Wind-generated electricity finally feeds B.C.'s power grid
COMMENT: Whew, that took long enough!
By Scott Simpson
Vancouver Sun
August 6, 2009
$200-million Dawson Creek project will power 31,000 homes when it's completed this year
 B.C.'s first fully operational wind farm goes online with the BC Hydro power grid on Thursday, Aug. 6, at Bear Mountain. (Photograph by: Vancouver Sun, Handout) |
The initial trickle of electricity from British Columbia's first successful wind-power project will feed BC Hydro's provincial grid, beginning today.
AltaGas Income Trust's Bear Mountain wind park, located on the outskirts of Dawson Creek in northeast B.C., is a $200-million project that will provide enough electricity to power about 31,000 homes annually when it's fully built out later this year.
Bear Mountain wasn't the first wind project awarded an electricity supply contract by Hydro, nor was it the first out of the starting gate when the provincial government finally got serious about attracting wind-powered green-energy investment to British Columbia.
But as other projects were abandoned or stalled by financial and technical issues, AltaGas was able to work through them all, on budget and ahead of schedule.
"This is our first wind project," AltaGas chairman and CEO David Cornhill said Wednesday in a telephone interview. "There were challenges. There were learnings. My team did a great job in moving this project forward, where others have failed.
"We had days where we were wondering how we would get things together, whether the timelines would make it, [how to solve issues around] construction costs. We found out that the ridge was narrower, unstable in certain areas. So we had technical challenges, but [AltaGas senior vice-president] Jim Bracken was able to bring this project forward, we hope a little ahead of schedule, and right on budget."
Bear Mountain was conceived as the project of a local cooperative in Dawson Creek, and was further developed by Victoria-based Aeolis Wind Power Corp. before AltaGas took it on.
AltaGas is installing 34 state-of-the-art wind turbine generators from German manufacturer Enercon. The 78-metre turbines are set in a single row along a 25-hectare ridge that is a local landmark for residents of Dawson Creek. Concrete foundations were poured last year in the first stage of construction.
Today, most of the towers have been erected and four have turbines attached. Two are fully operational and commencing power deliveries today.
All 34 generators will be commissioned and shipping power to Hydro before the end of November, Bracken said.
"There were a lot of challenges, but they were pretty much the normal course of business for a large infrastructure project," he said.
"We had some help from local governments in particular, and a great deal of community support. Obviously, there are always some people that don't like seeing large, visible infrastructure built close to them, but for the most part we had a great deal of active support from the community."
Energy Minister Blair Lekstrom can see the Bear Mountain towers from his Dawson Creek home.
"I watched the development of it from my deck, actually, in town. I watched the towers go up.
"These are three miles out on the ridge, but they are pretty significant structures. They have done a good job up there."
Bear Mountain's success stands in contrast to the high-profile failure of a rival wind park in the same region of the province, Earth First Canada Inc.'s Dokie wind project near Chetwynd.
Work was halted on Dokie last October in the wake of the global financial meltdown after its first eight towers -- but no turbines -- had been erected.
Earth First sought creditor protection when its financial supporters balked at providing more funds after a consultant's report downgraded Dokie's potential wind output and projected a $35-million increase in construction costs.
Dokie may be revived by B.C.-based Plutonic Power and its partner GE Energy Financial Services, who have been reviewing Earth First's books.
A decision on a possible buyout is imminent.
Canada ranks 11th in the world for installed wind power capacity, although it was described this year in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences to have the world's second-largest wind-energy potential.
Wind power is the fastest-growing segment of the global energy sector.
B.C. is the last major Canadian province to add wind power to its electricity grid, largely due to its focus on hydroelectricity. However, industry representatives said a year ago that the introduction of more attractive incentives -- including a 10-year wind royalty holiday -- is changing the situation.
Green power advocate Tzeporah Berman, executive director of PowerUp Canada, described the nation's untapped wind power resources as a huge opportunity for economic development.
"What we need to remember is that three quarters of B.C.'s total energy still comes from fossil fuels, and if we are going to get our factories and our cars onto a greener grid, then we need to hope this is the first of many wind farms in British Columbia," Berman said.
Blog: www.vancouversun.com/energy
WE'RE #11!
Here's how the Global Wind Energy Council ranked wind-producing countries in 2008.
1. United States with installed capacity of 25,150 megawatts
2. Germany (23, 903 MW)
3. Spain (16,740 MW)
4. China (12,210 MW)
5. India (9,587 MW)
11.Canada (2,389 MW)
In Canada, B.C. is behind other large provinces in introducing wind-generated power:
2008
Ontario 781 MW
Quebec 531 MW
Alberta 524 MW
Saskatchewan 171 MW
Manitoba 103 MW
Nov. 2009
B.C. 102 MW
Source: Canadian Wind Energy Association
Canada has the second largest wind energy potential in the world after Russia.
Source: Global Trends in Sustainable Energy Investment, 2009 UN report
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Posted by Arthur Caldicott on 06 Aug 2009