Wind farm near Oyen celebrates grand opening, capable of 297 megawatts

Southern Alberta Newspapers

The owner of the Sharp Hills wind facility in the Special Areas is promoting full operations of the renewable power plant this week with a “grand opening” on Jan. 22 after it was commissioned last fall and faced a lengthy delay between proposal and go-ahead.

The 297-megawatt, 45-turbine wind farm, located near the hamlets of New Brigden and Sedelia, near Oyen, was listed on the Alberta Electrical System Operator’s trading board in early September and went live in late October.

It was one of four selected in a 2018 procurement process that saw the province lock in power prices below 5 cents per kilowatt hour from renewable sources.

EDP however, eventually used an exit clause in the agreement and resold the contract for a 15-year term to TC Energy for power at an unspecified price and carbon offsets.

The company stated 400 workers were engaged in the construction, handled by Borea Construction, and seven full-time jobs resulted.

The firm also outlines a total project budget of $600 million and cites payments of taxes and lease agreements at $7.4 million combined, but did not provide a time frame.