Summoning wind farm approval

Sharon McLeay
Times Contributor

 

Dan Tocher, vice-president of stakeholder relations for Greengate, presented Wheatland County council with updates to the Wheatland Wind Project, at council chambers Feb. 21.
The project has been ongoing since 2008 and it is closer to finalizing permits with Wheatland County and the Alberta Energy Commission.
“It is very, very highly regulated; it’s a lot different these days than it was years and years ago. Our goal in developing this is to be totally compliant with the county land use bylaws and the Alberta Energy Commission regulations,” said Tocher.
“Some common concerns are shadow flicker, land value, crop dusting, visual impacts, impact on wildlife [and] impacts to human health,” he added. “We believe these are all valid concerns and issues. We have well documented responses to those stakeholder concerns.”
To address previous environmental concerns, the company decided to exceed required setbacks to mitigate bird and bat kill zones. They increased the wind turbine setback to two miles in the Sieu Lake area, which is on a migratory route. They have also situated towers on only cultivated land, to minimize impact on native species and bird habitat. While bird and bat casualties are a factor, there are studies that indicate more birds are annually killed by cats, power line encounters and flying into glass on high-rise buildings.
Coun. Alice Booth asked about a reclamation plan for decommissioning the project. She was concerned about the disposal of the large amounts of cement and steel, and land restoration policy.
“We are obligated commercially, in our lease to the land owners, to return the property exactly as it was prior to entry,” said Tocher, who added that they would supply information used for lease agreements to council.
He also outlined traffic mitigation plans for high traffic times and diversified routes to limit wear and tear on roads.
The company is looking to utilize local labour with applicable skills and will be holding a job fair after permit approval. There will be about 20 unskilled labourers needed during construction, and about 10-15 specialized staff hired by the turbine companies for long-term monitoring and maintenance.
Tocher said they are aware land values and sales of land may decrease due to the facility proximity. He said the company is working with a local realty company and any current land buyers for the area are notified of the upcoming project.
The company is expecting to file for its Alberta Energy Commission (AEC) the first week of March 2017, the transmission permits in August and, with approvals, expects the project to proceed in late 2017. Wheatland County council will consider its permit approval after the AEC decision.