TORONTO -- Growing opposition to wind farms in Ontario has led to the delay or cancellation of at least three electricity-generating projects in recent months, prompting the province's energy minister to warn the not-in-my-back-yard phenomenon is a threat to the province's energy security.

"It's no longer NIMBY. For some people it's NOPE, not on planet earth, it's BANANA, build absolutely nothing anywhere," Dwight Duncan told CanWest News Service.

"None of us wants to have the transmission lines or the wires or generation sources close to home. (But) people have got to start asking themselves some pretty serious questions about this.

"We need proper processes, proper environmental assessment processes and so on and they are in place. But at the end of the day, remember if we don't get these things up and sited, we're not going to have enough power. These (wind turbines) produce greener power, cleaner power and we all have to do our bit."

Duncan's warning comes at the end of a summer that has seen Ontario's burgeoning wind-power industry suffer a number of setbacks at the hands of local opponents whose objections include everything from the noise produced by the turbines to their impact on bird populations, rural vistas, human health and property values.

Last week, Enbridge announced it was cancelling plans to install 11 wind turbines in the community of Saugeen Shores on the Lake Huron coast.

"We realized it would be highly unlikely that we would be able to meet the standards expected by Saugeen Shores," said Debbie Boukydis, Enbridge's manager of public affairs.

Wind companies typically rent sites for their turbines from rural landowners, who sign 20-year contracts for annual payments of between $3,000 and $5,000 per turbine. Enbridge originally proposed locating its turbines 50 metres from neighbours' property lines and then in response to public concerns raised the distance to 121 metres. Saugeen Shores, however, is insisting upon a 250-metre setback, a restriction that makes it difficult to locate turbines on most properties.

Boukydis said Enbridge will proceed with plans to install 110 turbines in neighbouring Kincardine, Ont., but she acknowledged the project is already months behind schedule.

"We thought that we would be up and running by the end of 2006," she said, noting the arrival of the turbines could be delayed by two more years if opponents succeed in their efforts to secure a full-scale environmental assessment.

Wind-farm developers must conduct an environmental screening process but if concerns persist, individuals can appeal to the Ministry of the Environment for a more comprehensive environmental assessment. To date, no Ontario wind farm has been required to meet the more rigorous standard.

In other recent developments:

- Brookfield Power abandoned a proposal to build a 49.5-megawatt, 30-turbine wind energy project in the scenic Blue Mountain area at the end of July, citing delays in obtaining the necessary permits.

- On July 17 Canadian Hydro Developers announced a 12-month delay in the startup of the second phase of its Melancthon Grey Wind Project near Shelburne, north of Orangeville, Ont. The company blamed a "longer-than-expected" approvals process and said the 88-turbine (132-megawatt) wind farm won't go into service until June 2008. In August, representatives of the Six Nations laid claim to the land where the new turbines are expected to go as well as to the 45 existing turbines that comprise the first phase of the Melancthon project.