Time is of the essence as Kincardine council looks to conduct background noise studies before the Armow Wind project begins operation.
Council has directed staff to report back as soon as possible in order to issue a Request For Proposal to hire a consultant to conduct background acoustic and infrasound tests in the project area.
CAO Murray Clarke says they need to move quickly because the 180-megawatt Armow project is nearing completion.
"The Armow project is planned to be plugged in and operating before the end of the year, so clearly in order to gather benchmark or background data, it must be done before the turbines are spinning," says Clarke.
Council passed a resolution in 2013 to create a fund of up to $100,000 per year of tax revenue from Armow project for independent noise testing, but background testing is not included in the 2015 budget, so staff will report back with funding options.
Deborah Morris of Huron-Kinloss Against Lakeshore Turbines says they're urging Kincardine council to consider expanding its noise testing pledge to include the Enbridge wind farm in Bruce Township, as well as three other small wind farms proposed in the municipality.
However, Mayor Anne Eadie says council is focusing on the Armow project for now because of the tight timeline.
