Open house on Amherst Island first step in enviro assessment

(Dominik Wisniewski, Napanee Beaver) – With display boards running the length of three walls inside the gym at Amherst Island Public School, the company proposing a wind turbine project for the island held its first public open house on Sunday.

The event marks the first step in the Environmental Assessment Process for what has been called the ‘Amherst Island Wind Project’, and served as an information gathering exercise, according to the proponent.

Representatives from both Gaia Power Inc. of Kingston and Algonquin Power Management Inc. of Oakville hosted the event. both companies created Windelectric Inc., the joint development corporation working on the project.

Kelly Castledine, the manager of investor relations for Algonquin Power, told the Beaver that the forum served as a way of gathering questions and concerns from residents.
“We’ve got comment sheets that people can fill in today and leave with us or fill in at home if they want to take some time to think about it”, she said.

“All of those comments will be considered during the process when we are doing the different studies, to determine the project details.”

And, concerns have been expressed. Several Amherst Island residents attended a Loyalist Township council meeting last month to outline their opposition to the plan.
Although she said it is too early in the process to determine the overall size and sites of the turbines, Castledine indicated that the EA process would help determine any sensitive areas from a wildlife perspective.

“It will look at birds, bats, and that kind of thing. The Wind studies and where the wind is strongest, will definitely determine that as well,” she explained.

“There are also other things that are considered with respect to structures, whether it be a home or business. There are setbacks that are at play as to where the turbines would be located.”

She said that during the early stages of the process, most residents are looking to get a general understanding of the project details. “We haven’t been able to get a lot of details because we’re not that far down the road just yet”, she added.

Among those visiting the open house were John Whittall and Reid Stanway, two Queen’s University students working on a geotechnical design project based on wind turbine foundation designs.

“We’re doing our fourth-year design project for Geological Engineering and I think this is really in the preliminary stage”, Stanway said.

According to Whittall, their project involves comparing the Amherst Island proposal to the project being undertaken on Wolfe Island.

“They are doing it differently there than other places in Ontario. Since this company is undecided on how they are going to do their foundation, we’ll make suggestions,” he said. “I don’t know if they (Windelectric) want to hear them, but our professors do.”
Whittall said that the Wolfe Island project used the bedrock foundation to anchor concrete slabs that will support the turbines.

“They are then drilling through the concrete and using the bedrock to anchor it down,” he explained. “In southern Ontario they dig down a few meters, put in a huge concrete slab and then cover it back up.”

In an interview with April Meyer, the manager of project development for Algonquin Power, she said the turnout for the open house was excellent.

“Overall we have heard a lot of project support and a lot of concerns which is why we are doing the open house,” she said. “We are trying to understand the concerns as easily as possible so that we can address them in the overall process. From that perspective I think we have been quite successful.”

Asked about the concerns raised by residents, Meyer said that they are typical of any wind turbine project.

“People are concerned about birds and avian studies and transportation logistics with it being an island and ferry use. They are concerned about the geology of the island with the effects of potentially blasting which we don’t know yet that we would even be doing, and we hope not to. They are concerned about the water table on the island which is a sensitive issue, noise, setbacks; and turbine locations in the vicinity to their houses at the end of the day,” Meyer said.

Asked about those in favour of the project, Meyer said that they too have been raising concerns.

“Even though they are for it they have a realistic idea that is is going to have some impact on their lives,” she explained. “The supporters are hoping it’s going to go ahead. they see it as a potential benefit to the economy of the area in general.”