Decommissioned

Dismantling of wpd turbines to begin in October

Wind turbines towering over Milford are living out their final days. The wpd project, along with its four nearly 400-foot tall turbines will begin to be decommissioned starting October 15.

In the summer of 2018, wpd raced to assemble nine turbines, completing only four before MPP Todd Smith announced that his government was cancelling the contract, citing the fact that the project received its Notice to Proceed during the election period before the government had a chance to make any decision on the project.

The first phase of the decommissioning will involve a crane arriving on site and lowering the towers to the ground. This work will take place between October 15 and January 31, 2020. The second phase of decommissioning, which is anticipated to begin in April 2020, will involve the removal and remediation of infrastructure installed for the project.

Earlier this summer, the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks published its decision, almost a year to the date that a new Conservative provincial government. led by Doug Ford, terminated the project under The White Pines Wind Project Termination Act. wpd received its Feed-In Tariff contract in 2010 for what was then supposed to be a 27-turbine wind farm located in Milford. It then provided a Renewable Energy Approval (REA) submission in 2012. In 2013, County council formally stated its opposition to wind turbines, including passing a resolution as an unwilling host and approving a grant of $20,000 to PEC Field Naturalists to help protect the natural environment of the South Shore from wind turbines. The REA was approved in 2015. The project then went to an Environmental Review Tribunal—a process to appeal the Ministry’s decision to grant a REA—where the Tribunal was not satisfied that wpd’s proposals to prevent harm to Blanding’s turtles and little brown bats would not cause further harm to the delicate ecosystems of the South Shore. The Alliance to Protect Prince Edward County (APPEC), led by lawyer Eric Gillespie, was successful in removing approval of 18 turbines from REA, leaving a nineturbine wind farm to be erected on the South Shore.

Cheryl Anderson of the South Shore Joint Initiative— a group working to protect and improve biodiversity along the south shore of Prince Edward County—has been active fighting against the project for more than a decade. She is relieved to see the decommissioning moving forward. “As a person who has been involved with fighting to preserve and protect the South Shore of Prince Edward County for the past 10 years, I am relieved that negotiations have concluded to have the four turbines that were hastily installed by wpd in 2018, removed,” she says. Anderson remains concerned about the effect the removal could have on a fragile environment on the south shore. “I continue to be concerned with this phase of the work due to the danger to Blanding’s turtles, since the turbines are situated in their breeding and foraging habitat. Kudos go to all the people who worked so hard to achieve this result. I believe we will have to continue to be vigilant to prevent any further destruction or industrial development in the important natural habitat that is our south shore,” says Anderson.

wpd Canada indicated last year it would seek to recoup $100 million for the project. The legislation requires wpd to cover the cost of decommissioning and restoring the work sites.