People living near a proposed 25-turbine wind project on private land near Provost are speaking out against it.
You might think that this is just another case of NIMBYism, but opposition to the project goes far beyond locals, with environmentalists, who you might think would favour renewable energy projects, also speaking out against the idea.
Across Alberta, there is a growing resistance to developing large-scale wind projects in rural areas. Let’s look at why.
Electricity for 65,000 Homes
The proposed project by ABO Energy would produce 165 megawatts, enough to power 65,000 homes. The Alberta Utilities Commission is assessing the project, with a hearing set for February 24, 2025, to determine if the project should proceed.
The project would be on private land between Edgerton and Provost, 265 km southeast of Edmonton. The turbines that would be installed would be large, about the size of the Calgary Tower, with a hub height of 115 metres and a rotor diameter of 162 metres. Those are big units!
If approved, construction on the project is expected to start in the third quarter of 2025 and become operational in 2027.
ABO Energy has announced that its wind project construction, expected to take about 18 months, could create up to 100 jobs.
The company plans to award $70 million in goods and services contracts to Alberta-based businesses, prioritizing qualified local suppliers.
Additionally, ABO Energy states that the Municipal Districts (MDs) of Provost and Wainwright will share tens of millions of dollars in municipal tax revenue over the project’s estimated 30-year lifespan.
Why The Opposition?
Even though the turbines would be located on private land, locals oppose the project’s sheer size and scale.
Jasona Rondeau represents the Edgerton Land Advocates, a group that raises concerns about local wind projects.
“They want to construct 25 towers that are the size of the Calgary Tower, right on very prime agricultural land and surrounding vast numbers of livestock and a few residences,” Rondeau told CBC News.
Rondeau also expressed concern for local wildlife: “There are a number of concerns whether they are environmental because the bird environment protected areas report came back with a very high mortality risk for birds and bats.”
The province’s Environment and Protected Areas review of the project found “a moderate risk to wildlife and wildlife habitat.”
The Alberta Wilderness Association (AWA) is also concerned about the impacts on the ecosystem and wrote a letter to the Alberta Utilities Commission stating, “While we appreciate that the majority of the project is situated on cultivated lands, with a low proportion (nine percent) of native grassland habitat, we are concerned with the high risk it could pose to local wetlands, birds, and bats.”
Wind turbines have been documented as having devastating effects on bat populations if located along the migratory routes of bats.
In the letter, AWA’s Conservation Specialist Ruiping Luo wrote, “Wind turbines provide an alternative to fossil fuel energy generation with lower carbon emissions and cause nearly 35 times less bird fatalities than fossil fuel power stations. Yet, the extent of their environmental impact depends strongly on the location and operation of the wind power station.”
The AWA supports increasing renewable energy generation but stresses that it must be done in a way that considers wildlife, environmental protection, and human health.
Rondeau told CBC News that her group has heard concerns about health related to living near turbines. “Headaches and nausea and sleep disturbance, and in some cases … depression, anxiety, things that are difficult for them to manage,” she said.
A 2014 study from Health Canada found no link between exposure to wind turbine noise and adverse health effects in people.”Although audible sound, infrasound and low-frequency noise (LFN) are emitted from wind turbines, it is not at a level that causes health impacts, headaches, nausea, sleep problems and tinnitus,” ABO Energy states on its website.
Benefits to Locals?
Despite some construction jobs and projected income for the MDs, many locals feel they will see little benefit from the project.
John Parkins, an environmental sociologist with the University of Alberta, stated, “There may be benefits in terms of renewable energy for the grid that can benefit Albertans, particularly urban folks, but the benefits don’t really go to the local landowners and the local communities in ways that people would want.”
There are also concerns that local taxpayers will foot the bill for cleaning up the large-scale wind project at the end of its predicted 30-year lifespan. Albertans do not want a repeat of the orphaned well fiasco, which left a toxic trail of unpaid bills and environmental damage on rural lands.
Wind projects in other MDs have also been met with opposition from locals. A group calling itself Wind Concerns Kneehill County has also been busy gaining signatures, organizing meetings, and speaking to the local council in opposition to new wind turbines in their municipality. A group has been organized in the County of St. Paul to fight the installation of wind turbines in that county.
Groups like Edgerton Land Advocates, Wind Concerns Kneehill County, and St. Paul and Elk Point Anti Wind Turbines have been asking hard questions to municipal councils, the provincial government, and wind developers, such as: why should rural Albertans bear the burden of huge industrial developments that feed the electricity needs of cities? Should we allow skyscraper-sized turbines to ruin beloved rural and natural views? Should we allow turbines on productive farmland or native grassland? What about the birds and the bats? What about the turbine blades and the massive amount of concrete that can’t be recycled? What about the effects on human health or the declining property values for homes near turbines? And does renewable energy even provide the energy we need if the wind is not constantly blowing? All of these are valid questions, with more and more Albertans concerned about wind projects.
Are Albertans lukewarm just to wind energy, or are they hesitant about any mega-scale energy projects, whether renewable or not? Or is it more a “what’s in it for us?” scenario with locals in favour of projects that bring lots of jobs to the region, like the Grassy Mountain coal mine in southern Alberta? This latter project is expected to do more environmental harm than any wind farm, but when jobs and prosperity are on the table, do we turn a blind eye to the environment?
One thing is clear: there are no easy answers in this time of energy transition, but here at The Rockies.Life, we feel that locals should be always be consulted and engaged in decisions that directly affect them and their future. What are your thoughts on wind turbines in rural Alberta?
