Chatsworth is going to look at whether or not the municipality will host any new wind turbines.
Council will be receiving a recommendation at its meeting this week to express it is not interested in the establishment of any new wind turbines in the municipality.
This comes as the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) is proposing moving forward with three new wind turbine projects.
The recommendation says people living near the existing turbines have reported considerable impact on their lives as a result of the noise and other emissions from the turbines.
In a letter from the Multi-Municipal Energy Working Group, which consists of representatives from across the region, the IESO is calling for new energy generation in the form of 2,000 megawatts produced by mostly wind and solar by 2030.
“It further proposes that most of this generation could be derived by repowering on the current footprint of existing wind turbines that will reach their end of contract life between 2026 and 2034,” says the letter. “In 2013, 115 municipalities declared themselves unwilling hosts for wind turbine projects. With the expected surge in proposals given the ambitious procurement efforts being undertaken by the IESO, and little change in the regulations, the Multi-Municipal Energy Working Group strongly recommends that municipalities take steps to prepare for new wind turbine projects.”
If Chatsworth moves ahead in declaring it is an unwilling host of more turbines, the recommendation requests the IESO be advised of this and to let potential applicants know.
Council will consider making its declaration during a meeting on Feb. 21 at 6:30 p.m.