MAPLETON – The question of windmills and turbines was discussed during a Mapleton council meeting on Sept. 24.
It’s “a sensitive issue,” councillors and staff repeated throughout the discussion.
Though a wind farm has been operating in the township since 2012, council passed a resolution opposing more wind farms in the township in 2013.
That resolution put Mapleton on the province’s list of unwilling wind farm hosts, on which the township still sits today.
But at the recent meeting, council passed a motion that directed staff “to gather input to determine whether there is interest, from the public perspective, to become a willing host.”
Councillors Amanda Reid, Martin Tamlyn and Marlene Ottens voted in favour of the motion.
Councillor Michael Martin was not present, and Mayor Gregg Davidson voted against the motion.
CAO Manny Baron brought a report about wind farms to council, recommending that council “discuss the option of remaining an unwilling host or consider an alternative approach and explore allowing the erection of windmills in our township.”
The report was prompted by a call from Innergex, a Canadian company specializing in renewable energy.
The company “sought permission to speak to landowners in the wind corridor to gain their interest,” the report states.
“Innergex’s initial investigation suggests a maximum of 20 turbines with an estimated capacity of 150 megawatts.”
Davidson said there was significant public consultation in 2013, and he doesn’t believe that needs to be revisited “just because one company has come forward and said they want to do this.”
“The Doug Ford government is pushing for this, so it’s not just the company, it just happened to be the company that called us,” Baron noted.
“But I haven’t heard anything from the provincial government saying ‘Mapleton, open up your doors,’” Davidson said.
Baron said he thinks the provincial government has “realized that the current grid will not support the need of the future and they are looking for alternative ways to produce additional electricity.
“If it is the will of the provincial government, at some point, whether we like it or not, it will come, so I think we are being proactive in trying to decide what we need to do,” Baron said.
“There are some municipalities that are taking advantage of these turbines and windmills in the form of grants from the companies.”
Baron said Innergex would be willing to discuss and consider supporting community grants for community groups.
“They are absolutely willing to come and speak to council as a delegate as well as in the form of a public meeting,” he said.
Ottens said now that the wind farm has been operating for over a decade, she would be interested in hearing from locals about “what the long-term ramifications have been on people living near them.
“I’d also be interested in asking the wind turbine companies why they don’t adopt the more European approach, where they put them in the lakes where the water produces more wind naturally, and where they’re closer to the cities where they could feed directly into the grid,” she added.
Tamyln said he thinks everyone understands the need for more energy, “and wind and other kinds of renewable resources are the way to go … but when the resolution was made, there was significant negative health effects of local residents.
“And there are significant concerns with windmills.
“So I echo what councillor Ottens was saying of actually first talking to the people that surround the Conestogo wind farms, and what they’ve experienced.”
Tamlyn said he would also want to hear from Innergex about where in the wind tunnel wind turbines would be feasible, before launching significant public consultation.
Reid said as the previous public consultation was more than 10 years ago, she agrees the township should be gathering current information, including whether people are still having issues, or if they’ve been resolved.
Reid would also like to determine, through public consultation, “if this is even something we would want to see in Mapleton, from a public perspective.”
“I’ve heard nothing from anyone in the community saying they want to open this up,” Davidson said.
“And I haven’t heard anything from the provincial government saying ‘we want you to be a willing host.’”
