Paintearth Wind Project

Paintearth Wind Project

Location: Located forty kilometers (km) southeast of the Town of Stettler
Capacity: 190 MW
energy storage: Wind Energy

About the Paintearth Wind Project

The Paintearth Wind Project (PWP) began development in 2011 and includes approximately 31,000 acres of land located forty kilometres (km) southeast of the Town of Stettler. The PWP is located on privately owned cultivated and grazing land and will generate clean energy while allowing landowners to continue with their daily activities. The project area has an excellent wind resource which has been verified with over three years of collected onsite wind data.

In 2017, the Paintearth Wind Project LP (PWLP) applied for approval from the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) for a 44 turbine, 150 megawatt (MW) wind power plant, and a permit and licence for the Lanes Lake Substation. The AUC application was amended in 2018 to reduce the number of turbines and modify the nameplate capacity of the PWP, and the PWLP received a power plant approval and substation permit and licence from the AUC in January 2020. PWLP submitted a Letter of Enquiry (LOE) in 2022 to address additional changes, including a reduction in the number of turbines to 38 turbines, a change in the model of the wind turbine, an increase in rated capacity per turbine from 3.6 MW to 5.0 MW, an increase in total plant capacity from 151.2 MW to 198 MW, and some spatial relocation of turbines, access roads and collector system routing. Updated approval for the PWP was received in the summer of 2022 and construction commenced in September 2022.

Construction of the PWP will involve the installation of thirty-eight (38) Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) 145-5.0 turbines, an underground collector system, access roads, upgrades to existing roads, and the construction of a new collector substation (the Lanes Lake Substation). The PWP nameplate capacity is 198MW. The project layout is available here.

Project Updates

Construction activities are well underway and on schedule. Turbine delivery is staring and there will increased traffic on the road. Appropriate dust control measures will be implemented throughout the delivery period. The haul route map is available for download here.

Potentia Renewables Inc. (Potentia) and Greengate Power Corporation (Greengate) have closed financing for the PWP. The press release and contact for media inquiries is available here.

 

Construction activities have resumed and the project contractor, Borea Construction ULC, mobilized on-site at the beginning of March. A new Construction Manager, Silvio Martinez, has taken over from Mike Van Dam starting in 2023.

As of December 15th, construction activities have officially wrapped up for the year. This year, we finished setting up the laydown area, completed 95% of the road stripping, cleared all the turbine pads, constructed almost 50% of the new roads and upgraded almost half of the existing roads. Construction activities will resume in March 2023 and be in full swing until the end of next year.

PWLP is commencing construction on September 19, 2022. Construction this fall is expected to be limited to setting up the laydown area, building new access roads and some turning radii, clearing turbine pads, upgrading some of the existing roads, and commencing construction at the Lanes Lake Substation. There will be a slight increase in traffic on the road this fall as the contractor and PWLP get organized at the Project site.

PWLP provided additional details on the PWP in preparation for submitting amendments to the AUC for approval. Details of the updates are available in the April 2022 newsletter.

PWLP is applying for a time extension with the AUC and proposing to amend the PWP layout. Details of the amendment proposals are included in the January 2022 newsletter.

PWLP modified the Project schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic and commercial operation date has been updated to Fall 2023.

The PWP and Lanes Lake 973S Substation received approval from the AUC.

PWLP amended the AUC applications and reduced the number of turbines at the Paintearth Wind Project (PWP) from 44 to 42.

PWLP submitted applications to the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) under Rule 007 and Rule 012, seeking approval for a power plant (Paintearth Wind Project), substation (Lanes Lake 973S), and interconnection.

Potentia Renewables Inc. entered into a partnership with Greengate Power Corporation for the Paintearth Wind Project.

Contact the Paintearth Wind Team

Paintearth Wind Project LP
ATTN: Colby Graham
+1 (403) 371-5150
15124 TWP RD 372
Castor AB, T0C 0X0