8 Wind Turbines to be Removed from Southern Ontario

Jun 19, 2013

8 Wind Turbines to be Removed from Southern Ontario

Height Restrictions Exceeded near Chatham-Kent Municipal Airport

Transport Canada has ordered Houston-based GDF Suez to remove 8 wind turbines from their 55-turbine project located in Chatham-Kent, Ontario. The removal order was issued on the basis of height restrictions near the Chatham-Kent Municipal Airport, which targets 8 of 55 wind-turbines set up by the company.

Chatham-Kent, located in Southwestern Ontario, currently hosts over 300 wind turbines in their municipality and this is the first time an order to remove a wind turbine has been issued in the area.

The big questions now are: Who approved the construction of the 8 wind turbines in question? And, who will be responsible for their removal costs. According to Transport Canada senior communications advisor Tina Morris, the wind turbine company is responsible for lowering or removing any impeding wind turbines.

A spokesman for GDF Suez claims Transport Canada approved the turbines, saying "Transport Canada was informed, they were aware of the locations of the turbines, and we understood that they had approved them," David Timm said. "So we were very surprised by the letter we received from Transport Canada."

Dave Van Kesteren, the Conservative MP for the region, says he expects to see a court battle over who is responsible for the turbines, while conservative MPP Rick Nicolls insists that the tax payers in the municipality will not be the ones responsible for the bill.

Concern over the height of the 8 turbines so close to the airport was also voiced by local pilot Jeffrey Pyefinch. "There's still a lot of turbines out there in very close proximity that do still affect the procedures at the airport," he said. "It will give us a little more buffer. So it will be an improvement." Pyefinch said with regards to their removal.

We will continue to follow this story and update on developments as they become available.

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