“The village of Carmangary is 273 people, We count each one!” says Kym Nichols, the mayor of a small village in the prairies; and the new home of the largest wind farm in western Canada.
“It’s the consistent wind they are looking for, and that’s what we have”, says Nichols.
The Blackspring Ridge Wind project is settled on 48,000 acres of land from about 50 land owners in the County of Vulcan.
One by one- the wind turbines are starting to pop up across the southern Alberta landscape.
“We are erecting 166 Vestas V100-1.8 MW turbines,” says Stephane Desdunes, Development Manager for EDF EN Canada.
These massive machines are equivalent to a 26 story building. Each piece carefully placed and positioned for the wind.
“The energy will be produced here and could run 140 thousand homes and it will go to the Alberta power grid,” adds Desdunes.
But the project isn’t just creating power to flip a light switch, its fueling a southern Alberta economy.
At the peak of construction 300 workers will be on site, and te majority of them will be from southern Alberta.
“Most of the workforce does come out of Calgary, Lethbridge and this area,” says Desdunes.
“We have had kids go to the college for the Wind Turbine Technician program and we have local welders and labourers who have been hired for the project,” says Nichols.
The project is a joint effort between EDF EN Canada and Enbridge and is expected to run a lifespan of up to 25 years.
“The farms will see the windfall, they will make royalties and see the payments from the companies, and hopefully that money trickles back into the county and to our businesses,” says County of Vulcan Reeve, David Schneider.
Concerns were raised about the project, its environmental impact and the lasting impression on the area, but for mayor Nichols, she says the changing scenery will keep this small village moving forward.
The project will cost $600 million and is expected to be complete in the summer of 2014.
A job fair for the project is being held at the Coast Hotel in Lethbridge on September 23 from 8am to 8pm and in Carmangay on September 24th at the Seniors Center from 8am to 8pm.
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