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$130-million wind farm to open near Moncton in 2008

An Alberta energy company will spend $130 million in 2008 to build New Brunswick's first wind farm near Moncton.

TransAlta Corp. announced Friday that it signed a contract to sell 75 megawatts of electricity from the Kent Hills wind farm over the next 25 years to NB Power.

The wind farm - which TransAlta will own and operate - will consist of 25 wind turbines mounted on 80-metre towers.

Work will start on the project early in 2008 and be finished in the same year, said Edworthy.

The construction project will create about 10 person-years of work and up to seven full-time jobs once it is complete, he said.

When it is done, the Kent Hills wind farm will provide 220,000 megawatt hours of energy per year, which is enough electricity to meet the needs of about 13,600 homes.

When the project is complete, TransAlta will operate about 260 MW of wind-generated power in Canada.

NB Power has committed to generating 400 MW of energy each year from renewable sources such as wind, solar, biomass, small hydro, landfill gas and the ocean by 2016.

"We are committed to providing New Brunswickers with renewable energy," said NB Power president David Hay.

Hay couldn't say during the media conference Friday what the value of the contract with TransAlta was.

But he did say that the energy costs about the same as a thermal power plant, which is seven to eight cents per kilowatt hour.

New Brunswick Energy Minister Jack Keir said the project aligns well with the government's policy to become the best in Canada in green energy.

"It is good to have as many sources of energy as possible from a reliability standpoint," he said.

Keir said the deal shows a real commitment to battling climate change.

According to the Canadian Wind Energy Association, the Canadian wind-power market, which is currently at 1,340 MW, will grow to 10,000 MW by 2015.

Hay said more announcements about wind power are coming in the next few months.

He also said that an earlier wind-power farm announced for Grand Manan is on hold pending problems with the company, Eastern Wind, being resolved.

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I wonder if they will be hiring any local wind farmers. I harvest wind all the time.

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N.B. gets more wind power

By MARY MOSZYNSKI
Times & Transcript Staff

The province will harness the powerful winds of Westmorland County with a new wind farm that is expected to generate enough power to supply more than 3,000 homes.

Energy Minister Jack Keir announced yesterday NB Power has signed a 20-year purchase agreement with Vector Wind Energy of Alberta.

"I am especially pleased that today we are able to announce the addition of this clean, renewable energy into our generation mix," he said. "It will provide benefits for our province for many, many years to come."

The farm, which will consist of 14 turbines, will be built in Fairfield Hill, approximately 10 kilometres west of Sackville.

The turbines are expected to generate up to 21 megawatts of wind power - enough energy to supply 3,700 homes.

The Fairfield Hill project is the second wind farm the Liberals have announced since forming government. Keir said he hopes the project will be up-and-running sometime next winter.

NB Power and Vector will hold consultations with nearby communities, he added.

The cost of the project wasn't released. However a department spokesman said the cost is typically $2 million per megawatt.

This latest announcement is part of NB Power's target to have a total of 200 megawatts of wind power - enough electricity to operate 52,000 homes - in operation by 2009.

The wind farm also pushes the utility towards its mandate of adding 400 megawatts of energy from renewable sources to the province's generation mix by 2016.

In January, David Hay, NB Power's CEO, announced the utility had signed a 25-year power purchase agreement with TransAlta Corporation of Alberta.

The 80-metre tall turbines will be in commission by the end of 2008 and generate about 75 megawatts of power - enough to supply about 13,600 homes per year.

The farm, which will consist of 25 turbines, will be located in Kent Hills, west of Caledonia Mountain and south of Prosser Brook.

At the time, a TransAlta spokesman said the $131-million construction project will result in about $4 million in spin-offs for the local economy through the contracting of local construction and engineering firms, and job creation.

Keir said another request for proposals will be issued shortly. Part of that request will be a stipulation that companies include some N.B. content in their proposals.

"We want to make sure that if there's more wind towers being erected in New Brunswick, that they're being manufactured in New Brunswick as well," he said.

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- Albert Einstein -