Wolfe Island Wind Farm is a large wind farm project located on Wolfe Island, Ontario (near Kingston, Ontario). The wind farm became operational on June 29, 2009. It is owned and operated by
Canadian Hydro Developers
Canadian Hydro Developers, Inc. was a Canadian company that operated 12 hydroelectric power sites, eight wind power sites and one biomass power site in Canada.
Canadian Hydro was founded by two brothers John and Ross Keating with Jack McCleary. I ...
, Inc., through its subsidiary Canadian Renewable Energy Corporation (CREC). The power will be purchased by
Hydro One
Hydro One Limited is an electricity transmission and distribution utility serving the Canadian province of Ontario. Hydro One traces its history to the early 20th century and the establishment of the Hydro-Electric Power Commission of Ontario ( ...
for distribution to consumers.
The wind farm consists of eighty-six 2.3-megawatt (
MW)
Siemens
Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad.
The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...
model Mark II
wind turbine
A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...
s situated on the western portion of
Wolfe Island.
Once completed, the 197.8 MW project was expected to generate approximately 594 gigawatt-hours (
GW·h) of renewable power annually; enough to supply about 75,000 average households. Over its first four full years of operation, generation proved to be around 495 GWh annually (see below).
Winds of are required to generate power; when winds are less than , then power is not being generated.
Key project components
*
padmount transformers at the base of each wind turbine
*access roads
*a 34.5-kilovolt (
kV) electrical line collector system
*a 34.5 / 230 kV transformer station
*a 230 kV electrical line system provided by Nexans
* 230 kV interconnection facilities with the provincial grid at Hydro One's Gardiners Transformer Station
*an operations and maintenance building.
CREC has optioned a total of approximately 2513
hectare
The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is a ...
s (6,209 acres) of land for the proposed wind development.
The facility will provide green jobs and generate landowner and community income through royalties, taxes, and the amenities agreement. Canadian Hydro has built a visitor centre at its property on the 5th line.
The 2010 Bird and Bat report commissioned by
Transalta
TransAlta Corporation (formerly Calgary Power Company, Ltd.) is an electricity power generator and wholesale marketing company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is a privately owned corporation and its shares are traded publicly. It o ...
, a component of the Post Construction Follow-up Plan (PCFP), states that over the first six months of operation bird mortality due to blade strike was 602 birds of which 13 were raptors. That reflects 6.99 birds per turbine over six months (almost 14 strikes per turbine per year). The industry standard for comparable wind facilities is generally 2 bird strikes per turbine per year. Over 1270 bats were killed in the same six-month period. The development is in a globally and continentally significant Important Bird Area. The PCFP was designed in response to stakeholder concerns over potential negative effects on bird populations, and is a partnership between Transalta, the Environment Canada and provincial Ministry of Natural Resources.
[http://www.transalta.com/sites/default/files/PCFP_Report5_Dec2011.pdf ]
Production
See also
*
List of wind farms in Canada
This is a list of operational wind farms in Canada with a capacity of at least 100 MW. The name of the wind farm is the name used by the energy company when referring to the farm.
The Centennial Wind Power Facility in Saskatchewan was the first ...
*
List of onshore wind farms
This is a list of the largest onshore wind farms that are currently operational, rated by generating capacity. Also listed are onshore wind farms with notability other than size, and largest proposed projects.
Largest operational onshore wind ...
*
List of offshore wind farms
This article lists the largest offshore wind farms that are currently operational rated by nameplate capacity. It also lists the largest offshore wind farms currently under construction, the largest proposed offshore wind farms, and offshore w ...
References
External links
Newsletters Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) website
{{List of Wind Farms in Ontario
Buildings and structures in Frontenac County
Wind farms in Ontario