Mount Hays wind farm pushed back a year
Activity on Mount Hays this summer will be quieter than initially thought as Katabatic Power, the proponents of the Mount Hays Wind Farm, have had to push the time line of the project back significantly.
“Things on the project are going OK. We had to amend our agreement with B.C. Hydro to put the wind farm into service in 2009 and not in 2008 as we first thought. The challenge was in securing turbines for 2008, and we are working on a deal to get the turbines delivered for 2009,” said Katabatic Power’s Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Raymond.
With the delay in securing the turbines, the construction time line has been pushed back by a year. Construction on the wind farm, which is to include 18 turbines capable of producing 1.5 MegaWatts of power on Mount Hays to produce 27 MegaWatts of power, is set to start in April or May of next year with the facility beginning operations in October.
“We might get to some road upgrades or geotechnical work this summer, but the bulk of construction on the project will take place in 2009,” said Raymond, noting that approximately 25 to 30 people would be employed during the construction phase.
Along with the Mount Hays project, the company is getting ready to submit the proposal for its Banks Island wind farm project, which would place 234 turbines on Banks Island 140 kilometres west of Kitimat, to B.C. Hydro.
“Right now we’re just waiting for B.C. Hydro to announce the Call for Clean Power. We have done a lot on our side to get the project ready, so it’s a bit of a waiting game right now.”
The Banks Island project is one of two projects expected to submitted in this year’s B.C. Hydro Call for Clean Power, as the proponents of the NaiKun wind farm, which would be placed in Hecate Strait and connect the B.C. Hydro grid to Haida Gwaii, say they are also just awaiting the announcement of the call to submit their bid.
An open house related to the Banks Island project is scheduled for June 11 from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Coast Hotel.
By Shaun Thomas — The Northern View
3 June 2008
Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
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