SP Armow Wind Ontario, a joint venture limited partnership owned by affiliates of Pattern Renewable Holdings Canada and Samsung Renewable Energy, has received a renewable energy approval from the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, for a proposed 180MW wind power project.
The Class 4 wind facility calls for the construction, operation and commissioning of 92 Siemens turbines ranging from 1.5MW-2.5MW and associated transmission infrastructure including electrical collector lines and a collector substation.
Spanning across 46,000 acres of land in Bruce County, 3km from Lake Huron and around 2km north-east of the municipality of Kincardine, the project is likely to produce enough clean energy to power around 50,000 local homes annually and curb 675,000mt of CO2 emissions each year.
Once operational by 2015, the proposed project featuring Ontario-made wind turbine components from Siemens’ factories in Tillsonburg and Windsor will sell its output to the Ontario Power Authority.
The project will enable growth of the local economy in the form of $10m in property taxes over a 20-year contract period; creating 200 construction jobs and 15 permanent jobs for operations; and temporary contractors after completion (when required).
When approving the project amid concerns from the local populace, the ministry has imposed some conditions that require the developer to conduct an acoustic emission audit of the sound levels, implement the pre- and post-construction Natural Heritage monitoring program and prepare a traffic management plan, among other requirements.
In addition, the company is required to construct the facility within three years of the date of the approval in accordance with the ministry-specified terms and conditions.
Pattern and Samsung had acquired the then proposed 80MW Armow wind power project, owned by Acciona, in September 2011 and had expanded the nameplate capacity to 180MW.
Image: Armow Wind will feature Siemens’ turbines. Photo: courtesy of Pattern Energy.
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