More opponents voice concerns at wind farm open house

Ryan Stachow doesn’t know if the proposed wind farm along the Nor’Wester Mountain range is a good idea or not, but he said he wants to do everything he can to make an informed decision.

Stachow was one of hundreds who Monday night attended Horizon Wind Inc.'s third of four open houses at a local hotel, his goal to see what he could learn about the much-maligned project that would see the southern Ontario-based company erect 18 turbines on city-owned land atop the mountain.

The Neebing Ward resident is no closer to taking a stand one way or the other, despite a heavily attended cram session that included voices on both sides of the issue.

Stachow said he wants to know what the facts are because it won't be long before his two-year-old-daughter starts attending school.

"I got to hear it first hand," Stachow said. "I don’t know a whole lot and I’ve been trying to read the paper and follow the meetings. I just recently bought a house in the area and plan to live here for the rest of my life."

He wasn't alone, though the vast majority of those who attended Monday night's session - a fourth and final open house will be held Tuesday night at the Blake Community Hall - long ago made up their minds and oppose the $75-million project.

Most of the issues raised by residents, who filled out questionnaires detailing their complaints, ranged from a fear that their property values will plummet, worry about potential environmental impacts, concern over health issues that seem to appear in other jurisdictions where turbines are placed near residential neighbourhoods and the desire to preserve the natural beauty of the mountain range.

Judy Lunny and her husband used to live in town, but 17 years ago they decided to move closer to Nor’Wester mountain. The couple used to climb the mountain to the top to take in a bird's-eye view of Thunder Bay, using the vista as a backdrop for a romantic picnic.

Lunny said she fears those days will be rendered past history should the development go ahead as planned. Horizon is holding the open houses in advance of submitting an environmental report to the province and seeking council's final approval on the location of the turbines.

"I’m thoroughly upset because of the wind turbines coming in," Lunny said. "I don’t feel they should be in an area of residents. It would be better if they would put them down towards the border or away from the public."

However, it isn’t just the location of the turbines that Lunny disagrees with. She said the turbines will only work if there is enough wind and doubted it could provide enough power for 700 people. She added solar power was a far better idea and was disappointed a privately planned solar forest near the Finlandia Club won't be going ahead after all.

A forest full of solar trees instead of noisy wind turbines would be a better plan, she said.

A company official said she hopes the open houses help eradicate myths surrounding the project and help convert opponents to the project - which in May a southern Ontario polling company revealed that two-thirds of city residents are in favour of having go forward. Only Neebing Ward residents were in high opposition, with two thirds saying they want the city to intervene and stop the wind farm in its current proposed location.

Nhung Nguyen, project coordinator for Horizon Wind, said the company is trying to be a good corporate citizen and the open houses are just another example of their commitment to positive relations with the people of Thunder Bay.

But time is running out.

"We’ve been listening to people for a year and having a lot of public discourse so this is the last week we will be accepting comments for the project," Nguyen said. "If you haven’t spoken up yet, tomorrow is your last day."

Horizon Wind has already committed move the wind farm about 1.1 kilometres away from the nearest homes, more than double the provincial minimum. The decision came after they received a number of complaints from nearby residents who complained they would be too close for comfort.

Nguyen said changing their plans, which impacts Horizon's potential bottom line, shows the company wanted to try to accommodate residents.

However, after each concession Horizon Wind has made, Nguyen said the company continued to receive criticism, she said, adding at this stage nothing is written in stone.

"People are free to criticize and we`ll take it and we`ll consider it in our design," he said. "But I hope this gesture shows today that we are here to listen."

Tuesday's open house at the Blake Community Hall is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.