Wellesley council seeks public input before considering wind-energy proposal

By Galen Simmons

Wellesley Township council wants to hear from residents and learn from other municipalities before deciding whether to support the next stage of a potential wind-energy project within the township.

At its June 23 committee-of-the-whole meeting, council heard a presentation from Renewable Energy Systems (RES) Canada Inc., a company exploring the possibility of developing a wind-energy project in Wellesley. Representatives Anita Ifeadi, development manager, and Nate VanGeest, director of development, outlined why the township has been identified as a promising location and explained the early stages of the development process.

“(Wellesley) has really good wind resource in the area, it has minimum seven-metres-per-second wind speed, it is close to transmission infrastructure that has capacity on it,” Ifeadi said. “The land configuration is well suited for construction and operation, as well as conversation with (township) staff says there is opportunity to advance wind energy development in the community.”

Ifeadi also cited growing electricity demand across Ontario and the province's need for additional non-emitting sources of power over the coming decades.

The company told council it is in the earliest phase of the project-development process and is seeking permission to install a temporary Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) unit on private property for approximately one year. The equipment would collect wind-speed and wind-direction data to determine whether the site is suitable for a future wind-energy project. Collecting the data would not commit the township or the landowner to a project proceeding.

RES also outlined the lengthy process required before any project could move forward, including environmental and technical studies, consultation with municipalities, Indigenous communities, landowners and neighbours, and provincial approvals. The presentation noted that a municipal support resolution would signal a municipality's willingness to continue discussions but would not constitute approval of a wind farm.

Rather than making an immediate decision, council opted to gather more information before considering whether to support the proposed wind-monitoring work.

“Obviously, this bears with it a lot of conversation and change within our community,” Coun. Derek Brick said. “ … For the members of the community, this is news to them and I think it will take time to get out and spread across the community. So, I certainly don’t feel comfortable making a statement now about the project. I think it’s going to take time to get … true feedback.”

Councillors asked RES to provide references from municipalities that have hosted similar projects so they can better understand the long-term impacts and experiences of other communities. Council also expressed a desire to hear directly from Wellesley residents before taking any further steps, recognizing the level of public interest wind-energy projects typically generate.

Staff were directed to gather additional information and report back to council at a future meeting.

“My sense is council’s not ready to make a firm commitment to go past this initial stage,” Mayor Joe Nowak said. “But I don’t think we have to stop the conversation at this point.”

If the project eventually advances beyond the wind-monitoring stage, it would still be subject to multiple rounds of public consultation and provincial review before any turbines could be constructed.

According to the presentation, potential benefits of a wind-energy project could include increased municipal tax revenue, construction and permanent jobs, lease payments to participating landowners, community-benefit funding and opportunities for Indigenous partnerships and municipal investment.

For now, however, council's decision means no approval has been granted for a wind-energy project in Wellesley.