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.
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 »
Company gives details on wind energy project in Cypress County
MEDICINE HAT, AB – The company behind the latest wind project announced for southeastern Alberta shared some additional details about the project. The Cypress Wind Project, which would be built by EDF Renewables, was announced as one of five successful projects in Alberta’s latest Renewable Electricity Program. “We’re very excited and very pleased to have been selected as part of the program,” said Cory Basil, vice president of development with EDF Renewables. “We’re looking forward to investing into the province, investing . . . Complete story »
Pincher Creek MPC rejects wind project
In a case which could have implications for the provincial government’s ambitious targets for renewable energy generation, the Municipal Planning Commission for the MD of Pincher Creek, which has one of the largest densities of wind farms in southern Alberta, rejected the proposed Windy Point Wind Project earlier this month after about 80 local landowners said enough was enough. “There’s two issues,” said Bill Trafford, president of the Livingstone Landowners Group which led the charge against Windy Point. “When you . . . Complete story »
