By Delynda Pilon

A bylaw reclassifying parcels of land in the County of Forty Mile to a wind energy district passed its final reading Wednesday.

Nearly 20 people visited county council to attend the public hearing which begins the process allowing Shell Canada Ltd. use of the land it has identified for the Wild Steer Butte wind energy project, an endeavour which has already been several years in the making and which will not likely be complete begin construction for another four years.

Brian Whitson, county planner, provided an overview of the amendment. He explained it is a large project which can generate up to 775 MW of power and may utilize 379 turbines with an electrical collection system and substations. He said the county in principal supports the project but recognizes it will have significant impacts, and wishes to work with its rate payers and Shell to minimize those impacts.

“If you have concerns, it is important to make them known at this meeting,” he said, adding this bylaw amendment is the beginning of the approval process and that there would be future opportunities to approve or reject aspects of it.

Jim Borneman, project development manager for Shell WindEnergy Inc. further explained the project. He said the land-use amendment would allow the wind energy project to overlay existing uses. When completed, it will inject power into the provincial grid. If the amendments were approved at council, the next step would be to apply to the Alberta Utility Commission for a generator application then come back to the county and apply for a development permit. He said the wind farm will be located around the center of the county, a fact which hasn’t changed since Shell hosted its last open house. How many turbines they end up using will depend on the type they choose to invest in, but there will be anywhere from 258 to 379 of them.

Additional infrastructure will be needed like turbine access roads, though in the long term Shell intends to make these two track trails. There will be above and below ground electrical systems, three substations and one main facility, however until the turbines are chosen the location of these structures remains in flux.

For the last six months, Shell has been in consultation with landowners and the community, and these meetings will continue into early next year.

If approved, Shell will choose the turbine, a complex process, then by the second quarter of next year it plans to finalize the layout of the project.

“This is the first step on a long journey,” he said.

Construction will take part in three phases and will be dependent on AltaLink’s transmission plan.

He added the project may entail widening some county intersections, a cost Shell will pick up. They will also pay to have them removed.

He said Shell has done a lot of work on the project, from consultations with landowners and municipalities to providing visualizations of the finished projects to landowners. Impact assessments, completed to comply with internal standards, have included everything from socio-economic studies to the environment, health and reclamation.

The life of the project could be 75 years. The equipment is usually viable for 20 to 25 years, then some things would need upgrading, as has been done with other projects. Shell has also promised to reclaim the land to whatever standards are required when the project is decommissioned, which are likely to be higher than current standards.

After his presentation, those in favour of the project had a chance to speak.

Vern Beck, a Bow Island town councilor, began, presenting a letter in favour of the project from the Town of Bow Island which cited the economic benefits to the area. Fred Mellen, a town resident, also spoke in favour of the project, saying it would add a significant tax base to the county and Bow Island as well as providing 400 seasonal jobs during construction, then 75 full-time jobs. Anne Geldreich, who attended the meeting along with her husband, Jim, added her support to the project, reading a letter she submitted to the county. As one of the affected landowners, she said she realized all things evolved and that it is important for the world to get involved with other forms of energy.

The reeve read  letters in favour of the project like the one from Harold Angle, who also attended the meeting, Egan Farms and the Bow Island and District Chamber of Commerce.

An opportunity was then given to those who wished to speak in opposition of the project.

Lynn Strom was the first to speak, though she said she wasn’t so much against the project as she wished more aspects of it to be considered. Strom, who along with her husband, owns three and a half acres on Wild Steer Butte, described her yard as a sanctuary.

“That will change when the metal trees go up around us,” she read from the letter she submitted. “Our way of life will change, and not for the better, maybe.”

She described the turbines as huge, ugly and noisy. She expressed the belief that though the turbines would not positively affect her family financially since none are on her land, they certainly change the view from her yard and will likely have a detrimental affect the value of her property.

The reeve read letters sent in against the development. Concerns included questions about whether or not landowners would subsequently be allowed to build on their own land after the turbines were up to more worries about the resale value of their properties. Noise was also an issue which worried those who sent in letters.

Then Shell had a chance to rebut some of the issues which were voiced.

Daria Hasselmann, a Shell representative, stated that a study had been conducted in Canada and the United States which showed that there was no evidence that land values were either positively or negatively affected by wind farms.

Noise is an issue that falls under Auc regulations which, one Shell representative said, are stringent. Also, no home will be closer than 800 metres to a turbine.

The turbines will also be at least 500 metres apart so the wind will not be affected by them.

Shadow flicker, another issue raised, is expected to be less than one hour per year for three quarters of the landowners and less than 10 hours per year for the remainder.

Borneman added that as issues come up with the public, they will each be investigated individually. Shell intends to set up a 1-800 line to accommodate this process.

Whitson then reminded the public that there was another process for review at the permit stage.

After the delegation left, council discussed the amendment then passed the second and third reading of the bylaw change.