Atlantic Canadian Wind Farm Projects

[Dmajackson]

Does NB have a project like this proposed for their side of the marshes?

Amherst has plans for wind power

By Carol Dobson Special Features Writer
Tue. Jan 27 - 4:46 AM



If you’ve ever spent any time on the Tantramar Marshes, you certainly know the power of the winds that blow across the Isthmus of Chignecto. Even on the hottest day of the summer, it’s easy to find a breeze.

That wind power will be harnessed beginning in late 2009 or early 2010. Nova Scotia Power selected Acciona Wind Energy Canada to build a 30 megawatt wind energy project behind the Wandlyn Motel on the outskirts of Amherst. There will be 20 1.5 MW turbines erected and NSP has entered into a 25-year agreement with Acciona to purchase up to 30 MW of power from the site.

"This is something we’ve been talking about for the 10 years I’ve been in my job," the Town of Amherst’s Roger MacIsaac says. "It’s going to have a great tourism benefit because the first thing you’ll see as you come across the marsh into Amherst will be these turbines. They’re going to be a great indicator of our commitment in this province towards green energy."

Those driving along the highway can easily see that the town’s industrial park is a busy place. Companies like C Vision and Pure Energy, MacIsaac says, are continually creating new and innovative products. Companies like Staples, Maritime Pride Eggs, and Weston bakeries have their distribution centres in the park, capitalizing on Amherst’s long-time role as the gateway to the province.

Amherst was the first town in Nova Scotia to tap into natural gas, and the businesses in the park were early adopters.

"This is the fourth year of Heritage Gas’ roll-out," MacIsaac says. "All of the Town of Amerst’s buildings are now converted to natural gas and even the Zamboni at the rink is powered by natural gas. It’s the only one of its kind in the province."

[MonctonRad]

Yep, there is a wind farm being built on the NB side of the Tantramar as well. I am not quite sure how large it will be right off hand but it will be substantial, probably of a similar size to the NS wind farm.

In additon to the Kent Hills wind farm, there will be three other commercial wind farms in NB; located in Aulac, Lamèque, and Caribou Mountain

[MonctonRad]

I did a quick Google search......

Aulac chosen for wind farm

AULAC, N.B. — The Tantramar Marsh between Amherst and Sackville may become a busy spot for wind energy.

With two wind farms proposed on the Nova Scotia side of the marsh, Acciona Energy announced Monday it has been selected by the New Brunswick government to construct a 64.5-megawatt wind farm in Aulac.

The Aulac wind farm is expected to be in service by November 2009 and will include 43 turbines that will provide 177,870 megawatt hours of power per year. This will be roughly enough power to meet the electricity needs of about 10,300 homes.

“As with Amherst, the wind resource is great in the Aulac area and the land owners are keen to support such a project,” project manager Todd Anderson said. “We have already signed up over 6,000 acres of land, which is pretty considerable. Also, NB Power was keen to get some more wind power generation in that part of the province.”

Acciona Energy and Saint John, N.B.-based Wind Dynamics, which is also a partner in the Aulac project, are also proposing to build a 30-megawatt wind power facility on the Nova Scotia side of the marsh just west of the Trans-Canada Highway. The project will include 20 turbines that will be 80-metres tall.

Anderson said both projects would operate independently of each other, but would also compliment each other.

“One will use the 1,159 transmission line and the other would use the 1,160 transmission line. They will operate separately,” Anderson said. “Ideally we’ll have both projects running on the marsh. We’re hoping to have something on (the Nova Scotia) one in a few weeks.”

The Aulac project, which is expected to create between 50 t0 75 jobs with a total investment of $125 million, is one three proposed for the marshes along the Nova Scotia and New Brunswick border.

Invenergy Canada announced last August its plans to erect up to 40 turbines on the Nova Scotia side of the border near Mount Whatley or at another location near the Missaquash River on the Converse Marsh.

By Darrell Cole


Our wind farm will be bigger than yours.

[Dmajackson]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Our wind farm will be bigger than yours.

Damn. I thought we'd beat you this time.

Oh well I guess we'll have to wait for the tidal power to bwat you guys in.

43 + 20 + 40....so if all three projects go through we could have upwards of 100 turbines on the marshes. Now thats impressive!

[mylesmalley]

Throw in the radio towers for CBC/Radio Canada International and you've got a lot of tall stuff in a pretty small area.

[Dmajackson]

Since AC seems to have a lot of wind farms proposed how about we convert this thread into a general discussion about wind farms in the four provinces.

To start off heres an article from the Herald this morning listing the wind farms proposed for Nova Scotia;

=============================================================================================================================

BLOW-BY-BLOW UPDATE

RENEWABLE ENERGY SERVICES LIMITED

Headquarters: Halifax Turbines operational: Two (Halifax, Shubenacadie) Proposal: 12-turbine wind farm at Statia Terminals, Cape Breton Proposal capacity: 24 megawatts, enough to produce electricity for 6,000 homes Operational: 2009

EARTHFIRST CANADA INC.

Headquarters: Victoria, B.C. Proposal: 22-turbine project at Nuttby Mountain, Colchester County Proposed capacity: 45 megawatts, producing power for about 15,000 homes Cost: $90 million Operational: Unknown Item of interest: The company sought bankruptcy protection in November and is trying to sell company assets.

RMSENERGY

Headquarters: Westville Proposal: 34 turbines at Dalhousie Mountain, Pictou County Proposed capacity: 51 megawatts Cost: $134 million Operational: 2009

SHEAR WIND INC.

Headquarters: Halifax Proposal: 30-turbine wind park near New Glasgow Proposed capacity: enough electricity for about 17,500 homes Cost: $143 million to $160 million Operational: 2010

ACCIONA WIND ENERGY CANADA

Headquarters: North American headquarters, Chicago Turbines operational: Co-owns with Suncor Energy 78 turbines in Canada at three wind farms Proposal: 20-turbine wind farm on the marsh outside Amherst Proposed capacity: 30 megawatts, enough energy for 10,000 homes. Cost: $55 million Operational: Status unclear Interesting fact: one of the world’s largest wind companies

SKYPOWER and SCOTIAN WINDFIELDS

Headquarters: Toronto and Kentville Turbines operational: SkyPower has a $160-million wind farm in Price Edward County, Ont., northwest of the Town of Picton.

Proposal: 20 turbines near Digby Neck. Proposed capacity: 30 megawatts Cost: $82 million Operational: Scheduled for late 2009 Interesting Fact: Skypower is affiliated with Lehman Brothers that went bankrupt before Christmas.

[Dmajackson]

Wind project gets OK

By Our Staff
Thu. Feb 5 - 5:51 AM
A Halifax wind company hoping to build a 30-turbine wind project near New Glasgow is going ahead with construction after receiving its provincial environmental permit this week.

Shear Wind Inc. received environmental approval for the Glen Dhu wind park near Merigomish, Pictou County.

"This is a major milestone for us," Ian Tillard, the chief operating officer for Shear Wind, said in a news release Wednesday.

"Receiving the provincial permit is a significant advancement for Shear Wind’s Glen Dhu development schedule. Our next step is to enter the construction phase, (including) finalizing turbine purchase arrangements, (and awaiting) environmental approval from the federal government and any municipal permits which may be required."

The green light is subject to obtaining all other necessary approvals, permits or authorizations required under municipal, provincial and federal acts before commencing work on the project, the release said.

"Community support has been very instrumental in the development of this wind farm," said Mr. Tillard.

Shear Wind, founded in 2005, is developing the wind farm, which is expected to cost between $143 million and $160 million.

Last year, Shear Wind signed a deal with Nova Scotia Power to provide 60 megawatts of electricity — enough for 17,500 homes.

The Glen Dhu park was originally slated to begin in late 2009, but the global credit crisis forced the company to push back the date to start producing wind-generated electricity until 2010.

[MonctonRad]

Wind farm projects delayed
Published Friday March 20th, 2009

NB Power yet to receive official word Aulac, Lamèque projects are behind schedule
By Mary Moszynski
Times & Transcript Staff

FREDERICTON - The global financial crisis has delayed two wind farms planned for the province.

Acciona Energy confirmed the projects planned for Aulac and Lamèque won't go ahead as scheduled because of rising costs and difficulty securing the necessary financing.

"The projects are suffering from the economic downturn. One of the key issues is that liquidity for capital projects is scarce," said company spokesman Eric Schneider. "It's a combination of things but they have made these projects far more expensive to build and difficult to secure financing for."

The company is continuing to apply for the necessary permits and pre-construction work on the projects continues, said Schneider.

But it's difficult to say when the projects will now be completed, he said.

Last year, Acciona Energy was awarded contracts with NB Power to build a 49.5-megawatt farm in Lamèque and a 64.5-megawatt farm in Aulac.

The Lamèque project was expected to include 33 turbines and provide enough power to meet the electricity needs of about 8,900 homes.

The Aulac project was supposed to include 43 turbines and meet the electricity needs of roughly 10,300 homes.

In exchange for 25-year power purchase agreements from NB Power, Acciona would construct, own and operate the farms.

Both projects were expected to be completed in November 2009.

Schneider wouldn't say if the company has asked for any specific help from the provincial government or NB Power.

"We're working with them and, right now, we're looking at every option available to improve the financial viability of the projects," he said. "These projects provide economic development and the government and NB Power have a large stake in these as well."

It costs roughly $2 million per megawatt to construct a wind farm, according to the Department of Energy.

Heather MacLean, spokeswoman for NB Power, said the utility hasn't received official confirmation that the projects are behind schedule.

She said it's too soon to say what will happen if the projects don't go ahead.

"We knew that they were having some challenges given the economic circumstances," she said. "We haven't been officially informed that they are behind."

The delay will likely have a significant impact on the utility's goal to have 300 megawatts of wind power on-line by November 2010.

"Is it going to make it tougher? Of course," said Energy Minister Jack Keir. "I don't want this to be doom-and-gloom because I'm not convinced yet that they're not going to move forward."

The Trans-Alta wind farm in Kent Hills, Albert County went on-line at the beginning of this year, generating enough power to meet the electricity needs of roughly 17,300 homes.

[MonctonRad]

In the spirit of using this thread to discuss all wind farm projects in the region, I will post this here.


Wind turbines arrive in N.B.
Published Friday May 15th, 2009

FREDERICTON - Residents of Belledune may spot an unusual sight while driving by the port as windmill towers for the province's latest wind farm project have arrived.


The 33 towers are for the Caribou project, which is located in the Bathurst region.

The towers arrived on the ship M.V. Alaskaborg's maiden voyage from Vietnam.

The wind farm will produce 99 megawatts of power when it's completed early next year.

[Architype]

I don't know if it was mentioned; there is a wind farm, completed in 2008 (as far as I know), at St Lawrence, Newfoundland. St. Lawrence is a small town on the Burin Peninsula, "the boot" on the South Coast of the island. "The 27-megawatt farm features nine, three-megawatt wind turbines and will generate roughly 100,000-megawatt hours a year – enough to provide electricity to approximately 6,800 homes. Energy generated by the wind farm has the potential to reduce the fuel burned at the Holyrood Thermal Generating Station by 165,000 barrels a year." The turbines are 67 meters high, with the total height including the blades around 107 meters or 350 ft. The nine turbines are each taller than Confederation Building, and the blades taller than Fenwick Place in Halifax.



Source: http://www.southerngazette.ca/index....=156929&sc=382

http://www.windaction.org/news/17104

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundlan...wind-farm.html

Aside from this there is an installation on the island of Ramea, also on the South Coast. There are, or were, also plans for a wind farm near Churchill Falls in Labrador - although I question the need for it there, with one of the world's largest hydro projects nearby. There may be plans for others which I'm not aware of as well.

The project is a 25.2 MW wind project located about one km northwest of the community of St. Lawrence on the Burin Peninsula.

The project will install 14 Vestas V-80, 1.8 MW wind turbines. *

The hub of the turbine will be 67 metres high.

The rotor diameter will be 80 metres (40 metres per blade) with an average speed of 15.5 RPM.

The wind project will generate enough energy annually to power approximately 6,800 homes.

The project is expected to be on stream in late 2008.

The power purchase agreement will be for a 20 year term.

http://www.releases.gov.nl.ca/releas...nr/1002n07.htm

The generation of renewable energy is particularly important for Newfoundland Island because it is isolated from the North American grid.

* Note: There are some inconsistencies between these sources, but I believe the southerngazette is more recent, and I cross checked between other sources.

[MonctonRad]

I'm going to PM a Mod, requesting that the name of this thread be officially changed to Atlantic Canadian Wind Farm Projects

[Architype]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

I'm going to PM a Mod, requesting that the name of this thread be officially changed to Atlantic Canadian Wind Farm Projects

I just posted the Nlfd one here because it fit the theme, and probably hadn't been mentioned before. A more general title might be good however.

[Dmajackson]

Wind energy plan won’t die
Despite setback, Summerside briskly goes forward with wind farm project
By ANDY WALKER
Thu. May 21 - 4:46 AM
CHARLOTTETOWN — Even though a plan by Prince Edward Island to entice the private sector to construct a 500-megawatt wind farm appears to be a victim of the global economic downturn, the push toward wind energy continues unabated.

The proposed wind farm, which could carry a price tag of up to $1 billion, was announced in 2008 as part of a provincial energy strategy. The first phase of the development was scheduled to go to tender at the end of last year, but a slowing economy scared off many potential investors.

However, the City of Summerside is going full steam ahead with the second phase of its wind farm project. The municipal, provincial and federal governments made a formal announcement of the $13.5-million project Wednesday.

The road to the announcement has been anything but smooth. The first phase of the project, which involved the purchase of two windmills, received funding in 2006. However, the project met a storm of protest from area residents. After failing to change the mind of city councillors, the residents appealed the plan to the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission.

Due to the delay, the two phases of the project will now proceed at the same time. A backgrounder provided to reporters at the announcement indicates installation of four turbines will begin in August and be completed by November. The 12-megawatt capacity represents a quarter of the peak load for the municipality’s electric utility.

Last week, Prowind Canada Inc. announced plans to build 25 wind turbines with a generating capacity of 50 megawatts in Middleton, an unincorporated area about a 15-minute drive east of Summerside. To date, there has been little reaction from area residents.

That is in addition to the provincially owned wind farms at the eastern and western tips of the province, as well as privately owned wind farms in Norway and West Cape. Energy Minister Richard Brown continues to insist Islanders will reap financial benefits from the increase in wind energy. Mr. Brown told the provincial legislature May 13 that the benefits will come through land rentals where the windmills are located, and a 16 per cent corporate income tax rate.

In the case of Suez Renewable Energy, which owns the Norway and West Cape wind farms, the minister said the province receives a percentage return on the revenue generated by the company.

"We get a proportion of their renewable energy credits that are sold into the New England pool," he said.

( awalker@herald.ca)

[Dmajackson]

Wind park starts storm
By BRIAN MEDEL Yarmouth Bureau
Sat. May 23 - 4:46 AM

DIGBY — With just one week remaining for people to comment on a proposed 30-megawatt wind turbine park at Digby Neck, some worried local residents have gotten together to scrutinize the proponent’s environmental assessment application.

Scotian Windfields Inc. has partnered with SkyPower Corp. of Ontario to create and operate Digby Wind Park.

A year ago the partnership revealed that it plans to erect 20 turbines in an area 40 kilometres by five kilometres in Digby Neck.

The partnership has been given a 20-year contract by Nova Scotia Power and plans to have turbines operating by the spring of 2010, according to updated schedules.

The company filed an environmental assessment registration document on April 30. The public has until May 30 to comment.

Judith Peach, one of about two dozen area residents who met Thursday night, said they’ve never been asked by the company what they think about the project.

That’s probably because they don’t have property leased to the wind park for turbine placement or access roads.

"They’ve consulted with our municipal government, assuming that they’re representing us," said Ms. Peach about the company.

"They’ve consulted with the people who’ve leased. They’ve consulted with Nova Scotia Power.

"They haven’t consulted with the people who aren’t leasing (but) who will have to live with the turbines."

The environmental assessment report refers to the region as being sparsely populated, said Ms. Peach. But she said 110 homes can be found within a couple of kilometres of the proposed wind turbine park. Many are within 600 metres, she said."If the company thinks it’s sparsely populated and therefore there’s no opposition, then that’s not really the case," said Ms. Peach about the region.

Scotian Windfields also launched its own Digby project website (digbywindproject.com) this month.

A link to Nova Scotia’s Environment Department provides the entire environmental assessment registration document for reading and printing and the opportunity for anyone to comment on the project.

According to the company website, a community information session is planned for this summer, although a time and place have not yet been chosen.

( bmedel@herald.ca)

Digby Wind Project Official Website

[MonctonRad]

P.E.I. wind turbine arrives
Published Wednesday May 27th, 2009

KENSINGTON, P.E.I. - After several delays a community in western Prince Edward Island has its long-awaited wind turbine.

Kensington town administrator Geoff Baker says the turbine arrived two weeks ago.

He says it is already erected at the town's pollution control plant and should be operational within a week or so.

The original plan was to have the $521,000 turbine up and generating electricity months ago.

But a problem with the control panel delayed its arrival in the town.

The turbine is expected to generate 281,000-kilowatt hours of electricity annually.

BTW - Thanks to the mods for the name change to the thread.

[corda]

Published Wednesday June 17th, 2009
NB Power makes a request for proposals to build 100-megawatt energy project
By Nick Moore
Times & Transcript Staff
FREDERICTON - The provincial government has taken the first step toward building New Brunswick's next large-scale wind-energy project.


NB Power officially made a request for proposals, yesterday for the province's fifth wind-farm, which will generate up to 100 megawatts of wind-energy, somewhere in New Brunswick.

Currently, 99 megawatts of wind-energy is being produced by 32 wind-turbines in the Kent Hills area, 30 kilometres (18 miles) southeast of Moncton.

Three wind-power projects elsewhere in the province (Caribou Mountain, Lamèque, and Aulac) will collectively produce 213 megawatts of energy when their construction is complete.

Considering the Liberal government's commitment to generate 400 megawatts of wind-energy by next year, this fifth development would put the province over the benchmark by the time it and other pending projects were finished.

"It's a wonderful announcement in support of our energy hub, our environment, and our New Brunswick economy," said Energy Minister Jack Keir, when making the request for proposals announcement yesterday.

With 100 megawatts of wind-power pegged for the latest development, electricity could be produced for 15,000 homes. The province said they expected this latest wind-energy project to have a capital investment worth an estimated $200 million.

"It's going to be up to the proponent on where they best think it can go," Keir said, noting that developers know the landscape favourable for such a project.

"Everybody knows the wind regime in New Brunswick, where the best places are to set up shop."

Keir said the price of power for provincial consumers would also be considered as high importance.

"It's important we get the best price we can get for New Brunswick ratepayers."

Keir also said his department would take "very seriously" the assurance that the project contain maximum amounts of local content. The Energy Minister said it wouldn't be possible for all parts of the wind-farm to be produced within the provincial boundaries, but said any homegrown company producing such material would be identified by Business New Brunswick and "be able to compete in a fair and transparent process."

"This is our way of making certain New Brunswick companies benefit from the energy projects in New Brunswick," said Keir.

When finished, the wind project will be examined by government with a risk of fines to the developer if local content rules aren't followed.

Proposals for a wind-energy project must be submitted to NB Power by Aug. 14.

I'm always fascinated with the turbines easily visible from the TCH between Florenceville and Perth-Andover. The problem is they are in Maine... great to see New Brunswick catching up.

[Dmajackson]

Digby wind project slowed
Environmental approval requires more information
By BRIAN MEDEL Yarmouth Bureau
Fri. Jun 26 - 4:46 AM

PLANS TO BUILD a wind turbine park for Digby Neck hit a snag this month when Nova Scotia’s deputy minister of environment told an executive at Skypower Corp. in a letter that more information about the project is needed before an environmental assessment application is approved.

Skypower Corp. of Toronto and Scotian Windfields of Dartmouth have jointly proposed a 30-megawatt wind farm on Digby Neck comprised of 20 wind turbines, each generating 1.5 megawatts of electricity.

The proponents have said they hoped to begin construction by September, pending permits and approvals.

On June 19, deputy minister Nancy Vanstone released the decision on behalf of the environment minister. In it, she said local residents expressed concern over the potential noise from the wind farm.

"The registration document failed to provide sufficient detailed information about the proximity of nearby residents to the turbines," she said.

She asked for more details, including the number of homes, daycares, hospitals or seniors residences located within intervals of 600 metres, one kilometre, 1.5 kilometres, and two kilometres of the proposed turbines.

New information must be submitted within a year as an addendum to the original environmental assessment application, said Ms. Vanstone.

The minister would then have 50 days to make a decision, she said.

"The actual (environmental assessment application) wasn’t denied. The minister has just requested more information," said Tanya Bragg of Skypower.

She said the company plans to meet soon with environment department officials to find out what else they might require.

"We’re going to provide that to them," she said Thursday from Toronto. "We’re hoping it will not take a year."

Municipality of Digby Warden Jim Thurber said Thursday that he doesn’t know much about the request for additional information.

"I haven’t even seen (the) letter. We didn’t receive a copy of anything," Mr. Thurber said.

"In speaking with Skypower not too long ago, they had more or less told me that they were going to try and switch some of the turbines around to have all of them more than 600 metres from the closest home."

"It’s a project that...I support and I hope is able to go forward," he said.

A group of concerned residents held a public meeting last month, where it was said 20 homes were located within 700 metres of a proposed turbine, and 70 homes were found within 1.2 kilometres of a proposed turbine.

Evelyn Hayden lives in Rossway, on Digby Neck, and said she’s glad more work has to be done.

"I’m very, very pleased," she said Thursday.

Ms. Hayden said she lives 600 to 650 metres from one of the proposed wind turbines, according to information she’s seen.

"I’m glad they really took it to heart and looked at it very deeply and thoroughly," she said about the environment department.

"All we’re asking for . . . is to get these things set back away from the homes. I mean, why won’t they do it?

"At least one and a half kilometres from any building that is occupied by humans — that’s all we ask."

( bmedel@herald.ca )

[Architype]

Catching a breeze
Energy Long-term prospect for central wind generation project
Last updated at 8:30 AM on 03/07/09
GANDER
ANDREW ROBINSON
The Beacon

While it may be a distant opportunity, the possibility of wind energy turbines coming to Gander and the surrounding area may become a reality once Newfoundland becomes connected to the North American power grid in 2016.

Currently, there are three wind farm developments in the province - an integrated wind/diesel energy project in Ramea set to go operational in the fall and two operational farms in St. Lawrence and Fermeuse.

Jones told The Beacon the province can only produce a limited amount of wind energy because it can cause water to spill from hydro dams if excessive amounts are produced. This roadblock will be eliminated with the introduction of a transmission link in 2016 for the Lower Churchill hydro project. . . .

The transmission link will allow wind energy from the island to be sold to energy markets in the Maritimes, Ontario, Quebec, and in the north eastern United States

To continue reading article:
http://www.thetelegram.com/index.cfm?sid=266215&sc=82

[MonctonRad]

Update on NB Wind Farm Projects:
Published Thursday July 23rd, 2009

Albert County (Kent Hills) windmills now provide enough power to meet needs of 17,300 homes

By Nick Moore
Times & Transcript Staff

FREDERICTON - It's been more than seven months since the Kent Hills wind farm started producing energy on NB Power's grid ... and so-far so-good.

The 32 wind turbines, which each produce three megawatts of energy for a combined 96 megawatts of power, spin with 45-metre (148 feet) blades on 80-metre (262 feet) towers, about 32 kilometres (20 miles) southwest of Moncton.

Construction of Albert County's Trans-Alta wind farm finished late last year. Now on the grid, it has enough power to meet the electricity needs of roughly 17,300 homes.

NB Power spokeswoman Heather MacLean said there haven't been any troubles noted at Kent Hills.

MacLean's analysis, yesterday, bodes well for other wind projects currently under construction in New Brunswick, particularly the Caribou Mountain project which is expected to be on the province's power grid by November.

SUEZ Energy will produce 99 megawatts of wind energy on the Caribou Mountain wind farm, about 65 km (40 miles) west of Bathurst off Route 180. A total of 33 wind turbines on the site will produce enough power for about 19,000 homes.

Two other wind power projects in the province remain delayed. Last year, Acciona Energy was awarded contracts with NB Power to build a 49.5-megawatt farm in Lamèque and a 64.5-megawatt farm in Aulac. Both projects were set to be finished by November 2009.

The two projects are still considered to be in development, but the project's completion date of November will likely be scrubbed.

Acciona Energy is blaming the delay on difficulty in securing financing. In March, company spokesman Eric Schneider said the market's downturn was making liquidity for capital projects scarce, calling it a key reason for the delay.

The Lamèque project was expected to include 33 turbines and provide enough power to meet the electricity needs of about 8,900 homes. The Aulac project was supposed to include 43 turbines and meet the electricity needs of roughly 10,300 homes.

MacLean couldn't give a timeline for when the Lamèque and Aulac projects might be completed for NB Power, but said it was still in development

In June, NB Power officially made a request for proposals for the province's fifth wind-farm to produce up to 100 megawatts of wind-energy, somewhere in New Brunswick. Proposals for that project must be submitted to NB Power by Aug. 14.

Considering the Liberal government's commitment to generate 400 megawatts of wind-energy by next year, this fifth development would put the province over the benchmark if all pending projects are finished by then.

[MonctonRad]

Turbine catches fire
Published Monday August 10th, 2009

Investigators will return to Kent Hills site today to determine cause
BY JAMIE ROSS
TIMES & TRANSCRIPT STAFF

One of the 32 wind turbines operating at the Kent Hills wind farm caught fire over the weekend.


PHOTO CONTRIBUTEDThis photo, taken from Caledonia Mountain Road, shows the wind turbine burning on Saturday at about 9:30 a.m. The smoke could be seen from Salisbury, Moncton and beyond.

Jason Edworthy, a spokesman for the Alberta-based company, said that three TransAlta employees who work on site were alerted by the turbine's sensor that there was a problem.

They went to the scene but saw no fire and returned to their office, only to receive another automated message, which prompted them to return to the turbine again.

Edworthy said a passer-by saw smoke and called the fire department

Officials haven't been able to confirm the cause of the fire yet.

Vestas, the company that supplies the turbines, will have a team on site today to try and determine what happened.

"Apparently, this is the first time this has ever happened on this particular model of turbine, so they're obviously quite concerned," said Edworthy.

Fire Departments from Riverview and Salisbury also responded to the call.

A single turbine is estimated to cost between $4 million and $5 million dollars.

The wind farm was commissioned in Dec. 31, 2008.

The turbine closest to the burned unit will be shut down as a precaution, but the rest of the farm will remain operating, Edworthy said.

No one was injured in the fire.