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Introduction
Southern Alberta Wind
Plants Brochure
When you drive through southern
Alberta, visitors can see majestic wind turbines throughout the
district. These wind turbines power hundreds of homes and businesses. Sailboat design inspired the first windmill, but modern wind technology
is inspired by aerospace design.
Wind turbines produce electrical
power by converting wind energy into rotating mechanical energy that
drives electrical generators. On a wind turbine, three large blades are
attached to a horizontal shaft that turns an electrical generator.
Maximum power occurs when the turbine rotates to face directly into
oncoming wind. The amount of power that turbines can generate depends on
two factors: blade diameter and windspeed. As less than 2% of Canada's
power comes from wind energy, there is huge potential for growth.
Canadian Hydro’s Southern Alberta Wind Plants are located in
the southwest corner of Alberta, with the majority of turbines near the
small town of Cowley, which is just west of Pincher Creek along Highway
#3. Additional turbines are located directly west of Pincher Station,
south of Fort MacLeod and near Magrath, which is south of Lethbridge.
|
Plant |
Capacity1 |
Generation2 |
Equivalent
Number of Households3 |
|
Cowley Ridge |
21.4 MW |
60,000 MWh/yr |
6,000 |
|
Cowley North &
Sinnott |
19.5 MW |
60,000 MWh/yr |
6,000 |
|
Taylor |
3.4 MW |
6,000 MWh/yr |
600 |
|
Soderglen
(net to
Canadian Hydro) |
35.0 MW |
120,000 MWh/yr |
12,000 |
1. Capacity is rated in
MW = one million Watts
2. Generation is rated in MWh = one million Watts per hour
3. The average Canadian household consumes about 10 MWh per year
Cowley Ridge Wind Plant
Cowley
Ridge Windplant, the first commercial windplant in Canada, was completed
in two phases - phase 1 being commissioned in 1993, and phase 2 in
August of 1994. The ownership of this windplant changed hands in July, 1999 when
Canadian Hydro Developers, Inc., purchased 100% of the shares of
Cowley Ridge Wind Power Inc. October, 2000 marked the beginning of
expansion of Cowley Ridge, as 5 more Kenetech turbines were added to
the windplant. The Cowley Ridge Windplant
now consists of 57 Kenetech
turbines, with a total rated capacity of
21.4 MW.
Cowley
North and Sinnott Wind Plants
The
summer and fall of 2001 brought a further expansion of Cowley Ridge,
when
Canadian Hydro added Cowley North to
the existing 57 turbines. Cowley North is comprised of 15,
Nordex N60 turbines - each rated at 1.3 MW, and built directly north of
the existing 57 wind turbines.
Directly west of Pincher
Station is the Sinnott Windplant, which was also erected in the fall of 2001.
Presently, this windplant consists of 5 Nordex N60 turbines
strategically positioned in 'test' locations. It is anticipated that with the expected results
of production, there will be more turbines erected in this location in
the future.
Taylor Wind Plant
In the fall of 2004, 9 Kenetech
375 kW wind
turbines were installed on the hill above the 13 MW
Taylor hydro facility,
which is located south of Magrath, Alberta. Reconditioning and
installation of the Kenetech turbines was conducted by staff from
Cowley Ridge Wind Power. A grid connection was
built to service the hydro facility and was previously used from April to September.
This installation takes advantage of this existing grid connection,
which will now be used on a year-round basis.
Soderglen Wind Plant
In March 2007, Canadian Hydro acquired 50% ownership of the Soderglen
Wind Plant. This facility is located in southern Alberta approximately
20 kilometers southwest of Fort Macleod. Commercially operational in
September 2006, the Soderglen Wind Plant consists of 47, GE 1.5 MW SLE
wind turbines.
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