K2 Wind Ontario
Renewable Energy Approvals Process
The consultation and engagement process for the K2 Wind Power Project1 continued throughout 2012, and a Renewable Energy Approvals (REA) application was submitted to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment. In addition to tours, the launch of a new project website, community newsletters and one-on-one discussions with citizens, we engaged with stakeholders in the following ways:
Open Houses
We aim to have respectful, open and meaningful dialogue with members of the community. Two open houses were held in 2012. A group of protesters appeared at the July open house. The protesters were part of a larger Ontario opposition movement against wind power. In spite of protester efforts to disrupt the meeting, the project team noted there were many supporters, including participating leaseholders, among the 100 or so attendees.
About 70 people attended the open house in October. Approximately 150 letters of opposition to the project were received during the REA public comment period. Most of the letters were duplicates of a form letter, although a number contained questions on a wide range of matters, which the team responded to in November.
Aboriginal engagement
Dialogue and information sharing continued with 10 communities regarding the K2 Wind Power Project.
Q&A Session
Approximately 28 people either used the website or phoned into a moderated Question & Answer session held in September as a further opportunity to share information about the project. At the session K2 Wind provided a project update and responded to comments and questions.
Community Renewable Energy Benefit
Local stakeholders asked us to share project benefits with the wider community, in addition to the owners of land where the project would be built. The Community Renewable Energy Benefit was offered as part of our response.
The Community Renewable Energy Benefit is voluntary and provides an annual payment of $1,500 to eligible landowners over the 20-year life of the project. This benefit will be offered to landowners who own homes within one kilometre of either a project wind turbine, the substation or the transformer station, and who are not already participating in the project through land lease option agreements. There are no restrictions on how landowners can spend the benefit, and participation in the program in no way limits an individual’s ability to comment or express opinions on the project.
“The Benefit is part of a broader approach we’re taking to sharing project benefits with the community,” said Paul Wendelgass, K2 Wind project lead. “We believe the community should receive direct and tangible benefits for the unique role that the Township of Ashfield–Colborne–Wawanosh will play in helping to meet Ontario’s targets for renewable energy.”
Port Dover & Nanticoke Wind Project
Renewable Energy Approval received
The REA for the Port Dover & Nanticoke Wind Project was received on July 17, 2012. As part of the REA process, an additional public open house was hosted in Jarvis, Ontario in January. Dialogue and engagement, including engagement with local Aboriginal communities, continued throughout 2012. Preliminary construction activities began in September.
Keeping connected – Community Liaison Committee
As a condition of the REA, we established a Community Liaison Committee as a forum to exchange ideas and share information, and to provide regular updates as the project progresses through construction and into operations. The committee facilitates communication between the company and the public with respect to construction, installation, use, operation, maintenance, and the eventual retirement of the project.
The committee offers an opportunity to engage other participants, such as municipalities, conservation authorities, Aboriginal communities, federal of provincial agencies, and community groups. Committee members attend four meetings over a two-year period and are encouraged to share information with, and from, other members of the community. These meetings are open to the public. The first meeting was held in November 2012.
An aim to hire locally
Job fairs in the Six Nations community of Ohsweken and in the community of Jarvis were held, in partnership with our contractor Graham Infrastructure. These events provided information about potential business and employment opportunities. Members of both organizations were on-hand to gather contact information and resumes from prospective trades and suppliers in the areas of services, technical trades, and suppliers.
Attendance at the Jarvis event was outstanding, with approximately 100 companies and individuals attending and providing generally positive comments about the wind projects and the opportunity they represent.
Environmental Review Tribunal Decision
In July 2012, Haldimand Wind Concerns (HWC) and a project stakeholder filed notices of appeal of the REA through the Environmental Review Tribunal Process. This process allows any resident of Ontario a route of appeal of a regulatory approval based on a view that an approved project will cause serious harm to human health, and will cause serious and irreversible harm to plant life, animal life or the natural environment.
In an October hearing, HWC informed the Tribunal it would be presenting no evidence, but nonetheless continued to participate in the hearing by questioning witnesses called in the stakeholder’s appeal, and making final submissions. The stakeholder tendered no evidence with respect to human health, but argued the project will cause serious and irreversible harm due to both bird collision mortality and bird habitat loss.
Field work and prepared studies and reports were referenced, such as the Natural Heritage Assessment, the Environmental Impact Study, and the Environmental Effects Monitoring Plan, all of which were submitted to the Ministry of Natural Resources by Capital Power in support of our REA application.
In January 2013, the Tribunal determined that the individual and group who launched the appeal had not established either that the project (as approved) will cause serious harm to human health, or that the project (as approved) will cause serious and irreversible harm to plant life, animal life or the natural environment. The Tribunal dismissed the appeals and recommended that Capital Power undertake additional Natural Heritage pre- and post-construction monitoring. We fully implemented these two recommendations in spring 2013.