MAPLETON – After an over decade-long ban, Mapleton council has decided to revisit whether to permit additional windmills in the township
Approved at a council meeting Tuesday afternoon, a staff report said the issue came up because the township was recently approached by Innergex, a Canadian company specializing in renewable energy, who expressed an interest in building in Mapleton.
Presenting the report, CAO Manny Baron said staff felt it was important to get the council's perspective on whether to revisit the township's stance on windmills considering the Innergex proposal and the province's recently announced goal to procure an additional 5,000 megawatts of renewable energy by 2034.
Mapleton council passed a resolution to declare the township unwilling to host further wind energy developments in 2013.
"If it is the will of the provincial government, at some point, whether we like it or not, it will come," said Baron, during the meeting. "So I think we're being proactive by trying to decide what we need to do."
Backed by Coun. Martin Tamlyn, Coun. Marlene Ottens said she understands the sensitivity surrounding the issue and wants to hear from residents on whether to explore permitting windmills- especially those who have lived near areas like the Conestogo Wind Farm.
A copy of the 2013 resolution said the township knows of at least 11 residents who have "suffer(ed) negative health effects" since the Conestogo Wind Farm was commissioned with at least one having to move out of their residence and live in a mobile home parked several kilometres away.
"I think we all understand the need for more energy and wind and other kinds of renewable resources are the way to go as far as that transition so that's not the question," said Tamlyn. "But when the resolution was made, there were significant negative public effects on local residents and there are legitimate concerns with windmills."
Opposing the motion, Mayor Gregg Davidson said he doesn't think the township should change its status on windmills "just because one company has come forward."
"I don't believe that we should be changing that at this point in time because a company has decided to come forward and start calling municipalities so they could be first in line to put them into the community," said Davidson. "I've heard nothing from anybody saying that they want to open this up."
Proposing a maximum of 20 turbines with an estimated capacity of 150 megawatts, a presentation from Innergex said they're hoping to gauge Mapleton's interest in exploring the future of wind energy in the township as its "wealth of wind resources" makes it "a strong candidate" for a wind project.
If "a sufficient number of landowners" express interest, data collection could begin as early as winter 2025 with development and construction taking place from 2028 to 2030 and an anticipated operational date proposed for 2032.
The project would then be operational for 20 to 30 years said Innergex.
Staff will gather public input to determine any interest from a public perspective and return with a report at a future council meeting.
Isabel Buckmaster is the Local Journalism Initiative reporter for GuelphToday. LJI is a federally-funded program
