Greengate Power, a Calgary, Alberta, Canada-based renewable energy projects developing company, declared that it has received provincial permission, from the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC), to build and operate its Blackspring Ridge I Wind Project.
The permission is given under Section 11 of the Hydro and Electric act of Alberta. AUC before offering its approval conducted an exhaustive appraisal of the project and weighed the favorable ecological, economic and social effects of the project to grant the permission.
The project to be located in Vulcan County, close to the Village of Carmangay, around 165 km southeast of Calgary in Southern Alberta will generate around 300 MW of clean renewable energy and will become the largest wind project when commissioned. The power generated from the Blackspring Ridge I Wind Project is adequate to supply around 100,000 households in Canada. The generated power can offset around 600,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year, which can be equated to removal of 120,000 cars from the roads of Alberta.
The wind power generation project is anticipated to create a number of new jobs in rural Alberta, increase the tax revenues to the government and improve payments to the land owners of the region. The project is expected to commence its construction in 2012 and anticipated to go in for commercial production in 2013.