Wolfe Island Wind Project
Encyclopedia
Canadian Hydro Developers
Canadian Hydro Developers, Inc. was a Canadian company that operated 12 hydroelectric power sites, eight wind power sites and one biomass power site in Canada....
, Inc., through its subsidiary Canadian Renewable Energy Corporation (CREC). The power will be purchased by Hydro One
Hydro One
Hydro One Incorporated delivers electricity across the Canadian province of Ontario. It is a Corporation established under the Business Corporations Act with a single shareholder, the Government of Ontario....
for distribution to consumers.
The wind farm consists of eighty-six 2.3-megawatt (MW) Siemens
Siemens
Siemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...
model Mark II wind turbine
Wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts kinetic energy from the wind into mechanical energy. If the mechanical energy is used to produce electricity, the device may be called a wind generator or wind charger. If the mechanical energy is used to drive machinery, such as for grinding grain or...
s situated on the western portion of Wolfe Island
Wolfe Island (Ontario)
Wolfe Island is an island located at the entrance to the Saint Lawrence River in Lake Ontario near Kingston, Ontario. Wolfe Island is part of Frontenac County, Ontario. Together with Howe Island, Simcoe Island, and Hickory Island forms the Township of Frontenac Islands. It is the largest of the...
.
Once completed, the 197.8 MW project is expected to generate approximately 594 gigawatt-hours (GW·h) of renewable power annually; enough to supply about 75,000 average households. In 2010 the windfarm operated at 24% of name plate capacity.
Winds of 3.5 m/s are required to generate power; when winds are less than 3 m/s, then power is not being generated.
Key project components
- pad-mounted transformers at the base of each wind turbine
- access roads
- a 34.5-kilovolt (kV) electrical line collector system
- a 34.5 / 230 kV transformer station
- a 230 kV electrical line system
- 230 kV interconnection facilities with the provincial grid at Hydro One's Gardiners Transformer Station
- an operations and maintenance building.
CREC has optioned a total of approximately 2513 hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
s (6,209 acres) of land for the proposed wind development.
The facility will provide green jobs and generate landowner and community income through royalties, taxes, and the amenities agreement. Canadian Hydro has built a visitor centre at its property on the 5th line.
Concerns
The 2010 Bird and Bat report commissioned by TransaltaTransAlta
TransAlta Corporation is a power generation and wholesale marketing company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta.TransAlta maintains a low-to-moderate risk profile by operating a highly contracted portfolio of assets in Canada, the United States and Australia...
, a component of the Post Construction Follow-up Plan, states that over the first six months of operation bird mortality due to blade strike was 602 birds of which 13 were raptors. That reflects 6.99 birds per turbine over six months (almost 14 strikes per turbine per year). The industry standard for comparable wind facilities is generally 2 bird strikes per turbine per year. Over 1270 bats were killed in the same six month period. The development is in a globally and continentally significant Important Bird Area. The PCFP was designed in response to stakeholder concerns over potential negative effects on bird populations, and is a partnership between Transalta, the Environment Canada and provincial Ministry of Natural Resources.
See also
- List of wind farms in Canada
- List of onshore wind farms
- List of offshore wind farms