Belle River Wind Project

Transcription

1 Belle River Wind Project Final Community Liaison Committee Meeting November 22, 2017 MEETING SUMMARY Minutes prepared by: AECOM Page 1 of 16

2 Belle River Wind Project Final Community Liaison Committee Meeting Summary These meeting minutes were prepared by AECOM. AECOM is providing meeting facilitation services for the Belle River Wind Project Community Liaison Committee (CLC). These meeting minutes are not intended to provide verbatim accounts of CLC discussions. Rather, they are intended to summarize and document the key points made during the discussions, as well as the outcomes and actions arising from the CLC meetings. If you have any questions or comments regarding the meeting minutes, please contact: Pat Murray Belle River Wind 2050 Derry Road West, 2nd floor Mississauga, ON L5N 0B9 or Mir Ahsan Ali Talpur CLC Coordinator AECOM Phone:

3 Belle River Wind Project Final Community Liaison Committee Meeting Summary Table of Contents Final Community Liaison Committee Meeting ) Welcome and Introductions ) Overview of the Project ) Construction Update ) Operations ) Production and Availability ) Environmental Monitoring ) Decommissioning ) Future Communication... 9 Appendices Appendix A Meeting Agenda Appendix B List of Attendees Appendix C Meeting Presentation

4 Belle River Wind Project Final Community Liaison Committee Meeting Summary Final Community Liaison Committee Meeting The fourth and final Community Liaison Committee (CLC) meeting for the Belle River Wind Project (the Project ) was scheduled for 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on November 22, 2017 at the Comber & District Community Centre located at 7100 Community Centre Street, Comber, ON N0P 1J0. A copy of the meeting agenda is included in Appendix A. 1) Welcome and Introductions At the start of the meeting, Mark van der Woerd (Facilitator) welcomed members of the CLC and public to the meeting. Mark introduced himself and invited the Project team and CLC members to introduce themselves (list of attendees provided in Appendix B). Mark then outlined the following agenda for the final CLC meeting: Project summary Construction activities completed to date Post-construction activities Operations and maintenance Environmental monitoring Public Delegation Wrap-up and future communication Mark also added that the attendants are welcome to ask questions at any time during the meeting. A copy of the meeting package that included meeting agenda was provided to each CLC member in attendance. A copy of meeting agenda was provided to the members of public. Mark then invited Mir Ahsan Talpur (CLC Coordinator) to provide a summary of the CLC Meeting #3 that was held on May 25, Mir noted that a summary of the meeting was finalized and circulated to the CLC members. Mir asked CLC members if everyone had a chance to review the finalized CLC Meeting #3 summary and if there were any questions or comments. No questions or comments were received from CLC members. The following comment was received from a member of the public regarding Question3 in the CLC #3 Meeting summary: It was discussed at the CLC meeting #3 that water was sprayed on roads to control the dust. However, it was observed that no water was sprayed on Byrnedale Road and Trepanier Road. The member of public requested to revise CLC Meeting #3 summary to include this note. Mark confirmed that the CLC Meeting #3 summary will be amended to include this note. The revised summary will be uploaded on project website. Following question was asked by the same member of public:

5 Belle River Wind Project Final Community Liaison Committee Meeting Summary Question 1: What is the timeline for performing landscaping on the private properties? Answer: Currently, the project team is completing final restoration activities. Once the restoration activities are completed, the operations team will develop a landscaping plan to ensure property used as part of the Project is maintained. Any concerns regarding ongoing maintenance will be addressed immediately. The complaints should be submitted to the local operations team that can help address those complaints. Landowners can also contact the Municipality of Lakeshore (the Municipality ) to submit their complaints. The Municipality will direct those complaints to us. Mir then noted that the presentation for the final CLC meeting includes the following action items that were identified at the CLC Meeting #3: Post-construction activities (e.g., reclamation or required repairs) Updates on operations and maintenance Mitigation Measures and Monitoring Provisions for decommissioning Mir then asked if anyone has any questions. No questions were received. Mark then invited Mohinder Pannu (Belle River Wind) to provide an overview of the Project. 2) Overview of the Project Mohinder provided an overview of the Project. He outlined following items: The Project has a capacity of 100 MW with annual energy equivalent of approximately 35,000 Ontario homes month construction period Approximately 200 jobs during construction period Up to 15 permanent jobs during operations, in addition to using local contractors He then provided further information about the wind turbines, including: Wind Turbine manufacturer: Siemens Number of Wind Turbines: 40 Wind Turbine model: SWT Hub height: 99.5 m Blade length: 55.0 m Turbine blades manufactured in Tillsonburg Turbine towers manufactured in Windsor 3) Construction Update Mohinder confirmed that the construction of the Project has been completed. The Project entered the commercial operation phase in September He noted that there are still some construction crews working to restore private lands. Construction crews are expected to be demobilized by mid of December Consultation with the Municipality is underway to determine which roads have been damaged due to construction activities, in order to perform 2

6 Belle River Wind Project Final Community Liaison Committee Meeting Summary repairs on those roads. From those discussions, it looks like chip and tar roads cannot be repaired permanently in winter. Thus, repairs on those roads will be performed in the Spring of Question 2: Which roads will be repaired in the Spring of 2018? Answer: Lakeshore Road 123, Lakeshore Road 129 and Myers Road are examples of the chip and tar roads that will be repaired in spring County Road 31 was in deteriorating shape prior to the commencement of the construction of the Project. Upon discussion with the County of Essex ( County ), it was decided that County will rebuild the County Road 31 and Belle River Wind will make contribution towards costs associated with those repairs. Question 3: I heard that Byrnedale Road and Trepanier Road are also being paved. Is that true? Answer: Only the roads that were included in the agreement will be repaired. Byrnedale Road and Trepanier Road were not included in that agreement. This is something that needs to be checked with the Municipality. Question 4: Will Lakeshore Road 123 and Lakeshore Road 129 be paved or will they be applied chip and tar? Answer: They were originally chip and tar roads and they will be restored to their original status. Question 5: When will our yards be restored? Answer: Restoration work on all the private properties has been completed. The area mentioned you are referencing may be part of the road allowance. Any road allowance will be inspected by the Municipality and the repairs to those areas will be made following inspections. The Project construction team suggested the resident to provide the property address where the restoration work may have been missed. Mohinder will follow-up with the construction crew. Question 6: How many wind turbines that are part of this project are without lights? Answer: There are 40 wind turbines in total. 27 wind turbines have lights installed on them and 13 are without lights. Question 7: Who determines where the lights should be installed? Can the lights on wind turbines nearby my house be turned off? Answer: Transport Canada determines which wind turbines should be equipped with lights. Once the Project layout is finalized, it is provided to Transport Canada. Based on the analysis, Transport Canada advice of the wind turbines where lights should be installed. For example, initially when the Project had a larger layout, there were 30 wind turbines identified by Transport Canada that required light installations. Since the Project layout was reduced later during the Renewable Energy Approval ( REA ) process, the number of wind turbines with lights was reduced to 27. 3

7 Belle River Wind Project Final Community Liaison Committee Meeting Summary Question 8: Why the lights on some wind turbines were turned-off? Answer: The lights could be turned off due to a number of reasons, for example when a light bulb fuses or when the wind turbine is being repaired/maintained. Question 9: When was project layout assessed by Transport Canada to determine the wind turbine for lights? Can it be reassessed? Answer: The Project layout was assessed after it was finalized during the Renewable Energy Approval (REA) process in If there is Transport Canada has communicated with the area resident(s) that the Project layout can be reassessed after construction, the Project team can take that communication and consult with the Transport Canada regarding this matter. Question 10: Are there security cameras on wind turbines? Answer: No, few cameras are installed throughout the project for security reasons. There are no cameras installed on wind turbines that could violet the privacy of the area residents. Question 11: When the wind turbines are operational, does that mean they are not necessarily producing the electricity? Answer: When the wind turbines are rotating, that means they are generating electricity. The wind turbines could be stopped for a number of reasons, for example, when the winds are low, the wind turbines are undergoing maintenance, or if there is no demand of electricity at a given time. Question 12: What is being done regarding the shadow flicker effect caused by some wind turbines? Answer: The shadow flicker effect occurs only during fall season. It lasts around minutes, depending on the position of sun. Area residents are encouraged to notify the Project team via , when the shadow flicker occurs. The to contact the Project team is info@belleriverwind.com. Question 13: In case of power outage, do the wind turbines automatically shut-down? Answer: The wind turbines are not connected with the electricity distribution grid. They are connected with the transmission grid and feed power into that grid. If the power outage affects the Project s substation and operations and maintenance building, a backup generator will automatically start to provide power in the interim. 4) Operations Jonathan Miranda (Belle River Wind) provided an overview of the operations phase of the Project. He noted following points: Commercial Operation Date: September Siemens SWT Model Turbines. 52 kilometres (km) of underground collector system 7 km underground Transmission Line under 401 corridor 4

8 Belle River Wind Project Final Community Liaison Committee Meeting Summary Jonathan also noted the following names the Project s operations site team members: Jonathan Miranda: Facility Manager Chris Carr: Assistant Facility Manager Ryan Turner: Assistant Facility Manager Lana Downer: Site Logistics Coordinator 5) Production and Availability Jonathan noted that the Project has a 97.36% Turbine Availability; meaning that wind turbines are available 97.36% of the time to utilize wind resources to create electricity. He also noted that the Project has produced 14,695,936 kwh of electricity until November ) Environmental Monitoring Jonathan then provided an overview of the monitoring activities that are being conducted, including: Installation of road markers Cleaning up of roads for access Bird and bat surveys during Spring If there are any issues or emergencies, the Operations team will resolve them as soon as possible. Operations team will also address any issues such as leaks from transformers, etc. He also added that the Project team is always looking for local contractors such as landscapers. They are encouraged to contact the Project team for any future work. Question 14: What is considered an emergency? Answer: Events such as vandalism or break-ins are considered as emergencies. Question 15: Will an oil leak be considered an emergency? Answer: The wind turbines used for this project do not contain a gear box. Traditionally, the wind turbines included gear machines that included gear boxes carrying oil. There is some coolant but it only consists of water and some alcohol. Question 15: If we see something or hear something from the wind turbine, who should we contact? Answer: Area residents are requested to contact the Project team via (info@belleriverwind.com) and provide information such as date, time of the day, duration of the noise, if any, and any additional information that can help the Project team to make an assessment. 5

9 Belle River Wind Project Final Community Liaison Committee Meeting Summary Question 16: Will we receive a response back with information about the issue and what measures were taken to resolve the issue? Answer: Project team will respond within 24 hours of receiving a complaint. Technicians will also be sent out on site to assess the turbines for any mechanical problems. If any issues are identified, they will be resolved. In those cases, a response will be provided to the person who submitted the complaint. The response will include what measures were taken to resolve the issue(s), if any. The response process follows the REA approval which requires to log information about every complaint and share it with the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change within 24 hours of receiving the complaint(s). Question 17: I am hearing swooshing sound from the wind turbines. Is this normal? Answer: During the REA process, we conducted a Noise Impact Assessment (NIA) to ensure that sound levels at nearby receptors (buildings, house, etc.) do not exceed 40 decibeles (dba). At the commencement of the Project operation, Belle River Wind is required to verify the results in the Noise Impact Assessment (NIA) report to ensure the turbines are operating at levels consistent with the requirements outlined in the REA. Belle River Wind is in the process of hiring a third party consultant to conduct the noise monitoring surveys from specific locations to measure the noise levels. Question 18: Can noise monitoring be done at our house to ensure that the noise is not above 40 dba? Answer: Jonathan noted that he will take area resident s contact information and share with Belle River Wind s environmental team to see if an acoustic audit can be conducted. Question 19: How long will it take to complete the acoustic audit? Answer: Acoustic audit will take around 9-12 months to complete. Question 20: How can area residents contact the Project team if there any question or complaints? Answer: Project contact information is provided on Project website ( and below: Address: Belle River Wind 1624 Lakeshore Rd 125 Belle River, ON N0R 1A0 Phone: (519) info@belleriverwind.com 6

10 Belle River Wind Project Final Community Liaison Committee Meeting Summary Question 21: There is a wind turbine near my property and the access road is built along my property. That access road is being used by non-construction traffic. Is general public allowed to use access roads? Answer: Access roads are private property and general public is not allowed to use them. No Trespassing signs are on order and will be installed across the Project property in the near future. Question 22: A theft occurred on my property and it is my understanding that the access road beside my property helped facilitate thetheft. Is it possible to install gates on the access roads? Answer: From an operations perspective, installing gates will require our field staff to park near the road and exposing them to the heavy traffic. This will pose safety concerns to our field staff. For this reason, gates are not being proposed to be installed at the access roads. Question 23: Would it be too much to ask to plant tree-line between my property and the Project property? Answer: Jonathan noted that this is an individual case and he will visit the area resident s property to assess the situation. Question 24: Should we call the police if we see non-project traffic or individuals on turbine sites? Answer: Operations team will only visit the wind turbine locations when there is any maintenance required. Project vehicles are clearly marked. Public is requested to inform the police if any non-project individuals and/or vehicles are trespassing the Project property afterhours. Operations team does not visit the Project site after-hours. Mark then asked if there are any other questions. Following additional questions/comments were received: Comment 2: It is my observation that the internet signals become very week when wind turbine blades are turning. Response: It is advised to contact the internet service provider. If they determine the operation of wind turbines is causing weak internet signals, please submit a formal complaint to Belle River Wind for consideration. Comment 3: I listen to AM100 on my drive to work. When I turn west on to Trepanier Road from Lakeshore Road 129, the radio signals are lost. This didn t use to happen before. Response: The AM radio transmission signals usually get affected when there are overhead electrical lines. 7

11 Belle River Wind Project Final Community Liaison Committee Meeting Summary Question 25: Are there any consideration for compensating the adjacent landowners that are impacted by the Project? Answer: Belle River Wind committed $6 million to the community of Lakeshore as part of a longterm Community Benefit Program, which supports education and other initiatives. This includes an initial contribution of $2 million and an annual contribution of $200,000 for the next 20 years. The program will be administered by the Town of Lakeshore. Some examples of Municipal projects may include: Servicing infrastructure; Land stewardship; Public recreational facilities, including but not limited to construction, renovation or rehabilitation of public arenas, parks and trails; education and job training programs; and other community related initiatives sanctioned by the community through approval by Council of the Corporation of the Town of Lakeshore. Additionally, Belle River Wind places great value in being an active member of the community. If there is an organization you feel we should support through a sponsorship, please visit Question 26: I have heard that when excessive electricity is generated, it is sold to Michigan for a lower price. Is that true? Answer: There are reciprocal agreements between Ontario, and the states of New York and Michigan, whereby they buy and sale electricity based on demand and supply. The flow of electricity through the lines changes on a daily basis, depending on the demand. For example, if there is high demand by Michigan, the electricity will be transferred/sold by Ontario, and vice versa. There is a mobile phone application called Grid Watch, which allows user to see in real time the electricity, supply and demand. With this application, users can also see how much electricity Belle River Wind and other wind producers are feeding into the Ontario electricity grid. 7) Decommissioning Jonathan then provided the overview of the decommissioning process of the Project. He noted that a fund was created at the start of the Project that covers the costs to decommission the facility at the end of its operating life. The concrete foundations will be removed up to 1 metre deep into the ground. All the lands will be restored to their pre-existing condition. Question 27: Will the maintenance be conducted on the wind turbines throughout 20 years? Answer: Yes, the maintenance will be conducted regularly on as need basis. The wind turbines will be inspected on an annual basis to identify any maintenance needs. Question 28: Is it possible to allow the local artists to paint the junction boxes (green boxes)? Answer: The junction boxes are designed and regulated by the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) and are not allowed to be changed in any way. Additionally, although the junction boxes are not harmful, there are high voltage equipment within them and the general public is encouraged to not alter them. 8

12 Belle River Wind Project Final Community Liaison Committee Meeting Summary Question 29: Is it possible do some landscaping work (plant shrubs) nearby the junction boxes? Answer: There are underground high voltage cables installed nearby and connected with the junction boxes. It is advised to not to perform any landscaping work nearby. Mark then thanked the CLC members and the community for participating throughout the CLC members. He noted that the summary of the CLC meeting will be posted on the Project website ( 8) Future Communication Members of public can contact the Project team for any questions, complaints and/or sponsorships for community benefits, using the following contact information from the Project website: Address: Belle River Wind 1624 Lakeshore Rd 125 Belle River, ON N0R 1A0 Phone: (519)

13 Belle River Wind Project Final Community Liaison Committee Meeting Summary Appendix A Meeting Agenda Meeting Agenda Time Agenda Item Lead 6:00 p.m. Introduction Welcome from the Project Team Roundtable introductions AECOM 6:10 p.m. Review of CLC Meeting #3 Overview of the third CLC meeting Confirmation of meeting summary Review of action items AECOM 6:30 p.m. Belle River Wind Project Overview of Project and work completed to date Opportunity for questions and discussion Belle River Wind Construction 6:45 p.m. 7:30 p.m. Post-construction Activities / Operations and Maintenance Post-construction activities (reclamation, repairs, etc.) Mitigation measures and monitoring (Bat and bird mortality monitoring) Overview of operations and maintenance activities Project photographs Provisions for decommissioning Opportunity for questions and discussion Public Delegations If received Belle River Wind Construction & Operations AECOM 7:45 p.m. CLC Wrap-up and Discussion Project communication going forward AECOM

14 Belle River Wind Project Final Community Liaison Committee Meeting Summary Appendix B List of Attendees Name Organization / Role (if any) Attendance CLC MEMBERS Jim Byrne N/A Present David MacKinnon N/A Present Lisa Granger N/A Present Carol Pavlov N/A Not Present Brandon Smillie N/A Not Present Terry Therrien Pointe aux Roches Wind Farm Not Present BELLE RIVER WIND PROJECT TEAM (PROJECT TEAM) Jonathan Miranda Belle River Wind Present Lana Downer Belle River Wind Present Pat Murray Belle River Wind Present Joshua Vaidhyan Belle River Wind Present Mohinder Pannu Belle River Wind Present MEETING FACILITATION Mark van der Woerd AECOM Present Mir Ahsan Ali Talpur AECOM Present

15 Belle River Wind Project Final Community Liaison Committee Meeting Summary Appendix C Meeting Presentation

16 Harvesting the Wind for Ontario Belle River Wind Final CLC Meeting November 2017 Comber & District Community Centre 7100 Community Centre Street, Comber, ON

17 Agenda Introductions Belle River Wind Project summary Project photographs Construction activities completed to date Post-construction activities Operations and maintenance Environmental monitoring Public Delegation Wrap-up and future communication

18 CLC Meeting #3 Confirmation of meeting summary Action items: Post-construction activities (e.g., reclamation or required repairs) Updates on operations and maintenance Mitigation Measures and Monitoring Provisions for decommissioning

19 Belle River Wind Project Summary and Update

20 Project Overview 100 MW wind power project Annual energy equivalent of approximately 35,000 Ontario homes month construction period Approximately 200 jobs during construction period Up to 15 permanent jobs during operations, in addition to using local contractors

21 Project Study Area and Layout Lake St. Clair Belle River St. Joachim Comber Ruscom Station

22 Wind Turbines Turbine Manufacturer: Siemens Number of Turbines: 40 Turbine model: SWT Hub height: 99.5 m Blade length: 55 m Turbine blades manufactured in Tillsonburg Turbine towers manufactured in Windsor

23 Construction Update

24 Construction Completion Project Construction has been Completed. Restoration of private lands and public right of way is in progress. Construction Contractor demobilization shall be completed in 2nd week of December 2017 Restoration of Municipality roads shall be performed in 2018 spring Turbine components staged on pad at T48

25 Construction Timeline Wind turbine deliveries June 2017 ~ July 2017 Wind turbine erection starting June 2017 ~ August 2017 Switching station energization August 2017 Substation and transmission line energization August 2017 Collector circuit energization late July 2017 August 2017 Wind turbine commissioning August 2017 ~ September 2017 Remediation and restoration August 2017 ~ December 2017 Project commercial operation September 2017 Municipality and County Roads restoration Spring 2018

26 Post-construction Activities / Operations and Maintenance

27 Post Construction Commercial Operation Date: September Siemens SWT Model Turbines. 52 Km of underground collector system 7 Km underground Transmission Line under 401 corridor.

28 Operations Site Team: - Jonathan Miranda - Facility Manager - Chris Carr - Assistant Facility Manager - Ryan Turner - Assistant Facility Manager - Lana Downer - Site Logistics Coordinator

29 Production and Availability % Turbine Availability. Operation and Maintenance Installation Completed Construction in progress at Sub-Station

30 Environmental Monitoring

31 Decommissioning Anticipated project lifecycle: 20 years Project will be decommissioned in compliance with Decommissioning Plan and the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act and any other applicable regulatory requirements/standards Permits may be required for decommissioning activities from federal, provincial and municipal regulatory agencies

32 CLC Wrap-up

33 Future Communication Belle River Wind places great importance on being an active part of the local community. Please let us know if your group would like a presentation or if you have suggestions for community sponsorships and local causes we could support. To contact us: Address: Belle River Wind 1624 Lakeshore Rd 125 Belle River, ON N0R 1A0 Phone: (519) info@belleriverwind.com Website: belleriverwind.ca

34 This concludes the 4 th and final Community Liaison Committee meeting Belle River Wind would like to thank for your participation. Your interest and dedication is very much appreciated. Belle River Wind Energy for Generations