Wind Power News: Alberta
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Public feedback sought for Rattlesnake Ridge Wind Power Project at Whitla E
Regulators are now calling for public feedback on plans to build a 26-turbine wind power facility around the hamlet of Whitla, southwest of Medicine Hat. The Rattlesnake Ridge Wind Power Project would be built next summer, according to owner Berkshire Hathaway Energy Canada, and would have a peak production capacity of 117.6 megawatts. It would be positioned on land north and south of Highway 3, and be joined to existing Alberta power lines on Township Road 104 via a new . . . Complete story »
Pair of wind farms clear regulatory governmental hurdles
Major wind power facilities to the east and west of Medicine Hat are clearing hurdles this week as new approvals are sought from provincial regulators and others are obtained from local government. That includes the Cypress Wind facility that will be built southeast of Dunmore next winter and the newly announced Rattlesnake Ridge wind farm along Highway No. 3 between Bow Island and Seven Persons. Companies behind the projects, worth an estimated $450 million combined, are scheduled to be built . . . Complete story »
Is Germany showing us the future of renewable energy? Let’s hope not
News that Greta Thunberg is visiting Alberta should be welcomed by all Canadians. The teenaged Swedish environmentalist has focused global attention on the climate change debate like never before. So as she tours our province, what better time for a reality check than to look at a country that is furthest ahead in already adapting steps that Greta is advocating. That country is Germany. And it’s not a pretty sight. Germany embraced the rush to renewables before anyone else, and . . . Complete story »
Berkshire Hathaway firm announces launch of $200-million wind power farm near Medicine Hat
CALGARY – A company linked to American investment guru Warren Buffett says it will break ground on a $200-million, 117.6-megawatt wind farm in southeastern Alberta next year. In a news release, Calgary-based BHE Canada, a subsidiary of Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy, says its Rattlesnake Ridge Wind project will be located southwest of Medicine Hat and will produce enough energy to supply the equivalent of 79,000 homes. Berkshire Hathaway Energy also owns AltaLink, the regulated transmission company which supplies electricity to . . . Complete story »
New method of decommissioning wind turbine concrete bases with water jets
The reinforced base is placed deep in the earth as there are so many stresses on the base with the turbine turning for decades. With this new removal technique, the top metre of the base is removed. A backhoe digs a hole around the concrete base once the tower is removed. Then an automated high-pressure water jet is set up to fire a jet of water up close and rotate around the concrete base, directing the thin, high-pressure stream of water, cutting deeply into the base, slicing both the concrete and the rebar inside. The water jet rotates around the concrete pillar firing the high-pressure water jet until it is done. The top metre of the top of the concrete pillar is then lifted off. Complete story »
Cypress County looking for more information before allowing zoning for wind project
Cypress County, AB – Cypress County Council wants some more information before they make a zoning decision to allow a $250 million wind farm to go through. Now they will take two weeks to look at both possible environmental impacts and what will happen to the wind turbines if they need to come down. If approved, the change would affect several properties south of Irvine. Reeve Dan Hamilton says the developer EDF Renewables has been working directly with the landowners . . . Complete story »
Zoning delayed for Cypress wind project
A zoning decision for a planned $250-million wind farm in Cypress County has been postponed two weeks as councillors seek more information on how wind turbines are decommissioned and who is responsible for potential liabilities. On Tuesday, they tabled the related bylaw and directed administrators to study how landowners and the county could be shielded, and present at council’s mid-October meeting. The developer, EDF Renewables, stated afterwards that such concerns are common, but its business plan, contracts with landowners and . . . Complete story »
Wind farm near Oyen suffering from approval process delays
Two of three company’s awarded large renewable energy supply contracts in 2017 are on track to meet an end-of-year deadline to build facilities in southern Alberta, but a third, near Oyen, is delayed after a drawn-out regulatory approval process. The Sharp Hills wind farm project, centred around Sedelia in the Special Areas, will move to another hearing before the Alberta Utility Commission next month, it was announced last week. It comes one year after an initial application approval by regulators . . . Complete story »
Wind power losing love in southern Alberta
The persistent westerly winds in Alberta’s southwest are a blessing and a curse, depending on time of year and desired activity. Among those considering it a blessing are renewable energy development companies that have erected hundreds of wind turbines in the region, many of them in the Municipal District of Pincher Creek, where Alberta’s wind energy business began. But as turbine numbers have increased, rural residents once largely supportive of harnessing wind energy are expressing concerns about the size, location . . . Complete story »
Wind power a concern for Alberta grasslands
Wind power has become an important part of Alberta’s energy network. But wind turbines and transmission lines should not be allowed to destroy what little is remaining of southern Alberta’s undisturbed grasslands. That’s the message from a retired electrical power executive, now living in the foothills near Pincher Creek. Municipal councils and provincial regulators should be acting to preserve the threatened grasslands areas, said Bobbi Lambright. But so far they’ve seemed more interested in the wind projects’ economic benefits. “I . . . Complete story »
