Smooth sailing is predicted for a proposed wind farm in Antigonish County, even though it ran into trouble with Pictou County residents.
Coun. Mary MacLellan expects Antigonish County council will soon approve Shear Wind Inc.’s application to rezone nine properties between McArras Brook and Browns Mountain, Antigonish County, from a general use zone to a wind development zone.
The approval would allow the construction of the 14 wind turbines to go ahead.
"I support the project and most people I’ve heard from do as well. The project meets all the criteria for rezoning," MacLellan said Tuesday.
The development is part of a 30-turbine, $170-million project, called the Glen Dhu wind farm. It is located along the boundary between Pictou and Antigonish counties. The remainder of the turbines will be built near Baileys Brook, Pictou County.
MacLellan, who represents the area in Antigonish County where the turbines will be located, said she supports the project because it will provide the municipality with increased tax revenues, 10 full-time jobs and other employment opportunities during the development and construction phase of the project.
Antigonish County council will hold a public hearing next Tuesday on the proposed rezoning.
A staff report, given to council in December, is recommending the rezoning be approved because the project meets all local bylaw requirements for wind development, including a one kilometre distance between the turbines and local homes. The closest dwelling to a turbine would be about 1.1 kilometres away.
She said council could vote on rezoning the land immediately after the Tuesday night’s public meeting but a vote will depend on whether the public raises any concerns.
"It’s important the public have an opportunity to find out exactly what is planned," she said.
There has been opposition to the project in Pictou County. Residents there believe the wind turbines will be built too close to homes.
MacLellan said she watched what happened in Pictou County closely. She believes there wasn’t enough public consultation in that county and its regulation that a turbine be a minimum of 600-metre away from a home was controversial.
Last month Shear Wind held an open house in Antigonish County to show where the 14 turbines being built in that county will be located. About 60 people attended the event.
John Bain, the regional planning director for Antigonish County, said the numbers that turned out for that meeting were much higher than for other meetings the county has held on wind development. As an example, he pointed to a meeting Antigonish County council held that only attracted two people. That meeting was held to update residents on the bylaw that created the 1,000 metre setback for wind turbines
Unlike Antigonish County, Bain said Pictou County’s bylaws do not require the rezoning of land proposed for wind turbines and proponents there can get permits for wind projects as long as they meet that county’s setback requirement.
"On the Antigonish side . . . for a utility scale wind turbine they need to go through the rezoning process," he said.
The Glen Dhu project was suppose to be operating by now, but Shear Wind of Bedford was unable to secure financing for the capital intensive project, until last year when Inveravante, a privately held Spanish utility conglomerate, bought a 62 per cent stake in Shear Wind for $27 million.
Nova Scotia Power Inc. also hit Shear Wind with a $500,000 penalty for failing to bring the Glen Dhu project on line by the end of Nov. 2009. The company hopes to have the project producing green energy by the end of this year.
Shear Wind will hold its annual shareholders meeting today at the Halifax Club in downtown Halifax at 3 p.m.
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