There is a long road ahead for the proponents and opponents of the Enbridge proposal for a wind turbine farm in the RMs of Weyburn and Griffin.
The issue first burst onto the local scene at an open house hosted by Enbridge on July 17 at the Ramada Hotel, and organizers of the evening were overwhelmed by a large number of local residents, most of whom were upset by the proposal.
Right from the start, the feeling most residents expressed was being blindsided by a project that had apparently been in development since 2017 by EDF Renewables, and only came to light when Enbridge bought the project in June of this year.
They wanted to reach out and tell residents about it, but the residents were alarmed to find out there would be 46 wind turbines that may be as tall as four times the height of the Parrish and Heimbecker terminal (to the tops of the blades).
They were also alarmed to find that some of the land owners who have signed up for the turbines don’t even live in the RM area, and several turbines are adjacent to residents who don’t want them looming over their properties.
For the company’s part, they have for the most part been involved in the oil and gas industry, primarily as owners of pipelines to move oil and gas to market. With the transition to new sources of energy, the company wanted to spread their business interests to these sources, including wind energy.
There are a lot of questions that need solid answers, and that was what sparked RM residents to turn the open house into a forum for questions and answers rather than just quietly looking at information boards. This shows a great need in this issue: the availability of information and answers to the concerns and questions of residents.
The onus is on the company to provide this, and in the weeks to come they ought to be looking to organize town hall meetings where these concerns can be raised and answered. Meantime, the RM councils met with residents last week, and it was made clear there is a need to answer the concerns and questions there as well.
The RM of Griffin was asked if an open meeting can be held for residents where answers can be provided, while the RM of Weyburn indicated they will have a public hearing for their amendment to the zoning bylaw, which governs how and where wind turbines may be located, including setbacks.
This is an issue that will take a long time to sort everything out, with residents wanting to stop the project, and RMs looking to figure out how they can regulate and control the project if and when it comes to reality. — Greg Nikkel
