HADLEYVILLE — Concerned about his community’s quality of life, Hadleyville resident Steven Henley is urging Municipality of the District of Guysborough (MODG) councillors to strengthen setbacks and noise restrictions on proposed wind turbines in the area.
“I don’t imagine when this was first discussed, you thought they’d be this tall or that there’d be so many,” he said during a wide-ranging address to the committee of the whole meeting in Guysborough on Feb. 5.
Referencing reports that EverWind Fuels’ plans to erect several dozen 200-metre-tall turbines in the area – significantly taller than “Halifax’s Fenwick Tower,” which stands approximately 98 meters – Henley said, “My dear wife suffers from migraines terribly, and these things are damn noisy, and I know they’re going to be in our particular area.”
Henley expressed frustration with the multi-tiered approval process for such projects, which involves both provincial and federal authorities, in addition to the project developers. He likened the situation to “asking the fox to watch the chicken coop,” noting that municipal powers to enforce stricter regulations may be undermined by higher-level government oversight. “What kind of safeguards are there when the governments want it this bad. They’re just rushing it through.”
Still, he argued, meetings with residents have led to revised setback policies in other municipal jurisdictions, such as West Hants. “They actually consulted with their people, and they listened to the residents.”
Henley acknowledged “there has to be development and money coming in” but added: “In this case here, you owe it to residents to take another look at setbacks and sound restrictions…. Obviously, they didn’t give you guys the information, because [you] might have thought a little differently of it when you were back doing the assessments.”
MODG Development Officer Deborah Torrey responded by noting that the municipality’s setback policy – four times the turbine height from property lines – exceeds provincial standards, which measure setbacks from dwellings instead. She added, however, “It appears the province may be moving towards something more universal, which is four times from a dwelling, not a property.”
Warden Paul Long acknowledged concerns about potential noise but stressed that no final decisions have been made regarding turbine placement or numbers, and reassured Henley that residents’ concerns would be addressed through the project’s liaison committee, which includes community representatives. “It’s not like these issues go into Never-Never Land,” he said. “They are discussed and followed up on.”
Henley also questioned the project’s feasibility, pointing to global market shifts and reduced demand for wind energy infrastructure in Europe. He urged the municipality to ensure that the developers secure contracts before moving forward with construction.
Council members encouraged Henley to present his concerns to the liaison committee, emphasizing that it serves as the primary venue for addressing detailed project matters.
EverWind Fuels’ proposed Wind Farm 1 in an area north of St. Francis Harbour and east of Boylston is part of a large-scale renewable energy project, which aims to install approximately 80 turbines to harness the region’s strong winds. Although the farm is intended to generate electricity to power its planned green hydrogen and ammonia production facility near Point Tupper for export to European markets, the company has not yet announced any binding agreements for the sale of the product.
