Wind battle shifts

NextEra Energy Canada project could meet the wrath of North Middlesex council
By JOHN MINER, The London Free Press

The fight to halt wind turbine development in Southwestern Ontario shifts to North Middlesex Tuesday with opponents pushing for a ban on wind farm development.

A resolution going to North Middlesex council Tuesday night calls for the Ontario government to place an immediate moratorium on the development, construction, erection and implementation of wind turbines until a Health Canada health study on turbines is completed in 2014.

“This is a big deal for us,” said Muriel Allingham of Middlesex Lambton Wind Action Group, a citizens’ group rallying opposition to wind turbine development.

NextEra Energy Canada is developing the Bornish Wind Energy Centre in North Middlesex, a 73.5-megawatt wind farm consisting of up to 48 wind turbines. The project has already been awarded a 20-year contract from the Ontario Power Authority.

NextEra also plans to install 38 turbines in Adelaide-Metcalfe. The company has run into stiff opposition from residents there worried about the effects turbines could have on their health.

Residents have protested at public meetings about the project and the company also has had difficulty finding venues to host the meetings.