By Tom Fletcher, BC Local News, Hope Standard, November 24, 2010
B.C.'s second wind farm is up and running.
With 48 towers, Dokie Wind Farm near Chetwynd is larger than the 34-tower Bear Mountain Wind near Dawson Creek, which started feeding the BC Hydro grid in October 2009.
The Dokie Wind Farm near Chetwynd is constructed, and towers with 45-metre blades are being brought on line for testing. (MotionMedia photo) |
Dokie is fully constructed and nine of its towers have begun producing power, Plutonic Power CEO Donald McInnes said in an interview Tuesday. Testing and electrical commissioning is underway on the rest.
"Our online due date to be selling electricity under our power agreement with BC Hydro is the end of March, and I think we're on track to better that deadline," McInnes said.
Dokie was developed by a startup company called EarthFirst Canada Inc., which signed a power purchase contract with BC Hydro in 2006. After spending $110 million on the project, EarthFirst went bankrupt in late 2008, and Plutonic and General Electric purchased it in June 2009.
Plutonic and GE also have a provincial environmental permit for a much larger project on nearby Wartenbe Mountain. The permit allows for up to 200 towers on nine ridges, to further develop the area identified in a 2004 survey as B.C.'s best land-based wind energy site.
McInnes said a feasibility study is underway on the Wartenbe Mountain terrain, and once a practical size is determined, the next step is seeking a power purchase contract with BC Hydro.
Dokie has cost the new owners $228 million. It will generate 340 gigawatt hours per year, enough to supply the equivalent of 34,000 homes.
Plutonic is best known as a major player in run-of-river power development, with the 196 megawatt East Toba River Montrose Creek project north of Powell River. Plutonic and GE are partners on that project, a proposed 166 megawatt second phase in the Upper Toba Valley and a much larger 1,027 megawatt system in nearby Bute Inlet.
Plutonic and GE took over operation of the Toba Montrose project from construction contractor Peter Kiewit Sons on Nov. 1. Its two generating systems came on line in May and July of this year.
McInnes said the Bute proposal remains on "care and maintenance" with hydrology and wildlife studies ongoing. Major engineering work won't begin until after BC Hydro completes its latest supply and demand forecast study, or the export market improves, he said.
The Bute proposal extends to 17 rivers, and could generate more power on an annual basis than the proposed Site C dam on the Peace River.
"We still think it's a fantastic resource and we're very keen on advancing it, and we're still advancing our discussions with the Homalco First Nation in good faith, because we think at some point there will be an opportunity to develop the project," McInnes said.
