Court upholds wind turbine setbacks - anti-wind activists lose court challenge

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled that the province of Ontario acted properly in setting regulations for the placement of wind turbines and rejected the application from anti-wind activists which sought to strike down regulations governing how close turbines can be erected to dwellings.

Turbines must be located at least 550 meters from dwellings in Ontario but the anti-wind activists had argued that the province had no "scientific basis" for setting that standard.

The court ruled that the province’s environment department had followed due process in creating the setback, that there was public consultation, and that the government considered “science-based evidence” in making its decision.

This court ruling is good news for all developers in Canada who now have binding judicial precedent that a 550 meter setback is adequate.