A municipal councillor in Shelburne says she’s speaking up for her community.
Sherry Thorburn Irvine represents Sandy Point, Jordan Ferry and Jordan Bay, where there is a proposal for a wind farm site through Community Wind.
A petition in opposition to the project was signed by over 550 residents of Sandy Point, and presented at a council meeting last month.
Thorburn Irvine says residents feel they haven’t been properly consulted.
“There’s distrust within the community, and they feel this has been imposed upon them, instead of them being consulted,” says Thorburn Irvine.
She made a motion to put a pause on wind turbine development until staff can review the by-law, similar to what was recently done in Cumberland County, but the motion did not get seconded.
“It didn’t mean we would slam the door closed for business, but rather that we get our house in order, and drive it in terms of what the community wants.”
Warden Penny Smith says the municipality supports renewable energy, and the by-law outlines how developments can proceed.
She says if a project receives approval from the province, it would be up to the proponent to apply for a development permit, while following the municipal land-use by-law.
On their website, Community Wind says the Sandy Point Wind project has a capacity of up to 80 megawatts of clean renewable energy and power from the site will help meet the Nova Scotia goal to close all coal-fired power plants by 2030.
They say much of the construction will be done by local businesses, and wouldn’t be finished until 2024.
A resident of Jordan Ferry told us in October that only a few of the several hundred landowners had been contacted.
You can read more about the proposed project here.
