Do not approve

Municipality tells province to reject wpd Canada’ wind project

The municipality of Prince Edward will ask the Ontario Ministry of Environment not to approve wpd Canada’s White Pines Project—29 industrial wind turbines from Milford to the edge of the Prince Edward Point National Wildlife Area.

In a report presented to a committee of council last week, the municipality says it considers the Heritage Assessment Report prepared for the project to be “incomplete and deficient.” Further, it states that the proposed plans “lack appropriate mitigation measure” necessary to preserve the heritage resources (homes, barns and such) that will be impacted by the presence of 40- storey industrial wind turbines swooshing overhead.

The municipality wants the MOE to demand that wpd Canada move three turbines it knows will impact the heritage value of nearby properties.

The Ministry of Tourism, Sport and Culture knows these turbines will diminish the value of 21 heritage properties, but has been persuaded that relocationg them would pose too great a financial hardship on the developer.

Monica Alyea prodded council to push harder for compensation from the developer for the costs it is incurring related to this project.

“This isn’t a pro or con issue,” said Alyea. “It’s a taxpayer issue.”

She estimates the cost of municipal staff time and resources will climb to more than $200,000, with little recourse to the developer to recover those costs.

“We are paying for subways in Toronto,” said Alyea. “Why are we bearing these costs on our own?”