Welcome to the official webpage of the proposed Glenfanning Wind Project!
This website was created to provide project information to community members, First Nations, government, and other stakeholders. Natural Forces, on behalf of the Proponent, is committed to meeting with stakeholders throughout the project’s lifetime. Information sessions and other community engagement activities are planned for this project – the website will be updated as information becomes available.
About The Project
The Glenfanning Wind Project (the “Project”) is located in Epekwitk (Prince Edward Island), the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq People. Natural Forces acknowledges that working on these lands is a privilege that comes with a great deal of responsibility.
The Project is being developed by a partnership between Lennox Island First Nation and Natural Forces. The Project is proposed to be located within the municipality of the Town of Three Rivers, Prince Edward Island, approximately 2.5 km south of the community of Glenfanning and 1.5 km north of Cardigan North. The Project will have an installed capacity of up to approximately 35 megawatts (MW), representing four to five wind turbines.
Who is proposing this project?
This project is being proposed in partnership between Lennox Island First Nation and Natural Forces.
Lennox Island First Nation
Lennox Island First Nation is the proud home of the Epekwitnewaq Mi’kmaq (Mi’kmaq People of PEI). Approximately 450 residents live on this island in Malpeque Bay off the northwest coast of Epekwitk with an access point via bridge. Lennox Island believes in achieving energy sovereignty through developing and owning renewable energy projects.
Natural Forces
Natural Forces is an independent power producer that delivers renewable energy projects in partnership with local and Indigenous communities across Canada, Ireland, and France. Established in 2001 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Natural Forces remains a small company with big values and big ambitions. Collectively, Natural Forces has over 300 MW of renewable energy projects in operation across Canada, with several thousand MW of ongoing projects at various stages of completion throughout Canada, Ireland, and France.
Project Benefits:
- Generate enough electricity to power approximately 11,500 PEI homes annually
- Provide annual tax revenue over the life of the Project
- Create local employment and contracting opportunities during the development, construction, operation, and decommissioning phases of the Project
- Provide own-source revenue to Lennox Island First Nation through Project ownership
- Increase revenue to local businesses due to economic spinoff from Project activities
- Produce emission-free electricity on Island that will both increase energy security and displace generation from fossil fuels, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions
- Assist the province of PEI in meeting their target of achieving net-zero energy by 2040
- Stabilize energy costs for Maritime Electric customers by increasing electricity generation with fixed cost contracts
Public and Stakeholder Consultation
Natural Forces is committed to engaging with the public, stakeholders, and special interest groups throughout the lifetime of the project. Below is information about the major public and stakeholder engagement activities that have taken place to date, including summaries of the information that has been shared at our information session.
Newsletter
Natural Forces has engaged with, and continues to engage with, stakeholders through a number of avenues, including newsletters. Links to newsletters circulated will be linked below:
Information Session
Natural Forces will hold information sessions to provide an opportunity for the community to engage with Natural Forces staff. All of the information presented will be uploaded here:
Info Session I Nov 2025
What is the process?
1
Development
(Current Stage)
- Wind data collection and assessment
- First Nation, stakeholder, and public consultation
- Municipal and federal permitting
- Field and desktop environmental and socioeconomic studies
- Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) submission
- Interconnection studies
- Turbine procurement
2
Construction
- Tree clearing
- Access road and crane pad construction
- Turbine foundation pouring
- Wind turbine assembly
- Electrical works and interconnection
3
Operation
- Project commissioning
- Site reclamation from construction activities
- Post-construction wildlife monitoring
- Project site operation and maintenance for 30+ years
4
Decommission or Retrofit
- Two options are available at the end of the initial operational period:
- Option 1: Decommission within 12 months and reclaim site to required standards
- Option 2: Retrofit with necessary approvals, permits, and equipment repairs and upgrades to continue operation
Environmental Impact Assessment
The Project requires approval through the provincial Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) review process. Desktop and field studies are currently being completed as part of the EIA. These studies will help shape the Project to ensure it is developed responsibly and to mitigate environmental and sociocultural impacts. Members of the local community will have an opportunity to review and comment on the EIA document.
Studies conducted:
- Air Quality, Climate and Atmospheric Environment
- Geology, Geomorphology and Groundwater Resources
- Hydrology and Surface Water Resources
- Aquatic Biology and Ecology
- Bird Biology and Ecology
- Bat Biology and Ecology
- Terrestrial Biology and Ecology (excluding Bird and Bats)
- Valued Spaces and Locations
- Socio-economic Community Structure
- Lifestyle and Quality of Life
The following is a high-level summary of the Environmental Impact Assessment process:
- The Proponent conducts the EIA by studying the site and assessing the potential effects of the Project (1-2 years)
The EIA is submitted to the PEI Department of Environment, Energy and Climate Action (EECA)
EECA and the Technical Review Committee conducts their review. The public is also provided an opportunity to review the proposed project, offer comments, or identify concerns
Once the review is complete, the Minister of Environment, Energy and Climate Action approves or denies the proposed project
Following approval, the Proponent may proceed with the Project while ensuring compliance with the approval conditions through monitoring and mitigation
Sound Levels
The most significant factor when limiting sound impacts to nearby residences is the way wind turbines are sited initially. As such, the proposed wind turbine locations are more than 800 m from any residence. Based on this siting, Natural Forces assessed the impact of sound levels from the proposed Glenfanning Wind Project on nearby homes. This assessment uses industry best practices to model how the sound created by the wind turbines will travel over the landscape.
Natural Forces engaged a third-party consultant to review the methodology used to carry out this modelling and to validate the results. Aercoustics Engineering concluded that the methodology used by Natural Forces is appropriate and provides conservative results, likely overestimating the expected sound levels.
Results of the modelling show that sound levels potentially experienced by nearby receptors during the Project operation would be below 40 decibels. Under certain climatic conditions for short periods of time, the model estimates a maximum sound level at a residence of 35.1 decibels, which is comparable to a soft whisper. The map below visually shows the results of the sound modelling.
Sound Comparisons – 40 decibels: quiet library sounds, 50 decibels: refrigerator, 60
Frequently Asked Questions
Natural Forces undertakes rigorous environmental impact assessments ahead of construction to determine existing environmental sensitivities and potential impacts on the project to the environment. This information will be reviewed by provincial government officials and will be open for public comment.
The proposed turbines will be set back at least 1 km from all permanent dwellings
A study done by Health Canada in 2014 investigated the health effects of wind turbine noise. This study found that wind turbine noise was not associated with self-reported sleep, illness or stress levels. The summary of these results can be reviewed on the Health Canada Environmental and Workplace Health page and links to additional studies can be found in the following section.
https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/health-risks-safety/radiation/everyday-things-emit-radiation/wind-turbine-noise/wind-turbine-noise-health-study-summary-results.html
For this project, Natural Forces leased land from private landowners. Over the course of several years, we have developed trusted relationships with the landowners and in all instances the land remains in the ownership of the landowner and is leased for the duration of the project. No land has been leased from unwilling landowners.
During construction, Natural Forces makes every attempt to hire local contractors, using our in-house construction management company, Natural Forces Construction, to ensure smaller contractors are able to participate.
For more information please contact:
Tess Donohue, Project Manager
902-483-9592
community@naturalforces.ca
