A farmer in Prince Edward County is taking the Ontario government to court over its plans to boost wind farm development across the province.

Critics of Ontario's wind power rules say the government's plans expose those who live close to turbines to a number of adverse health effects. (Canadian Press)

The Ontario government has proposed building a wind farm containing five turbines within 900 metres of Ian Hanna's home on Big Island in the Bay of Quinte, just south of Belleville.

His community of about 100 homes will be overwhelmed by the turbines, he said.

"As a father, as a husband, I became very concerned about the welfare of my family," he told CBC News. "We're very worried about the possibilities of having industrial wind turbines located so close to our home that it will be harmful."

Hanna filed an application of judicial review on Monday. He is appealing to a judge to halt the building of wind turbines until independent studies rule out concerns about their effects on people's health.

The legal action threatens to slow down millions of dollars in wind projects under the government's much-promoted Green Energy plan.

Under the rules of Ontario's Green Energy Act, wind turbines must be located at least 550 metres from residential homes — farther away than anywhere else in Canada, the United States and eight European countries.

The government predicts that the entire Green Energy Act will generate 50,000 direct and indirect jobs in Ontario.

"Are we willing to live with some economic uncertainty, or are we prepared to live with all kinds of uncertainty around people's health?" said Eric Gillespie, Hanna's lawyer.

"I think the answer to that question is obvious to most people."

Health effects debated

Energy Minister George Smitherman dismissed the case.

"It's not a surprise that a group that has been so vocal in their opposition would seek some other redress. and of course we'll do our bit to defend that," he said.

During a press conference to launch the legal action, Dr. Robert McMurtry, former dean of medicine at the University of Western Ontario, said there are more than 100 people in the province suffering from adverse health effects from the intermittent swooshing of wind turbines, and many have had to leave their homes.

Critics of the turbines have voiced concerns that people living near wind farms have complained about dizziness, headaches, cardiac arrhythmia, nausea, heart palpitations, depression, loss of cognitive abilities and sleep disruptions.

The wind industry has disputed these claims. The Canadian Wind Energy Association has said there is no evidence in peer-reviewed journals that wind turbine noise causes adverse health effects or bothers people as much as other sources of noise.

A news release put out by the group last year lists seven publications, including articles from the Lancet, the World Health Organization, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and the health branch of the Ontario Municipality of Chatham-Kent that draw similar conclusions.

It's not yet known when Hanna's case will be heard.

With files from The Canadian Press