Puslinch councillors are in favour of the county’s draft wind energy policy, although they have suggested some changes.
Councillor Matthew Bulmer said he likes the policy, which aims at providing some regulations and protocol as wind energy projects become more common in Wellington County. But Bulmer questioned using kilowatts as a parameter for nuisance control.
“Some of the noisiest machines can be found under the 3kW threshold,” he told council. He added that perhaps using decibels would make more sense.
If manufacturers can make turbines with larger kilowatt output and less sound impact, it would be better for everyone, Bulmer said.
Councillor Don McKay agreed. He is not comfortable with a section of the policy that states, “Local zoning bylaws may permit wind testing towers on a temporary basis … subject to provisions that limit the time period and require removal once this period has expired.”
McKay said perhaps that section should be eliminated because the test towers could be used to assess whether the wind turbines are doing the job for which they were intended.
He did not want the test towers to be considered temporary.
Bulmer said he would forward the township’s concerns to county officials.
