Horizon files suit

By Leith Dunick, tbnewswatch.com

The City of Thunder Bay is facing a $126-million lawsuit in the aftermath of its decision to approve only 14 of 18 of Horizon Wind’s preferred wind turbine locations on the Nor’Wester Mountain range.

Horizon Wind Inc. confirmed the lawsuit was being filed at 4 p.m. Tuesday, but could not say what the specific damages they were seeking.

A source close to the situation said the southern Ontario company has filed for damages; misrepresentation; breach of contract; breach of duty of good faith, wrongful interference with economic interests, damages for breach of a non-disclosure agreement.

Council’s decision, reached Monday night after a lengthy in camera session, came a week after it voted 7-5 in favour of approving all 18 turbine locations, as well as the finalized lease agreement.

Horizon Wind originally agreed in 2006 to a land-lease deal with the city allowing them to put turbines on 17,000 acres of city-owned land in Neebing Township. However the province scuttled the company’s original choice on the south side of the Big Thunder Sports Park.

Horizon and the city then agreed to the current Nor’Wester Mountain range location, a decision that was vehemently opposed by nearby residents and business owners.

In her report recommending the city approve the lease and location, city solicitor Rosalie Evans said she made the decision despite the threat of lawsuits from several parties.

The company was planning to spend $75 million to build the wind farm.

If Horizon Wind wins its suit, money will be taken from the city treasury.

An interview request with Evans was not immediately responded to by the city solicitor’s office.

A Thunder Bay city councillor says she is willing to delay a proposed wind-farm project several years, if necessary, in order to get scientific evidence one way or the other about the health effects wind turbines have on human populations.

Coun. Linda Rydholm on Friday said there has yet to be a scientifically-based, thorough study from an independent third-party, and until one exists, she will continue to oppose a $75-million project, 18-turbine wind farm proposed for the Nor’Wester Mountain Range by Toronto-based Horizon Wind Inc.  

“For someone to say we’ve had wind turbines here for 20 years, there’s no proof that cardiac arrhythmias, headaches, sleep deprivation, etc. is related, that’s anecdotal,” said Rydholm, whose Neebing ward is the proposed home of the Horizon Wind project. Continue Reading

Wind hits board meeting

By Jamie Smith tbnewswatch.com

A citizen’s group has asked the Lakehead Public School Board to join the fight against the proposed Big Thunder Wind Park.

Nor’Wester Mountain Escarpment Protection Committee health and safety co-chair Margot Freitag, who is also a school board employee, made a presentation to the board Tuesday evening to discuss health concerns for students and staff at Nor’Westerview Public School should the estimated 18 wind turbines be installed. Freitag said the project would be within 2.6 kilometres of the school which could lead to everything from night terrors to ocular strokes for staff and students.

Freitag asked the board to request a moratorium on the wind farm until a third party health study, which Frietag said the provincial government has denied so far, is conducted. The committee wants the board to make a deputation or write a letter to city council expressing their support for the moratorium.

“Reports internationally are consistent that when children are living to close to a wind turbine…learning and cognitive functions are impaired and memory is impaired as well,” Freitag said. ” This is too close (to Nor’Westerview).”

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By Scott Paradis, http://tbnewswatch.com

An activist group opposed to a Neebing wind farm says the city needs to block the controversial project and stop using the province as a scapegoat.

More than 200 residents packed the Vickers Height Community Centre Wednesday night for a Neebing Ward meeting that focused on the proposed Big Thunder Wind Park. The proposal would see Horizon Wind Inc. erect about 18 wind turbines along the Nor’Wester Mountain range, a plan that led to the creation of the activist group called the Nor’Wester Mountain Escarpment Protection Committee.

The city’s zoning power in this case is limited, said Mark Smith, City of Thunder Bay’s general manager for development services. The municipal zoning power for green projects is limited because of Ontario’s Green Energy Act.

Some residents and Protection Committee members attending the meeting had issue with that.

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