Lee Griffi, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter with files from Connor Luczka
Members of Zorra Township may not have followed the 160 or so other municipalities in Ontario to declare itself an unwilling host for wind power but ProWind or any other company won’t be building there any time soon.
Mayor Marcus Ryan took a unique approach to not allowing any wind development in the township as council unanimously passed his motion at last week’s regular meeting in Thamesford. It essentially said the township doesn’t have enough information on wind power to make any decision.
The motion, in part, read, “…the Township of Zorra does not have, nor should be expected to have, the expertise or resources necessary to make an informed decision as to whether or not to provide a Municipal Support Resolution for an energy project…”
Ryan said he has always championed the protection of prime agricultural land and protection of the environment but has been struggling with the lack of information on wind power.
“We try to make our decisions based on information, not on opinion. What each of the five of us will decide with that information is another matter, but we should at least have information in front of us.”
He added any decision on wind power is a difficult one since there is nothing illegal about it.
“As the head of council, I am going to have to go to a resident and say I am going to let your neighbour put up a wind turbine even though you don’t want them to. Or, I am going to have to go to someone and say I know it is your private property and the province has made a turbine a legally permitted use, but I’m not going to let you do it.”
Ryan said he doesn’t have the ability to defend either of those decisions but he is concerned about predictions from the Independent Electricity System Operator there will be brownouts or blackouts within the next five to ten years if significant amounts of electricity generation are not brought online.
“At some point, decisions are going to have to be made by the province about what that electricity generation is, where it comes from and how it is transmitted. If it's not wind turbines here, where a municipality does have some kind of say and where a private property owner has a say, if the province decides to put 500 turbines on the Bruce Peninsula there will be a hydro corridor that runs from there to here.”
He explained the township would have no say as property owners or municipalities about where those hydro corridors end up.
Coun. Paul Mitchell was the most vocal opponent of wind power among elected officials. He explained he thought Ryan was in favour of wind power in Zorra and had no idea the motion was being introduced.
“I can’t speak for the rest of council, but I was totally taken by surprise. I did not see that coming at all.”
He added he is cautiously pleased the motion was passed.
“It appears to have derailed ProWind’s proposal, at least for now, but it will be interesting to see if they fold their tent or if they keep trying to recruit landowners for another try later on. I am pleased we have won the short-term battle.”
He added he is cautious since the motion is based on the idea it is impossible for the township to get enough information to make an informed decision.
“What I would have preferred is that council looked at the available information and overwhelmingly the risk outweighed the benefits of wind turbines and we listened to the input from our residents, which is overwhelmingly against building them. I would have liked to make an unconditional statement that we are not going to support having (wind power) in Zorra.”
He added if the province changes the rules surrounding wind power, the township could be open to providing support.
“The way I look at it, we won an important battle but the war isn’t over yet.”
Angie Zilke is part of a group of Zorra residents who formed to provide an organized opposition to wind power. She explained the decision by council wasn’t strong enough for the group’s liking and things could change quickly.
“It’s not permanent enough. We need to be on guard, carry on forward and remain very vigilant. We will have to go over delegations coming to council meetings just to be aware of what’s going on. The feeling is (Warden Ryan) has kind of pumped the brakes but the possibility of (wind power) hasn’t stopped, it just slowed down.
She added the group will continue to lobby against wind power in Zorra.
“I feel the signs were helpful if farmers were on the fence. Just knowing how everyone around them felt. There is a veil of silence over this whole thing and no one would admit if they were talking to (ProWind).”
The emergence of Wind Concerns of Zorra Township didn’t take long to drum up the support of hundreds of Zorra residents against wind turbines.
“We had instant support. Everyone felt strongly about it to begin with. The health concerns are very real and no matter where you go you can find people affected by it.”
ProWind recently held an information meeting in Embro where close to 100 residents grilled spokesperson Helmut Schneider. Zorra resident Anita Fraser asked the question on everyone’s mind at that meeting.
“If you have a landowner who has agreed to (hosting a turbine), but all the surrounding farmers around them say no, does that make a difference?”
Although it was meant to be an information session, many of the questions residents asked were answered with a “We don’t know yet,” highlighting exactly the issue Ryan and council took in its recent decision not supporting the project in this instance.
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