The 495MW Buffalo Plains is an under-construction wind farm project in Alberta, Canada. The project is being developed by Danish renewable investment firm Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP).
Construction works for the onshore wind farm commenced in November 2023. It is expected to become fully operational by December 2024.
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Once complete, Buffalo Plains Wind Farm will become the largest onshore wind farm in Canada. It will generate 1,500 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity per year, enough to power 240,000 Alberta homes.
The wind farm would also displace approximately 795,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.
The project is estimated to have an operational life of around 20 to 25 years.
Buffalo Plains Wind Farm Location
The onshore wind farm will be located west of Lomond in Vulcan County, Alberta.
The area was selected due to the presence of large open agricultural lands, favourable wind conditions and its proximity to the bulk transmission system to the north.
The project is being developed on approximately 17,500 acres of privately owned land.
A few hundred acres will not be available for cultivation following the completion of project works. The remaining area can be used for farming or ranching.
Background
German-based renewable energy developer ABO Wind, which originally owned the project, purchased the property in 2018.
This was followed by the installation of the first Meteorological Mast in December 2018. The 122m tall mast records the wind speed at five different heights, as well as determines the wind direction and air temperature.
Another meteorological mast was erected in December 2019. Environmental studies also began in the same year.
In January 2020, ABO Wind announced Green Option (GO) programme as part of the overall community benefits of the Buffalo Plains Wind Project.
The project was issued a building permit and licence by the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) in February 2022.
In June 2022, ABO Wind received an additional permit and licence from the AUC for the transmission interconnection.
CIP purchased the Buffalo Plains Wind Farm from ABO Wind in July 2022.
The project would create around 300 jobs during the construction phase and generate up to 15 permanent jobs.
Buffalo Plains Project Wind Turbines
The Buffalo Plains Wind Farm will comprise 83 Siemens Gamesa turbines to deliver a capacity of 495MW.
Two turbine models, SG6.0-170 and SG5.0-145 with a nominal capacity of 6.6MW and 5.2MW, respectively, have been selected for the wind farm.
The SG6.0-170 turbine has a hub height of 110.5m and a rotor diameter of 170m, while SG5.0-145 exhibits a hub height of 95.5m with a rotor diameter of 145m.
These turbine models have a reduced noise emission profile. Although they have a slightly lower hub height and a slightly larger rotor diameter, the turbines will maintain the same overall height as the previously proposed model.
Other Infrastructure
The Buffalo Plains Wind Farm infrastructure will include a medium voltage collector system consisting of 34.5kV above ground and underground cables. It will be used to transmit the electricity from the turbines to the project substation.
The substation will increase the collector system voltage to the transmission level voltage.
An operations and maintenance building will be built close to the substation for the local maintenance staff.
The project development will also include building around 56km of new roads at the site for turbine access.
After construction, the two temporary meteorological towers erected to measure wind speed and direction will be removed and up to four permanent met towers will be installed to collect long-term forecasting data.
Power Evacuation
The wind farm project will be connected to the Alberta grid to construct a 12-15km high-voltage transmission line.
The project substation is planned to be connected to AltaLink’s existing 356S Milo substation, located north of the town of Lomond in the grazing leases.
The features of the transmission line will be finalised in consultation with the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO).
Offtake Agreement
A Seattle, Washington-based technology company, Amazon, signed a power purchase agreement to procure 415MW of output from the Buffalo Plains Wind Farm.
Contractors Involved
Canada-based renewable energy construction company Borea was engaged in the construction of the wind farm.
Siemens Gamesa is supplying the wind turbines for the project.
