Arran-Elderslie could be the next location of a couple of wind farms.
NextEra Energy Resources of Burlington have their eye on a plot of land, just northeast of Paisley and a second plot, southeast of Tara.
Each farm would have six windmills producing a total of 18 megawatts of power.
Mayor Ron Oswald says the company wanted to talk to the municipal staff only but councillors decided Monday, NextEra should be talking to everyone at the same time.
As a result the company has been invited to address council, staff and the general public on August 10th at 9 AM, at their regular council meeting.
Oswald admits there isn’t a lot the municipality can do to stop any development since the agreement is between the company and the landowners, with the province’s blessing.
The mayor also said although the wind turbines cost millions to erect and operate, they’re only assessed at about 50 thousand dollars which affects the municipality’s tax base.
Oswald says they wanted a public meeting to hear about the plans because there’s a lot of controversy surrounding wind farms and it’s best to get the information out in the open.
NextEra also is studying setting up wind farms in the Formosa area and another just south of Markdale.