Released on December 29, 2005
The Centennial Wind Power Facility, now nearing completion, has begun feeding power to the Saskatchewan electrical grid. In addition, the final shipment of major turbine components has arrived at the construction site of the 150-megawatt (MW) project being built by SaskPower International 25 kilometres southeast of Swift Current."This is one of the greatest projects of our Centennial year," Minister responsible for SaskPower Frank Quennell said. "The short and long-term economic and environmental benefits of this development demonstrate what we mean when we say this government is committed to building a green and prosperous economy."
To this point, all 83 wind turbines have been delivered to the site, 64 of those wind turbines have been fully constructed and 50 have been commissioned and are delivering up to 90 MW of power to the Saskatchewan electrical grid.
"The final push is on and depending on the weather, the final turbines are expected to be operational early in the new year," SaskPower president and CEO Pat Youzwa said. "All involved deserve tremendous credit for their dedication and hard work, and for overcoming the challenges to get this job done."
A sharp international increase in demand for wind turbines challenged the turbine supply and installation contractor, Vestas-Canadian Wind Technology, Inc., to meet its commitment to provide the units on time. The plan to ship the components for the 83 wind turbines across the Atlantic Ocean, through the Gulf of Mexico to Houston and then by dedicated train to Saskatchewan, was threatened by the record number of hurricanes this year and potential damage and disruptions at U.S. gulf ports. In Saskatchewan, a mid-June tornado damaged turbine blades on the ground and toppled a heavy lift crane needed to lift the components into place. Hard work and co-operation by all parties was needed to keep the project on track.
Once the Centennial Wind Power Facility is complete, Saskatchewan will have a combined 172 MW of electrical generation capacity from the province's three wind facilities. In total, wind will account for about five per cent of the province's total generation capacity, enough to meet the needs of about 73,000 homes. Currently this is one of the highest percentages in all of Canada.
On May 31st, 2005 the Government of Canada announced it would provide approximately $54 million in funding over 10-years to the Centennial Wind Power Facility through the Wind Power Production Incentive.
For more information visit saskpowerinternational.com.
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For More Information, Contact:
| Larry Christie SaskPower Regina Phone: (306) 566-3167 Cell: (888) 536-0000 |