Southern Ontario's Largest Wind Farm Begins Construction Today
29 Kilometre Erie Shores Wind Farm Will Power 32,000 Homes
PORT BURWELL, ON, July 22 /CNW/ - Ontario Energy Minister Dwight Duncan
today joined the owners and developers of the $186 million Erie Shores Wind
Farm in the first groundbreaking of southern Ontario's largest wind farm.
When operational in April 2006, Erie Shores will generate 99 megawatts of
electricity from 66 wind turbines stretched along 29 kilometres of the
northern shoreline of Lake Erie between Copenhagen and Clear Creek, Ontario.
The project is owned by Clean Power Income Fund and developed by AIM
PowerGen Corporation.
"Erie Shores will provide enough electricity for 32,000 Ontario homes -
and will be ready in time for next summer's requirements," said Clean Power
Income Fund CEO Stephen Probyn, at the groundbreaking ceremony at John and
Marnie Sebok's farm at Port Burwell, Ontario.
More than 25 farmers, including the Seboks, are hosting the 66 wind
turbines.
"Erie Shores demonstrates the wisdom of the government's strong
commitment to clean, renewable energy," said Mr. Probyn. "Erie Shores is one
of the highest quality wind energy projects in North America and is a win-win
for consumers, the host communities, and the environment."
The project was one of the successful bids in the Ontario Government's
November 2004 Request for Proposals for 300 MW of renewable energy. The
developer is AIM PowerGen Corporation of Toronto, a prominent windpower
developer with projects in Western Canada, Ontario and Atlantic Canada.
"The active involvement of the community and their leaders in Elgin and
Norfolk Counties has been critical to the success of this project to date,"
said Mike Crawley, President and CEO of AIM PowerGen.
GE Energy is engaged as both the turbine supplier and the operator of the
Erie Shores Wind Farm. GE Energy will deliver the project's 66 GE 1.5 SLE
turbines under a fixed-price supply agreement. This agreement with GE also
provides a 4 year warranty of the equipment's power curve and performance. GE
Energy also will provide operating and management services to the Erie Shores
facility for its first four years.
The Erie Shores Wind Farm holds a 20-year, fixed price power purchase
agreement with the Government of Ontario.
About Clean Power Income Fund
With the addition of the 99 MW Erie Shores Wind Farm now under
construction, Clean Power Income Fund is invested in 44 power generating
facilities located in Québec, Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia and 10 U.S.
states with a total capacity of 450 MW. Four environmentally preferred
technologies - hydro, windpower, biomass and landfill gas recovery - delivered
1,643,500 MWh of electricity in 2004 under long-term sales contracts at
minimal to zero fuel cost.
Clean Power Income Fund's units are listed and posted for trading on the
Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "CLE.UN".
About AIM PowerGen Corporation
AIM is a private Canadian developer of wind power projects that has been
focused on the Ontario market. AIM is currently developing over 300MW of
additional wind power projects in Ontario and other Canadian jurisdictions.
For further information: Jennifer Stein, Temple Scott Associates,
(416) 360-6183 x 238, jstein@tsa.ca; Pierre Leduc, Temple Scott Associates,
At event - Cell: (416) 859-8562
