Mauro dismayed

As city council moves forward having given municipal approval to Horizon Wind’s planned wind farm on the Nor’Wester Mountain Range, an area MPP says the company’s choice of locations for its 18 wind turbines is an unusual one.

City councillors voted 7-5 on Tuesday to approve a land-lease agreement with Horizon Wind on Tuesday. The deal also approved the location of all 18 turbines, though both are subject to ratification on Monday.

MPP Bill Mauro (Lib. Thunder Bay – Atikokan), a former city councillor himself, said councillors made a tough call when they voted, but said he’s not sure they made the right call, at least when it comes to the location agreement.

"I’m dismayed by the site. I was always unsure why they would have made that choice." Mauro said on Wednesday. "I never understood why on city-owned land that’s in a different municipality. The land is in the municipality of Neebing. Council never had zoning authority over the land because while the city owns it, it isn’t in the municipality of Thunder Bay."

Mauro added that he couldn’t speak to the issue as he hadn’t had extensive discussions with council on the terms of their decision.

In agreeing to the deal, which will pay the city about $275,000 annually, council stipulated that no work can proceed until the southern Ontario company has all its provincial agreements in place, including the all-important renewable energy approval, which could put a halt to the $75-million project.

The province requires any large-scale power project to submit an extensive renewable energy approval before a project can begin.

Mauro said that’s where the province can step in.

"There is still a provincial role to play," he said. "There still needs to be an environmental assessment which is associated with all projects of any magnitude and there are other certifications and approvals from the province as well. So that piece is still to unfold."

If the project fails the REA process, the wind farm would be stopped, he said.

While the lease and location decision rests with city council, it hasn’t stopped the public from providing Mauro with their opinions on the project.

He said he has heard both sides of the issue with public opinion on the chosen site generally split down the middle with most opposition coming from Neebing residents.

With files from Leith Dunick.