Council votes against 2 wind projects
By Pam Wright
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
A storm of protest blew into Chatham-Kent council chambers recently, snuffing out two proposed wind farms in East Kent.
After four hours of discussion that included presentations from Capstone Infrastructure and EDF Power Solutions, as well as 28 citizen deputations, council opted to stop the Crossfield Wind Farm and the Botany Wind Project from moving ahead.
The Crossfield project that would have been located northeast of Ridgetown failed 4-13, and the Botany proposal slated for land northwest of Ridgetown was defeated 6-11. Official support from host municipalities is needed before an application can be submitted to the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO).
However, in a unanimous vote, council gave the greenlight to a solar project led by FLT Energy. Located on municipally owned land, one of the farms will be located on 8.9 hectares (22 acres) off Mitton Line at Ridgetown. The other will take shape on four hectares (10 acres) of vacant land off of Elm Street in Bothwell.
Fears the new turbine infrastructure would disturb the aquifer, leading to fouled “black” water wells, similar to what happened in North Kent, played into the decision against the turbine farm proposals. So too did mistrust of the province and what councillors said was a lack of information from each company, particularly in regard to liability if something goes wrong.
Many of the deputations expressed outrage that Chatham-Kent was even entertaining the idea of building more wind farms in light of the problems in North Kent.
“Why are we standing here fighting this again?” Angela Leveille asked council in her deputation. Leveille is a North Kent resident who lost her well in 2018, five days after nearby wind turbines went operational.
“It seems like our concerns are ignored compared to the wants of a company that has nothing to do with this community other than wanting to cash in on our land,” Leveille said.
Farmer Darren Sloan also spoke against the wind farms, noting his family’s hog operation would cease operation if turbines caused their wells to go bad, as trucking in water would cost $1,000 a day.
Kim Fysh, a Thamesville area farmer, warned against the long-range implications of signing a contract with the wind farms, stating property owners effectively lose control of their land.
East Kent resident Derek Melnick asked council to “stand on the side of what is right,” saying that council wouldn’t even be considering the wind farms, if money from developers wasn’t top of mind.
It was pointed out by administration that the motions brought forward at the meeting weren’t endorsed by the municipality, they merely outlined a cost sharing agreement with Chatham-Kent if the projects came to fruition. It was estimated that the Crossfield initiative would have put $15.4 million (plus escalator) into C-K’s community fund coffers over a 20-year period, while the Botany project would have brought in $14 million (plus escalator) over the same time frame.
The FLT solar project will bring in approximately $2.2 million over the next two decades.
East Kent Coun. Morena McDonald, who put forward a lengthy amendment to each motion, asked that the companies carry out a groundwater monitoring program, including a contingency plan, for all active water wells in the study area or within one kilometre of any turbine prior to construction. McDonald had also asked that a ground vibration monitoring program be undertaken at each site.
Each of the proposed projects would have had a capacity of up to 110 megawatts of power, utilizing 15 to 18 turbines each and at 120 metres (400 feet) – about a third higher than the ones presently in operation.
The municipality is currently home to 550 wind turbines.
Several members of council spoke out against the new wind farms, citing well failure in East Kent as a real possibility.
North Kent Coun. Rhonda Jubenville called the experiences of people losing their wells in Ward 4 “heartbreaking,” noting she didn’t want to see it happen again.
“I’m still unclear why we are considering these projects when we know the risks are the same,” Jubenville said.
“We’ve been told this is a political decision, but it’s more of a practical decision,” added Chatham Coun. Michael Bondy, again citing the black wells in Dover. “To me, it’s not worth it.”
Prior to the meeting, the C-K Agricultural Advisory Committee stated it is strongly opposed to any wind farm projects in C-K “without planned compensation from unintended effects.”
A total of 1,125 signatures opposing the wind farms were also submitted to council.
A notice of motion to designate Chatham-Kent as an unwilling host for future wind farm developments was brought forward by Amy Finn. The Chatham councillor pointed out the province has yet to formally answer the municipality regarding a request sent in 2023 to test the sediment in North Kent wells.
Finn’s motion will be discussed and voted on at the Oct. 20 council meeting.
In Ontario, 155 municipalities have declared they are unwilling hosts of wind turbine projects.
