Suncor Energy Products Inc. wind turbine energy project in the Handhills is moving closer to receiving regulatory approval.
Keith Knudsen, Renewable Energy Engineer and the Project Manager, said Suncor responded to the last round of information requests from the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) in May of this year,
The application will now be advertised to accept any submissions from affected parties until the submission deadline of June 26.
“The two processes we’re going through at the moment are the AUC application and the inter-connection application, which are connected but they’re sort of two different approvals, so we’re working through both those; and the inter-connection - we’re facing the same kind of challenges (as BluEarth Renewables) with getting the infrastructure in place from the Alberta Electric System Operator perspective,” said Knudsen.
The Mail reported in last week’s edition that BluEarth Renewables Handhills wind project deadline was extended to 2018, waiting on separate approval for transmission lines.
Knudsen said he hopes his company can help move that approval process forward.
“Once we get that (AUC) permit, then we’re going to be pushing to get that inter-connection permit in place,” he notes.
Suncor applied in 2012 to the AUC for approval of an 80 megawatt wind power plant about six kilometres south of Delia.
If Suncor’s project permit is approved, Knudsen said pre-construction, such as roads and collector lines for the turbines, could start as early as this year.