The Ontario Environmental Review Tribunal (ERT) dismissed a pair of appeals that could have threatened two provincial wind farms being planned by Capstone Infrastructure Corp.
The ERT, an administrative tribunal that considers appeals from the general public in relation to an approval granted to a green energy project by the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, dismissed an appeal of the 18 MW ZEP Wind Farm Ganaraska on Aug. 11. Two days later, Capstone says the ERT also dismissed the appeal of Capstone's 10 MW Grey Highlands ZEP project, located in the Municipality of Grey Highlands, Ontario.
The ERT's decision to dismiss upholds the Renewable Energy Approvals (REAs) granted to the wind projects.
‘We're pleased that these renewable energy projects can now move into the construction phase and will soon be providing clean electricity for Ontario,’ says Michael Bernstein, Capstone's president and chief executive officer. ‘The build-out of Capstone's wind development pipeline is a central part of our commitment to contributing to a more sustainable energy future and creating value for our shareholders.’
Capstone received REAs from the ministry for five Ontario wind projects earlier this year, all of which were then subject to ERT hearings. With the Ganaraska and Grey Highlands ZEP appeals now dismissed, the company says it is moving closer to adding 64 MW of installed generating capacity in Ontario when the wind farms are completed.
