‘South West Oxford and Malahide say NO to Wind Turbines’ holds community celebration

Come on in! Organizers welcome the community to their wind turbine celebration in Brownsville. (Contributed Photo)

Debbie Kasman, Tillsonburg Post Correspondent

About 60 people attended the ‘South West Oxford and Malahide say NO to Wind Turbines’ community celebration in Brownsville on June 26.

South West Oxford (SWOX) Council declared the township an “unwilling host” to future wind turbine projects in a 5 to 1 vote at its June 17 meeting. Malahide Council declared Malahide Township an “unwilling host” in a unanimous vote on June 5.

SWOX Councillors Pickard, Buchner, Durston, Gillis and Way voted to support the “unwilling host” motion and Mayor David Mayberry voted against. Councillor Pete Ypma, who was not at the meeting, signed a lease option with the Cedar Flats wind project and declared a conflict of interest on June 3 when a staff report on the subject was included at a council meeting.

Passing a resolution declaring a township an “unwilling host” does not legally prevent a wind energy proponent from approaching council with a formal request for municipal support. An “unwilling host” resolution is not binding and does not preclude the township from receiving or considering future proposals. Under the Independent Electricity System Operator’s (IESO’s) current procurement processes, what matters is whether a Municipal Support Resolution (MSR) is passed.

When the Ontario Green Energy Act, 2009, was repealed on January 1, 2019, it gave municipalities more control over the siting of renewable energy. The Green Energy Act was a major point of political debate in Ontario, and its repeal was a key promise of the Progressive Conservative (PC) party during the 2018 election.

According to Wind Concerns Ontario, 159 municipalities have passed formal resolutions declaring themselves to be “unwilling hosts” to new industrial wind power sites.

The last of the donations ‘South West Oxford and Malahide say NO to Wind Turbines’ group collected are being donated to the Brownsville and Springfield Fire Halls. Each fire hall will receive $118 in donations.