A grassroots advocacy group called Positive Voice for Investment in Energy in Weyburn and Area is encouraging supporters of a proposed wind farm to turn out at a public hearing Tuesday night.
At 7:00 p.m. at McKenna Hall in Weyburn, the RM will weigh Enbridge’s request to amend Zoning Bylaw 6-2013, which governs wind turbine height restrictions in the municipality. Enbridge is hoping to build a 200-megawatt clean energy project in the RMs of Weyburn and Griffin.
Known as the Seven Stars Energy Project, the Enbridge investment could be worth upwards of half a billion dollars – a number, according to Dale Mainil, that doesn’t even include spin-offs.
“I think the annual revenue this will generate after the fact is being overlooked,” says Mainil, a ratepayer and, along with Norm McFadden and Darcy McCormick, part of the Positive Voice group. “Windmills are all over the world; it’s not anything new. We need to seriously look at how this can help our community.”
Opponents in the region, says McFadden, are focused on the actual windmills and don't stop to consider the magnitude of the proposed investment and inevitable spin-offs.
“We’re talking huge, huge investments for our community,” he says. “Just during the construction phase, we’re talking tens of millions of dollars over two or two-and-a-half years that’ll directly benefit Weyburn, big time.”
McCormick points out that the chance to work with a company as reputable as Enbridge doesn’t happen every day.
“When you hear people push back with a not-in-my-backyard attitude, a lot of times they’re the ones complaining about unpaved streets, about not having a new swimming pool and all these other things,” he says. “Well, this is the opportunity, yet they’re pushing it away.”
Mainil believes it’s a small yet loud minority that continues to oppose the Seven Stars Energy Project. And yet, he says, it’s important to counter that negativity with a positive outlook.
“We’re trying to bring a positive voice to this,” he explains. “Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and it should be respected, but ours should be respected equally. We shouldn’t be bullied into thinking one way or another. We need to get that message out there, because I honestly think Enbridge has tried, and they’re a great company.”
McFadden adds that he and the other members of the group are not trying to convince people that they need to embrace green energy. It’s about investment, he says, and the kind of investment that rarely comes along.
“You really can’t turn away investment dollars of any kind,” he says. “You don’t have to agree with this project, but when you’re talking about investment dollars in a community, you have to take it seriously. We’ll probably never see something like this come into our neighbourhood again.”
Beyond future infrastructure, McFadden points out that existing infrastructure could also really use the Enbridge dollars.
“It’s to the point now that when you come into town, and you’re driving down Main Street, you’re not driving down to see what new businesses have opened; you’re driving to see which businesses have closed,” he says.
There’s also a risk, says Mainil, that other investors will keep away from Weyburn if projects like the wind farm can’t get off the ground.
“Why would you come to Weyburn if you’re going to be turned away by a minority negative voice?” he asks. “Tuesday night is the bylaw change hearing. Come out and support it, and don’t be intimidated. Come out and support it.”
“If this passes us by,” says McFadden, “we might as well hang up a sign on the highways leading to Weyburn that we’re closed for business.”