A public meeting for the Otter Creek Wind Farm project is set to be held in Wallaceburg next month.
The meeting will be held on Tuesday, July 19 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Clubhouse at Baldoon, located at 7018 Dufferin Avenue in Wallaceburg.
Otter Creek officials say the project is considered to be a Class 4 wind facility.
“If approved, this facility would have a total nameplate capacity of up to 50 Megawatts (MW), which will be comprised of up to approximately 19 turbines,” Otter Creek officials say.
“A connection line located on private property will connect the turbines to the electrical grid at the Point of Interconnection located along an existing transmission line.”
The draft project description report is now available for the public to view.
The report describes the proposed facility, including site preparation, construction, operations, maintenance, and decommissioning of wind turbines, access roads, collector lines, the connection line and collector substation, and other ancillary components.
“Site plan and layout options for the Project are currently being developed and will be finalized and presented to the public during the REA process,” Otter Creek officials stated.
The draft project description report can be viewed here.
It was announced in March that the wind turbine project for north of Wallaceburg had received provincial support.
Renewable Energy Systems Canada Inc. (RES) and its partner Boralex Inc. announced in a press release they have been selected by the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) and awarded a contract for the 50 MW Otter Creek Wind Farm Project.
The companies stated they have obtained the support of Walpole Island First Nation for the project.
The First Nation reserve is slated to have a 10.5% ownership stake in the project.
RES will own 51%, while Boralex will own 38.5%.
The press release, which was issued on Thursday, March 10, stated the partnership is grateful to have received support from the Municipality of Chatham-Kent as well.
C-K has been “granted an option to participate in the project up to 15% of the limited partnership interests following commercial operation,” the press release states.
“We look forward to working together with the Municipality of Chatham-Kent and the Walpole Island First Nation to bring the next generation of renewable energy to the area,” both Peter Clibbon, senior vice president of development of RES in Canada, and Patrick Lemaire, president and CEO of Boralex, said in a common statement.
“We are committed to helping Ontario meet its clean energy goals.”
The Otter Creek wind project which is situated on private lands in Chatham-Kent and is targeted to reach commercial operation by the end of 2019.
Background
The project is to be located all within Chatham-Kent, just north of Wallaceburg.
The project would generally be bounded by Stewart Line and McCreary Line to the south, Whitebread Line and Kent Line west of Mandaumin Road to the north, Mandaumin Road to the east, and Payne Road to the west (see graphic.)
Chatham-Kent council put their support behind the project at their Monday, Aug. 10, 2015 meeting as well.
People lined up outside the door at the Clubhouse at Baldoon in late August for an open house about the project.
– File Photo: Denise Shephard chats with Carmen McGregor and Joe Faas at the Otter Creek Wind Farm meeting held last August in Wallaceburg.
