Friday, August 17, 2001

Proposed Bylaw will impair competitiveness of Halifax companies


Later today, Halifax Regional Municipality planning staff will present to the Committee of the Whole regarding proposed tools for “dealing with” wind turbines. This is a process that has been underway for over two years, and is the result of many public and stakeholder consultations. While sustainability is a key plank in the HRM’s development plans, the proposed bylaw holds wind turbine development to a higher standard than any other form of development, which hardly encourages sustainability.

The presentation from staff, available HERE, breaks HRM into urban and rural areas and proposes setbacks for wind turbines from buildings, property lines etc in both areas. In urban sections, wind turbines will mostly only be allowed in business parks (Burnside, Woodside, Bayers Lake etc) and industrial areas. It is the proposed setbacks for these areas that cause the most concern for businesses in HRM.

The proposed bylaw calls for a setback of at least 1.0 times the total height of the wind turbine from property lines. Currently, there are no set backs from property lines for any other form of development in these business parks. Not for smoke stacks, power lines, street lights, cell phone towers or anything else. Therefore wind energy, which is something the HRM supposedly supports, is being held to a higher standard than anything else.

Based on the proposed bylaw, a wind turbine would not be allowed at the oil refinery!


The Business Park’s of HRM are specifically designated for industrial and commercial work. There are very few locations, mostly hotels, for people to actually sleep in these areas. The nature of businesses in these parks is often energy intensive, and therefore fossil fuel intensive. We have a world class wind energy resource, but this bylaw will prevent companies based in these parks from taking advantage of it.

Requiring setbacks of the total height of the wind turbine will mean that most properties in these parks will be excluded from a turbine of any significance. For example, a 50kW wind turbine, would produce ~125,000kWh/year (or ~$14,000/year at current rates), and would have a total height of close to 50m. Therefore, this turbine would require a property of 100m x 100m, which is much greater than most properties in these parks. And if a business has a property of this size, 125,000kWh/year would likely not replace of a significant percentage of their energy needs.

As the price of fossil fuels continues to increase, Nova Scotian companies can have a competitive edge by accessing fuel-free wind energy. This bylaw will prevent HRM companies from that privilege.

Therefore, we are requesting that council reconsider this specific recommendation. A more reasonable set back in these areas would be the length of the blades, to ensure that the turbine does not cross over a property line.

At a public meeting regarding these bylaws, city planners put forth the idea that they want to make sure that Burnside remains a quiet place to do business. Unfortunately, if Burnside goes quiet, there won’t be any business taking place.