Wind power project proposed for Burgeo ........................................
Newfoundland
NATALIE MUSSEAU
The Gulf News
A new project may see up to 30 wind turbines installed north of Burgeo and some new employment in the community.
The Top Pond Wind Farm Limited Partnership is now going through the provincial environmental assessment process for phase one of the project.
Phase one proposes the construction and operation of a wind turbine power generation farm with about 13 turbines at a site near Top Pond, approximately 25 kilometres north of Burgeo. The site is accessible from Route 480 via a one-kilometre gravel access road.
Each turbine will be between 58 and 70 metres tall with a blade diameter of 71 metres, and will produce two MW of power for a total output of 26 MW.
Phase one will generate enough energy for about 8,000 to 10,000 households, which will be sold to Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro and transmitted to the power grid via the existing transmission line near Grandy's Brook Terminal Station.
“Newfoundland is blessed with phenomenal wind resources,” said Mike Crawley, president of Toronto-based AIM (Air in Motion) Power Gen Corporation. The company, a privately owned Canadian wind power development company, wholly-owns the Top Pond Wind Farm Limited Partnership.
AIM Power Gen Corporation is developing projects in several other provinces, including a 99-megawatt (MW) wind farm on the shores on Lake Erie in Ontario that is nearing completion.
The second phase would see the number of towers grow to about 30, doubling the amount of power production.
This power becomes a more cost-effective alternative as the price of oil burned at the Holyrood generating station continues to rise, said Mr. Crawley, not to mention the environmental benefits of wind power.
Mr. Crawley said most of the employees needed for both the construction and operational phases of the project will be hired locally and likely based in Burgeo.
He said the vast majority of material used during construction will also be bought locally.
It is expected that 33 people will be employed during the construction phase. Positions include a construction manager, a secretary, five professional engineers, a land surveyor, two civil engineering positions, two drafting positions, four carpentry positions, two repairers and services, two electricians, two cement finishers, one heavy-duty equipment mechanic, two truck drivers, two heavy equipment operators, and eight helpers and labourers.
Seven people are expected to continue to be employed during the operation of the wind farm, including a general manager, project engineer, two maintenance supervisors, two electricians and a secretary.
The proposal is in response to a Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro request for expressions of interest for the development of wind energy.The deadline for those submissions is August.
The partnership has been receiving data from a test tower erected as a site in August 2005. The site was selected in late 2004 as a potential wind farm and a Crown Lands lease for that purpose was approved in June 2005.
Construction is scheduled to commence during the spring of 2008 and be operational by the end of 2008.
The government is receiving public comments on the environmental assessment until June 23 and the minister will make a final decision by July 3 |
