NaturEner Energy Canada has switched to Siemens turbines for the Wild Rose 1 and 2 wind projects in Alberta.
The province previously approved installation of 133 Alstom ECO-100 3MW machines, however, NaturEner now proposes to erect 128 Siemens 3.2MW-113 units, the developer said in filings to the Alberta Utilities Commission.
The turbine swap would bump up total capacity to 409.6MW from 399MW.
Wind power development in Alberta has been at a standstill for several years, but NaturEner has dusted off plans for the Wild Rose scheme in light of the province’s upcoming renewable energy procurement program.
The sale of turbine manufacturer Alstom “triggered decisions about the availability of that permitted turbine for the project, and ultimately made the project not viable to competitively participate in the upcoming REP selection process,” said NaturEner.
“After a thorough selection process, NaturEner entered into an agreement with Siemens Canada,” said the developer.
NaturEner has also asked regulators for a time extension to complete construction.
If all goes as planned the proponent intends to start construction activities before the end of 2016. The company anticipates interconnection transmission work will continue until the third quarter of 2018.
The expected in-service date for Wild Rose 2 is 31 December 2018 and for Wild Rose 1 is 31 March 2019.
Wild Rose 1 will tie into the Alberta Interconnected Electric System via a 36km transmission line and Wild Rose 2 via a 50m cable to a new system substation.
Image: Siemens
