There are few policies of the Ontario Government that are more
maligned in rural Ontario than the Green Energy Act and the
approval of wind farms in particular. These projects have been
approved by the Province without local input and, in many cases, in
the face of local objections.
The challenges confronting appeals of project approvals have
caused further frustration. There have been two (2) cases where
approvals were successfully appealed. In both cases, endangered
wildlife were very negatively impacted by the project. However, the
vast majority of these appeals have not been successful and have
left some very unhappy clients with substantial expenses.
Appeals are generally brought by community groups or
municipalities who have declared themselves unwilling hosts of wind
farm projects. Unlike other development within their municipal
boundaries, these communities have no say on whether these projects
will move forward. The Province made the decision to
