TORONTO (Reuters) - Enbridge Inc aims to have Canada's second-biggest wind farm up and running in a year, a spokeswoman for the company said on Friday, adding that project delays have caused "significant" cost overruns.
By Jonathan Spicer
TORONTO (Reuters) - Enbridge Inc aims to have Canada's second-biggest wind farm up and running in a year, a spokeswoman for the company said on Friday, adding that project delays have caused "significant" cost overruns.
"We thought we would have been producing power by the spring of 2007, but now the farm won't be fully operational until the fall of 2008," said Debbie Boukydis.
"There have been significant overruns," she added, saying only that costs associated with a year-long regulatory delay exceeded C$20 million ($20.2 million). Before the overruns, the project's cost was seen at C$400 million.
!ADVERTISEMENT!Last year, a group of residents near the site -- in Ontario's Bruce County on Lake Huron, northwest of Toronto -- opposed the 182 megawatt project, warning it would be noisy and unsightly.
That led to a 14-month review until Enbridge, Canada's No. 2 pipeline company, slightly reduced the size of the wind farm to 110 turbines. In July, a provincial tribunal allowed Enbridge to proceed with the project.
Boukydis said 20 turbine foundations are in the ground now, with the first scheduled to produce power in the spring of next year. She declined to estimate what impact the project will have on the company's balance sheet.
Energy-hungry Ontario, Canada's most populous province, is eager to bring more renewable power online.
It aims to spend C$60 billion over the next 20 years in a conservation-focused effort to shutter its remaining coal-fired power plants while ensuring the lights stay on.
Enbridge stock was up 28 Canadian cents, or 0.8 percent, at C$36.84 by late afternoon on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
($1=$0.99 Canadian)
(Reporting by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Rob Wilson)
