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Environmentalists praised the decision.

“It’s a wonderful thing,” said Trevor Herriot, co-chair of Public Pastures – Public Interest.

He noted how few applications that go through the government’s environmental impact assessment process are denied.

Jordan Ignatiuk, executive director of Nature Saskatchewan, was “maybe a little bit” surprised by the denial “because I think you go through a lot of times of fighting the government and not seeing things change and this was one that did.”

He said approving this project would have set a bad example for future wind turbine proposals.

The provincial government has a goal of 50 per cent renewable energy sources by 2030, a large proportion of which the government envisions coming from wind, Moe said.

Also Monday, the government released siting guidelines for wind energy projects to reduce effects on wildlife.

The document details areas to avoid, like national or provincial parks, certain rivers and key bird areas; suggests ways to pre-screen locations for environmental risks; and recommends design elements to minimize effects on wildlife.

Wind turbines, the guidelines say, can cause bird and bat deaths by collisions, disturb or deter animals through noise and light, and lead to habitat loss.

“We’re hoping that Saskatchewan maybe can be a leader in this, in choosing the right places for siting wind energy projects so they don’t have the wrong impacts on the environment or on the needs of people who are living in the area,” said Herriot.

Not all wind turbine projects have to go through the environmental assessment impact process, although all are encouraged to follow the siting guidelines.

“We don’t necessarily like to be the project that wasn’t approved, but hopefully we can go forward with these new siting guidelines and win the day with our next project,” said Tharp.

Algonquin is already working with SaskPower on alternate locations.

The government is not currently reviewing any other wind turbine projects.

nlypny@postmedia.com

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