retirement home, he and his wife Helen will be able to see eight of the proposed 30 turbines. The turbines will be located within 1.5 kilometres of their residence.
Brown, who attended Tuesday night’s public meeting, is not disappointed Antigonish council approved the rezoning as the project meets local zoning regulations.
But he is concerned that new information regarding the health effects of wind turbines and the appropriate distance between turbines and homes is being ignored.
He said he hopes the Environment and Health departments keep informed about new standards for how far turbines should be located from a residence and other related health issues.
"My feeling is that Shear Wind hides behind the Department of Environment’s approval, and they’ve made their decision and won’t consider any new information," said Brown.
Shear Wind received provincial environmental approval for the 60-megawatt electricity project last February.
In Pictou County, wind turbines must be 600 metres from the nearest home. Antigonish adopted regulations last summer requiring the setback to be one kilometre, or 1,000 metres.
Also, Pictou County bylaws do not require the rezoning of land proposed for wind turbines. Proponents there can get permits for wind projects as long as they meet the county’s setback.
MacLellan says she understands the concerns of Pictou County residents but said the 14 turbines to be erected in Antigonish County will not affect any residents in her county.
"It is not our job to re-evaluate the problems in Pictou County," said MacLellan.
"Each wind development is unique. The component of the farm that is going into Antigonish County is going into an area where there are no residents in close proximity, it is not along the coastline and not ruining anyone’s view."
Glen Dhu was supposed to be operating by now, but Shear Wind was unable to secure financing for the capital-intensive project until late last year when Inveravante, a privately held Spanish utility conglomerate, bought a 62 per cent stake in Shear Wind for $27 million.
At Shear Wind’s annual meeting in Halifax last week, shareholders raised concerns about the financing of the project and when the turbines would be purchased.
Company president Mike Magnus said a decision on long-term financing will be made by the end of the first quarter of this year, and the company is in negotiations with three wind turbine suppliers. A decision is to be reached within four weeks.
Shear Wind officials could not be reached Wednesday.
Shares in the company were down three cents Wednesday, closing at 22 cents a share on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
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