Westman Wind Power Company announced it is developing eight wind power projects to be spread across Manitoba.
They will have an initial capacity of about 700 MW, with the potential maximum capacity of more than 1,400 MW. The total value of the projects is approximately $1.5 billion.
“Wind is the fastest growing source of power generation in the world” said Westman partner Paul Edwards, a Winnipeg lawyer and businessman, “and we think Manitoba can be a world leader in the development of wind power.”
CFI Group (CFI), which specializes in providing customized medium and long-term structured and infrastructure debt and equity financing, has been engaged to arrange financing to develop the wind farm projects.
“CFI has obtained significant funding commitments from the investors in its equity fund, including Manitoba Teachers’ Retirement Allowances Fund and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, for the purpose of investing in energy and infrastructure projects across Canada,” said Chris Ball, Executive Vice-President of CFI Group.
“The Manitoba government’s continued strong support of wind energy is essential to ensure this Manitoba-developed project comes to fruition. We are confident that the Westman team has the right combination of development experience and local knowledge to successfully execute these important energy projects.”
Westman is a Manitoba wind power developer based in Winnipeg. The company was formed in 2004 to develop wind projects within the province while also maximizing the economic, environmental and social benefits to Manitobans.
Westman is developing the projects with technical support and assistance from Wardrop Engineering, one of the largest engineering firms based in Manitoba, and two other wind power developers, Padoma Wind Power and Gale Force Energy.
Five of Westman’s projects are located on private land, and Westman has already negotiated land use agreements for more than 50,000 acres of land. Wind monitoring programs (which measure the wind resource) have commenced on all of the sites and will continue for at least eighteen months. Westman has also filed applications to use more than 20,000 acres of Crown Land for two further projects and negotiations are ongoing for the final project which is located in the Churchill area.
“The interest in our company and our projects has been exceptional”, added Martin, who leads the site acquisition team for Westman. “I have talked to hundreds of land owners over the past year and can tell you that Manitobans are very enthusiastic about the potential of wind power for our province. Landowners are excited to get construction under way and to start earning new sustainable income. This new income is especially important for many of the farmers in our group who are looking to diversify their farm income.”