A retired couple living near a proposed wind farm and an environmental group are appealing Antigonish County council’s decision to rezone land for the energy development.
Helen and Donald Brown and the Eco Awareness Society are appealing the decision to the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board, which announced Wednesday that the appeal will be held on May 11 at the Antigonish Municipal Council Chambers on Beech Hill Road, Antigonish.
Council approved the rezoning of nine Antigonish properties last February. The rezoning opened the door for Shear Wind Inc. to proceed with a $150-million wind project that will see 30 turbines erected along the boundary of Pictou and Antigonish counties.
The company wants to install 14 turbines in Antigonish County and the remainder near Baileys Brook, Pictou County.
Called the Glen Dhu wind farm, it is scheduled to begin producing enough electricity to power 17,500 homes by the end of this year.
From their home, the Browns will be able to see eight of the 30 turbines. The turbines will be located within 1.5 kilometres of their residence.
In a February interview with The Chronicle Herald, Donald Brown, 81, of Glen Dhu Road, Baileys Brook, outlined his opposition to the wind project.
At the time he said he and his wife retired to the area eight years ago from Toronto for the "view and the solitude."
He also said he had "great fears that the turbines will interfere with our lives."
In the interview, he also said that he was not disappointed with Antigonish council’s decision to rezone the land because the project meets local zoning regulations.
However, he said he did have concerns about new information regarding the effect wind turbines had on human health and expressed concerns that the appropriate distance between turbines and homes is being ignored.
Shear Wind also 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.
Unlike Antigonish County, Pictou County bylaws do not require the rezoning of the land proposed for wind turbines. Proponents there can get permits for wind projects as long as they meet the county’s setback.
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.
Shares in the company were down one cent Wednesday, closing at 21 cents a share on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
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