The Armow Wind Power Facility in Ontario held a grand opening hosted by Samsung Renewable Energy, Inc. and Pattern Energy Group LP. The 180-MW Armow Wind is expected to generate enough clean energy to power about 70,000 Ontario homes each year, based on average annual residential energy use in Ontario.
“The Municipality welcomes the Armow Wind Power Facility to our community,” said Murray Clarke, chief administrative officer of the Municipality of Kincardine. “Throughout the process … the developer has demonstrated a solid commitment to work with the municipality and maintain an open line of communication … The Armow Wind project will contribute close to $20 million of new tax, non-tax, and permit revenue directly to the Municipality of Kincardine. The community benefit component alone will equal close to $13 million which will be used to support local projects and programming.”
“We want to thank the landowners, other community members, and the municipality for their hard work and collaboration,” said Mike Garland, CEO of pattern development. “Armow Wind was built by Ontario workers using Ontario-made wind-turbine components. It is having a strong positive impact on the community by generating millions of dollars in local lease payments and property taxes, updating the local airport, and improving the community of Kincardine through our community benefits program.”
“Armow Wind is operational and not only producing renewable energy but also generating economic growth for the Kincardine community,” said Steve Cho, president of Samsung Renewable Energy Inc. “We are pleased to have delivered on our commitment to the Green Energy Investment Agreement by producing hundreds of jobs in construction and manufacturing. Armow is the fourth wind project to be completed under the GEIA, and Samsung Renewable Energy is pleased to be a part of the Kincardine community.”
Using Ontario-made wind-turbine components, Armow Wind provided jobs for more than 350 Ontario workers during peak construction activity with an average of 200 workers on-site throughout the construction process. Towers for the 91 Siemens 2.3 MW wind turbines were made in Windsor, and the 273 blades were manufactured in Tillsonburg by more than 750 Ontario workers.
“Siemens is proud to be a key supplier for our partners on another successful wind project in Ontario,” said David Hickey, vice president of Wind Power & Renewables for Siemens Canada Limited. “With locally produced steel, towers, and blades, Armow Wind is another great example of the positive economic impact the wind-power industry has on the Province of Ontario and is a progressive step towards environmental sustainability.”
In addition to producing clean power, Armow Wind is bringing strong economic benefits to the Kincardine community, including more than $75 million over 20 years in property taxes, landowner lease royalties, and community benefits.
Armow Wind committed $13.6 million to the Municipality of Kincardine as part of a long-term Community Benefit Program, which supports education and other initiatives, including a contribution of $1 million to the Kincardine Airport to improve local operations.
The Armow Wind power facility operates under a 20-year power-purchase agreement with the Independent Electricity System Operator.
Samsung C&T and its partners are making a $5 billion private-sector investment in Ontario to create clean, renewable energy for generations to come.
Samsung signed a commercial agreement with the Government of Ontario that will result in 1,369 MW of installed renewable energy capacity in Ontario.
Source Pattern Development
For more information go to www.patterndev.com.
