Puslinch has become the first municipality in Wellington County to support Mapleton’s call for a moratorium on wind energy projects.
On Jan. 6, Puslinch councillor Don McKay suggested council support the Mapleton resolution, noting a percentage of the population may be affected by nearby turbines.
He said there are ongoing studies – including one by Queen’s University in Wolfe Island – about the possible link between wind energy projects and adverse health effects such as sleep deprivation, nausea, headaches, dizziness, anxiety and tinnitus (incessant ringing in the ears).
“It’s probably not a bad idea,” McKay said of the township offering its support.
McKay added he was “never happy” with the Green Energy Act, which gives municipal governments no say on renewable energy projects like the two wind farms currently proposed in?Mapleton Township.
Mayor Brad Whitcombe called the Mapleton resolution “very succinct,” and councillor Matthew Bulmer said he had no trouble supporting it.
Council voted unanimously in favour of supporting the Mapleton resolution, which was passed on Dec. 8 after a delegation of concerned residents addressed Mapleton council.
The residents, led by John Krul and Bill Kabbes, presented a petition signed by over 250 citizens who are opposed to NextEra Energy’s plan to have a 12-turbine wind farm operational in northeast Mapleton within a year.
They also successfully lobbied for a council resolution calling on the province to issue a moratorium on wind energy projects until third party research can show turbines do not have adverse effects on groundwater and human health.
