Wind farm developer will soon buy 30 turbines
In his former job as a Nova Scotia seafood executive, Mike Magnus never talked about the benefits of a higher Canadian dollar.
But these days, the former Clearwater vice-president turned wind developer is downright ecstatic with the loonie reaching parity with the U.S. greenback.
"It’s nice. I feel for the exporters in my former life, we never liked to see the stronger dollar, but in this life I want the dollar to become as strong as possible," said Magnus, president of Shear Wind Inc. of Bedford, on Friday.
Shear Wind executives are in the final stages of negotiations to purchase 30 wind turbines from either a European or U.S. supplier for the company’s proposed $150-million Glen Dhu wind farm located along the border of Pictou and Antigonish counties.
"We’ve been non-committal because of where the Canadian dollar has changed dramatically over the last three months and 12 months," he said. "When you are looking at U.S. suppliers and European suppliers, it has worked in our favour, so part of it has been by design and just waiting to see where the dollar is going to go."
Magnus knows the company must reach a decision soon on wind turbines to ensure the company meets its deadline to generate 60 megawatts of wind power by the end of 2010 for Nova Scotia Power, or face a $1-million penalty.
"It will be very shortly," he said. "I can’t give a specific date. This is a business; sometimes pinning down dates and months (is) not an easy feat."
The company is trying to secure financing after it tried unsuccessfully last year, as the entire wind market was slowed by the global financial crisis.
He said the company has two options: either European banks or North American life insurance companies.
In the meantime, the energy project has got a head start on the construction site with Nova Scotia’s early spring, Magnus said.
"We’ve been working on roads for the last six to eight weeks and it has been spectacular. Those are one of the things we’ve been able to capitalize on in our scheduling," he said.
The Glen Dhu project was supposed to be operating by now, but Shear Wind was unable to get financing. Then late last year, Inveravante, a privately held Spanish utility conglomerate, bought a 62 per cent stake in Shear Wind for $27 million.
Shares in Shear Wind were down one cent Friday, trading at 23 cents on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
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