Tom Rankin, president of St. Catharines-based Rankin Construction -- which has partnered with Niagara's regional government on a plan to build a wind turbine farm with giant turbines in Wainfleet -- said after a committee meeting of Niagara's regional government Wednesday that one part of the policy might make the Wainfleet project too expensive.

That's because politicians had just approved the new policy that, among other things, in most cases will require power transmission lines on windfarm properties to be buried rather than to go on poles. The policy, which has to be ratified by regional council next Thursday, also says power lines should be buried along property en route to hooking up to an existing corridor of raised poles, although other bodies with authority over those lands will ultimately decide.

Rankin said after the meeting that it could add $2 million to the cost of the project, which already has most of the necessary approvals and which is awaiting the delivery of 30-storey-tall turbines from a German manufacturer.

"It's going to make the project questionable," Rankin said after leaving the meeting. "I've got to decide whether to proceed or not. I've got to go back and look at the figures."

He said he couldn't understand why cables would have to be buried in Wainfleet, which doesn't have any such policy.

Wainfleet Mayor Barb Henderson said the cables must be buried, noting that modern planning policies in most cities dictate that all lines should be buried in new developments such as subdivisions.

"Wainfleet deserves to be as esthetically pleasing as any other municipality in Niagara," she said.

St. Catharines Coun. Bruce Timms said dictating that power lines be buried was an "insult" to farmers, whose land such lines will typically be leased to cross on their way to the power grid. Farmers should be allowed to decide whether the lines should be buried or not, he said.

St. Catharines Coun. Tim Rigby said the buried lines requirement could make wind power "an extremely expensive proposition," and could jeopardize future wind generation projects in Niagara.