The number of wind farm projects here appears to be growing.
On April 8, the province released the names of nearly 200 companies that had received contract approvals from the Ontario Power Authority.
Wellington County companies included in the list of those offered contracts were:
– 2186632 Ontario Inc., Arthur Wind Farm, Arthur, 6,000KW;
– Weber Wind Farm, Mapleton Township, 10,000KW;
– Teviotdale Wind Farm, Moorefield/Wellington North Township; 10,000KW;
– NextEra Energy’s Conestogo Wind Energy Centre in northeast Mapleton near Arthur, 23,000KW;
– Roubous Wind Energy Limited, Teviotdale 2, Moorefield/Wellington North Township, 1,200KW;
– Invenergy Canada’s Conestogo Highlands Wind Energy Farm in southeast Mapleton, 69,000KW (46 turbines); and
– wpd WF1 Inc., Fergus, Belwood Wind Farms, 9,200KW.
That last one has nothing to do with the Invenergy company’s proposal for a wind farm surrounding Belwood and stretching into Dufferin County.
Invenergy spokesman James Murphy said in an interview on Monday his company’s Mapleton Township project received a contract and he expects work on it to start within a few months.
He noted, though, that once a contract is offered, companies have ten days to sign them and meet approvals.
That leaves the wpd WF1 Inc., Fergus, Belwood Wind Farms, 9,200KW project as being a recent one.
The multinational corporation has been operating since 1996 and its Canadian president, Ian MacRae, said in an interview the company expects to sign its contract sometime this month. Then, it will begin its approvals process.
While wpd has yet to obtain any land contracts, he said the 9.2MW project is expected to have four towers. He said the company is looking in the Fergus area, west of Belwood, north of Fergus, and south of County Road 16 and the 3rd Line.
The company has operations in 21 countries around the world. The Canadian operation is based in Mississauga.
MacRae said he was not really sure yet of the project value, and said it would depend on the type of towers being used, as well as the type of soil they sit upon. He expects the project could be worth as much as $24- to $26-million.
The wpd application demonstrates how the energy business has changed since the provincial Liberal government implemented its Green Energy Act.
The Invenergy proposal near Belwood is going through the approval process but does not have its contract. MacRae said the wpd proposal has its contract, and once that is signed, it will begin the approval process, including public meetings.
MacRae said the Green Energy Act “changes things around a little bit. What the government is trying to do is give some certainty. If you are able to achieve, you have a contract.”
MacRae is aware of protests against the Invenergy project, and said a developer expects that. He hopes when his company explains its plans, the protests will die down. He hopes to start in three years.
Anyone seeking information can call Renewable Energy Facilitation Office (REFO), a part of the provincial Ministry of the Environment.
That office provides information to anyone with questions about renewable energy.
A spokesman there on Tuesday stated that when the Green Energy Act and Feed In Tariff program was approved, some applications already in place were permitted to proceed, such as Invenergy’s Belwood project, while others had to start all over.
To contact REFO, call 1-877-440-7336.
