B.C. Hydro will construct a new wind farm near Summerland over the next year.
The 15-megawatt Shinish Creek Wind Farm is one of three projects announced by B.C. Hydro last week.
The others are the 15-megawatt Pennask Wind Farm near West Kelowna and the 15-megawatt Septimus Creek Wind Farm near Taylor.
Construction on all three projects will begin later this year and all are expected to produce power beginning in late 2016.
The wind farms will be constructed in agreements with Zero Emission Energy Developments Inc., a developer based in White Road.
“With the support of stakeholders and First Nations, coupled with exceptional programs like BC Hydro’s Standing Offer program, ZED is very pleased to develop B.C.’s first small scale, community-based wind power projects,” said Alastair King, president and CEO of the company.
“ZED is also proud to provide British Columbians, and their future generations emissions free, renewable energy for many years to come.”
The Shinish Creek Wind Farm, roughly 30 kilometres west of Summerland, will have five turbines, strung in a line along a ridge.
Dina Matterson, standing offer program manager with B.C. Hydro, said the developer of the project, Zero Emission, has planned the locations of each of the turbines so they will not interfere with migratory bird flight paths.
Earlier, when the wind farm had been proposed in 2011, the South Okanagan Naturalists’ Club had raised concerns about the effects of the wind generators on the flight paths of sandhill cranes and other migratory birds.
“We’re still concerned about this,” said Bob Handfield, past president of the club, “but it sounds like they’re moving in the right direction.”
Handfield said the naturalists would like to see environmental reports about the proposal.
He added that the club members also have concerns about the effects of the access roads and right-of-way for the power lines.
“Once you start to cut up the forest with roads, it always has an impact on the local environment,” he said.
The power generated from the Shinish Creek Wind Farm will be fed into the B.C. Hydro grid.
Matterson said the projects are part of an initiative to have British Columbia self-sufficient in electrical power by 2016.
“We’re still a net importer of power,” she said.
She added that the wind farms will provide local jobs.
During the construction, there will be 25 to 50 contract employment opportunities at each project.
Once the projects have been completed, there will be between five and 10 new full-time and part-time job opportunities at each project.
“I’m delighted to welcome a new wind project to Summerland — the first in our region” said Dan Ashton, MLA for the riding of Penticton. “Each wind project in our province contributes to B.C.’s clean-energy future.”
The Shinish Creek project has been discussed since at least 2011.
The three projects, when completed, will bring B.C. Hydro’s total capacity of wind power to more than 700 megawatts.
“I’m pleased to see additional wind projects being added to B.C. Hydro’s system,” said Bill Bennett, Minister of Energy and Mines for the province. “In B.C., we are fortunate to have hydro reservoirs that enable us to integrate variable wind output into the system and provide firm energy supply. The Site C project will provide greater capacity and support to integrate even more wind energy in the future.”
At present there are four large wind farms operating in the province with electricity purchase agreements with B.C. Hydro.
Another large wind generation project near Tumbler Ridge is under construction.
“With world class clean energy resources and over 90 clean energy projects currently in operation, British Columbia is truly a leader in clean energy,” said Paul Kariya, executive director of the Clean Energy Association of British Columbia.
“The Okanagan, a region that has been underrepresented by the sector, will soon be welcoming two new wind farms and that all of these projects involve strong First Nations partnerships.”