Ontario municipality conducts a resident survey before deciding whether to accept wind power developer proposal. The answer was clear: NO.

In the fall of 2024, the Council of the Municipality of Mapleton, Ontario, discussed the fact that a “renewable energy company” had approached the municipality expressing an interest in a new industrial wind power site.

Mapleton passed a resolution in 2013 to declare itself an Unwilling Host to new wind power projects. At that time, several residents told Council they were experiencing negative effects from the wind power site operating in Mapleton, and that at least one family had been forced to relocate from their property.

“At this time, many Ontarians were also upset by the lack of process and consent to hosting renewable energy projects where they lived,” says a Departmental Report to Mapleton, filed March 18, 2025.

The Conestogo Wind project began development in 2006, and was operating by 2010 in Wellington County. At the time of proposal, many residents were opposed to the power project, according to now archived news reports. They objected to the public engagement process, the loss of farmland, and the risk of negative environmental and health impacts.

“I don’t want these anywhere near my home,” one Mapleton resident said.

Wind Concerns Ontario records of noise complaints, based on information obtained via Freedom of Information requests, show that as of 2021, there had been 79 files of noise complaints about the Mapleton area wind power site.

The Green Energy Act and Unwilling Host movement

The Green Energy and Green Economy Act passed by the McGuinty government in 2009 removed all local land use planning powers for renewable energy projects. As a result, many wind power projects were forced on unwilling communities. In 2013, Wainfleet Mayor April Jeffs wrote a letter to Premier Kathleen Wynne stating her municipality’s intent to be an Unwilling Host, and dozens of other communities joined.

By 2014, there were more than 100 Unwilling Host municipalities.

In 2024, upon receiving expressions of interest in new wind power development by Quebec-based Innergex, Council asked staff to “gather input” to assess public interest in new wind power projects. To the best of our knowledge, Mapleton is the first municipality to conduct such a survey.

A report was tabled at Council on March 18^th. A summary of the findings follows [emphasis is ours]:

Location—80% of residents have lived in the area for over 6 years, with more than half living less than a kilometre from a turbine. Two people had turbines on their property.

· Visual Impact—75 % reported moderate to significant impact on their surroundings, and 20% reported no effect.

· Noise—55% said they heard the turbines often, 25% said sometimes, and one person said never, with most respondents reporting minor to moderate noise impact on daily life.

· Health—A third of residents surveyed reported health issues related to the wind turbines. · Other Impacts – Half of the survey group experienced shadow flicker (when blades pass in front of the sun, causing moving shadows), 20% had witnessed avian or bat injury or mortality, and 1 person reported impacts from infrasound.

· Perceptions of the Planning Process—65% stated the process wasn’t fair, 25% said it was moderately fair, and one person said it was very fair.

· Property Value – 70% of those surveyed said their property value has decreased.

· Financial Returns – 90% of those surveyed do not receive any financial return from the energy project.

· Climate Change – 80% of those surveyed were concerned about climate change.

· Is Wind Power Effective in Climate Mitigation? Most people answered no, five said somewhat, and two said yes.

· Should Wind Power be encouraged in Ontario? 75% responded no to this question, and 20% said yes.

· Overall Experience – 70% were negative, and 15% were positive.

Unwilling Host municipalities act from experience

As is typical of the now 157 Unwilling Host municipalities in Ontario, Mapleton has real-life experience with wind turbines.

The staff report concluded that “The survey responses highlighted various concerns regarding industrial wind turbines, particularly their effectiveness in mitigating climate change and their potential impacts on communities, agriculture, and the environment. Many respondents emphasized the importance of fair consultation and expressed how these projects have affected friendships, family relationships, and land values. There is a strong belief that placing wind turbines near communities and prime agricultural areas, like Mapleton, could pose challenges to daily life and livelihoods.”

In other words, this is a community that knows what it’s like to live with wind turbines, that knows what effect has on the environment and climate, and it chooses not to have more.

Mapleton Council voted to uphold its Unwilling Host status.

While the Green Energy Act is gone, and project proposals now must have a Municipal Support Resolution to proceed, many aspects of the old processes are unchanged: power developer proponents are only obliged to hold one public meeting and an open Q&A format is not required; and Ontario’s setback distances and noise limits remain unchanged despite more than 16 years of problems.

Mapleton serves as an example to all Ontario communities: ask the people what they want rather than leaving this decision up to planning departments and a few councillors.

contact@windconcernsontario.ca