A 34-turbine wind farm in Pictou County will begin selling electricity this month to Nova Scotia Power.
After months of hard work and major setbacks, RMSenergy of Westville has installed the wind turbines in the Cobequid Range, just 25 kilometres west of New Glasgow, and is busy commissioning and wiring the huge turbines for energy production.
For RMSenergy president Reuben Burge it will be an important milestone when the turbines start creating electricity.
"We’re still hopeful for the end of November. Still a good push to get it done yet, but it’s coming close," said Mr. Burge on Monday.
Last year, RMSenergy was one of six groups that signed long-term power agreements with NSP, all scheduled to come on stream in late 2009.
However, RMSenergy is the largest and the only one on schedule, while the five other wind developers have had their projects delayed by the global credit crisis.
"It’s very difficult, a big job and involves a lot of help from people in the industry. It’s a $100-million project and there’s a reason why, because there is a lot of work to it," said Mr. Burge.
These wind developments are critical to moving Nova Scotia beyond its heavy reliance on dirty, coal-fired electrical generation.
The 51 megawatts of power generated from the turbines will provide enough energy to power 18,000 homes annually, Mr. Burge said.
All 34 turbines are standing and work crews are completing the wiring and commissioning.
"Each machine gets tested for a day to make sure it is functioning normally and putting out the right power for the wind speed," said Mr. Burge.
Developing and constructing this large wind farm has employed over 100 people for the past six months and has had some problems, he said.
"We’ve had some major setbacks but we’re getting over them."
He said there were complications in delivering the towers and delays in trucking and permitting.
Currently, the project is experiencing delays with installing its $1-million transformer that weighs 68 tonnes and is five metres high, he said.
"It took a year to manufacturer; it’s just a big, huge piece of equipment that’s awkward to move," he said. "It’s a challenge just to locate onto the site."
It is the last major step to connecting the wind turbines to the power grid. Last year, NSP contracted for 247 megawatts of power, enough power for 87,000 homes. When added to its existing wind farm system, this would account for 10 per cent of the province’s electricity by 2013.
NSP executives have admitted they contracted nearly twice the wind power they needed to meet tough new environmental regulations. In April, NSP took over a proposed wind project in Colchester County in the hopes of bringing another 22 wind turbines on stream by 2011.
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