Southwestern Alberta has proved to be a vital location for the growing field of renewable wind energy. The areas near Pincher Creek and Frank are populated by a myriad of towering wind machines that seem to march across the landscape. This technology is dependent on steel for its durable yet lightweight structural towers, as well as for the construction of the long blades that cut through the wind. Steel works to advantage where towers must be constructed in difficult to access areas.
Two types of towers are employed. The most common type consists of a circular hollow steel section that tapers towards the connection to the nascelle (engine hub) at the blades. Intermediate sized wind towers that are seen on the prairies may have supports in the range of 1 to 1.5 metres in diameter. Ocean installations have used towers that may be as large as 3 to 3 metres across.
Alternately, lattice or truss type towers are also used. These are more reminiscent of small traditional windmills that were used to power water pumps on farms.
The Cowley Ridge Wind Plants are situated in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. They are able to take great advantage of the Chinook winds. The Cowley Ridge Wind Plant is the first commercial wind plant in Canada. Phase One was commissioned in 1993 and Phase Two in 1994.
The Cowley Ridge Wind Plant features 57 Kennetech turbines, with a total capacity of 21.4 megawatts. Average production from this wind plant is more than 60 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year, which is enough to power 8,400 typical Canadian households.
The wind turbines at Cowley Ridge are mounted on 24.5 metre lattice towers and operate at wind speeds of up to 97 kilometres per hour. Each turbine has three blades and rotors that are 33 metres in diameter. Approximately two hours of production from one Kennetech turbine powers a typical Canadian home for one month.
The Cowley North Wind Plant is located directly north of Cowley Ridge and became operational starting in September 2001. There are fifteen Nordex N60 turbines, each with a potential to produce 1.3 megawatts. Operational starting in December 2001, the Sinnott Wind Plant is directly east of Cowley Ridge. This wind plant has five Nordex N60 turbines in ‘test’ locations.
For more information on this type of wind energy, visit www.canhydro.com |