Ontario’s process for making Crown land available for renewable energy projects continues into its second phase as the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) invite the public to provide input on where, when and how the Government should make Crown land available for off-shore wind projects. The proposed policy is also seeking public input on additional offshore areas that may constrain future development and should be taken into consideration. So far, 9 areas have been considered for potential removal from future development:
Navigational lanes
- Areas of core commercial fishing activity
- Sensitive environmental and ecological areas and features
- Areas subject to important recreational activities
- Cultural heritage features
- Areas of natural gas activity
- Areas of inland lakes not subject to the proposed five kilometre exclusion zone
- Other inland waterbodies (e.g., Lake Simcoe, Lake Nipissing, Lake Nipigon, Lake of the Woods, etc)
- Other Great Lake specific considerations
These MNR rules are in addition to the rules proposed by the Ministry of the Environment, such as the proposed 5 km setback from all major shorelines.