Some residents of West Prince are concerned about the proximity of wind turbines to houses. (CBC)

As the government of P.E.I. prepares plans to triple wind-power generation on the Island, grassroots opposition to the developments is growing.

Many of those wind turbines are planned for West Prince, the area that currently has the largest wind energy production in the province. Monday night, about two dozen West Prince residents gathered to discuss strategies for lobbying the province to take more care about where the turbines are placed.

Errol and Bev Howard were at the meeting. They built their dream home in Cape Wolfe eight years ago, and say they never would have imagined having turbines across from their front yard.

"It wasn't even on the radar as far as we were concerned, because no one had told us what was happening," said Howard.

"We would never have built here if that had been the case, if we had known that."

The West Cape wind farm near the Howard's house will have 55 turbines when it's finished. The province is planning significantly more growth in wind-power generation. On Friday it announced it was making plans to achieve 500 megawatts of wind power on the Island by 2013, up from the current 150 megawatts.

More than 180 residents of West Prince recently signed a petition asking the province to slow down.

Bev Howard said she and her husband would never have built where they did if they knew the wind turbines were coming. (CBC)

"What price do Islanders pay for this?" wondered Miminegash resident George Cousins.

"Is it their landscape? Is it their homes? Is it their future? What price are we going to pay for this development?"

West Prince residents are not alone in their concern. On Monday night Summerside residents successfully called for a delay in the vote on a wind-power facility there. They are concerned that the 400-metre buffer zone between the turbines and houses is not sufficient.

"Where's there's major wind farms in Europe, and their setbacks are 1.6 kilometres," said Darlene Compton.

"We feel with the city wanting to put turbines about 400 to 500 metres from the closest residences, that's just not acceptable."

City council asked staff to research the health effects of wind turbines so they can make an informed decision when the matter comes back for a vote next month.