Wind turbines hot topic at conference

Amherstburg, as well as several municipalities in Lambton County, have put their foot down when it comes to wind turbines.

Amherstburg is among 64 communities that are on an "unwilling hosts" list. Those municipalities don't want any more wind turbines going up.  Another 33 municipalities have "expressed concern" about turbines.  Leamington is on that list.

Currently there are more than 100 hundred wind turbines in the Windsor Essex Region and like Amherstburg – Leamington may soon join the "unwilling" list as well.  A recent proposal to ban wind turbines in the Leamington area was brought to council last week.

Along with solar power, wind energy is hailed as the way of the future but this type of power generation has many in the province divided.

Until a recent trip to Ottawa, the Ontario government may not have been listening to the concerns of municipalities, according to Leamington mayor John Patterson.

"We had no authority, no power to say where solar farms or wind turbine products could be located," said Patterson. "Now we have a say … but if the government determines that it’s viable they will probably approve the farm."

But after attending the Association of Municipalities of Ontario Conference last week, Patterson says the government is willing to listen to concerns from across the province.

Patterson was glad to hear that, because some residents say turbines are a drag on the municipality.

"Property values are driven down because wind turbines are established everywhere and driving down our tax base. There’s an argument on both sides of that point," he said. "Knowing past discussions on this when there was a proposal to put 750 turbines out in Pigeons Bay, it caught the attention of every tax payer in both communities.  I suspect the same kind of feeling may exist on council in regards to turbines on the land."