Adam Prudhomme
Editor
Concerned resident Alan Mayer appeared before Stone Mills council on June 12 to implore the town to preemptively deny a proposed 200 MV battery energy storage project.
BluEarth Renewables has proposed the battery energy storage system (BESS) on 25 acres of privately owned land between Miller Road and Murphy Road in Tamworth.
Mayer made a passionate deputation to council urging them to say no to the proposal before it goes any further.
“I have come here to remind council about the damage and distress we experienced when BluEarth installed a solar farm in our community,” said Mayer. “I have no PowerPoint presentation but in my mind’s eye I see people addressing council at a meeting held on Feb. 11 2019. I still see the pain in their eyes. I hear the choked up voices as they told us about the destruction and devastation they’d experienced.”
To highlight his point, Mayer read from an article published in the Napanee Beaver on Feb. 14, 2019.
‘At a special meeting, councillors and representatives of developer BluEarth Renewables listened as many of the 30 residents in attendance passionately shared their disappointment over community division, noise and traffic seven days a week, environmental impacts, potential losses in property values, and misleading promises associated with the installation of the 54-megawatt project near Centreville. There were tears shed and raised voices,’ reads a snippet of the article. Mayer went on to share other concerns he had with his previous experiences with BluEarth.
“Before work was to begin, the Ministry of Natural Resources required BluEarth to put up exclusion fencing,” said Mayer. “That’s fencing to keep animals and amphibians off the road. It was supposed to go up before hibernation season ended. But BluEarth waited until afterwards when the animals were already on the move. When it was put up, it wasn’t done correctly. There were gaps in the fabric that the frogs and the turtles, some Blanding’s, and snakes, could crawl through. Then when they got on the road, there was no corresponding hole on the other side. Instead of BluEarth excluding the creatures, it trapped them on the road, left them to either dry out and be run over.”
As with their solar project, BluEarth’s current proposal includes a commitment to contribute financially to the community through the Community Vibrancy Fund.
“BluEarth currently provides support to the local community through the Community Vibrancy Fund which was established for our Loyalist Solar Facility. Our Loyalist Solar Facility provides annual contributions of $145,000 to the Township of Stone Mills, in addition to regular community donations that BluEarth makes on behalf of the solar facility,” reads a statement on the BluEarth Renewables website dedicated to the Stone Mills Storage Project. “To ensure direct and local benefit to the Township of Stone Mills, BluEarth is committed to providing an additional Community Vibrancy Fund on behalf of the Stone Mills Storage Project and will work in consultation with the Township of Stone Mills to establish this fund. The fund is intended to ensure that projects contribute their fair share towards the management and services provided by the Township.”
Deputy reeve Doug Davis says he understands Mayer’s concerns, but felt town was obligated to consider the offer.
“If it turns out to be unsafe, I’ll be the first one to say no,” said Davis. “This is seven years later so we have to listen to what comes to us. If we don’t, if we treat it frivolously, we then put ourselves into jeopardy legally by not giving them respect…we could be targeted for a frivolous decision.”
Councillor Wendy McDonald is already prepared to say no to the project. She noted neighbouring Greater Napanee said no to a BluEarth proposal earlier this year, citing a lack of communication between the company and residents near the proposed project site.
“It definitely aligns with how I’ve been feeling since this all started,” McDonald said of Mayer’s deputation. “I know that we should be waiting and see where things go scientifically and environmentally before we make a decision before they give us their request, but I hate waiting. I’m not a patient person. I want the decision made now.”
Council voted to note a receive Mayer’s deputation with a decision on BluEarth’s proposal to come at a future meeting.