By Nelson Zandbergen - AgriNews Staff Writer

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CHESTERVILLE — While Prowind Canada Inc. of Kemptville had applied to supply 180 MW of wind power into the provincial power grid at sites around Ontario, the firm’s Bart Geleynse Jr. says he’s satisfied with the smaller allocation received in the April 8 Feed-In Tariff program rollout announcement.

Prowind wound up with FIT contracts for 30 MW at what is considered one proposed project — the firm’s local "South Branch"site, which is named for the watercourse, also known as Black Creek, that flows through the countryside north of Brinston. In actuality, the project in South Dundas Township comprises three 10 MW sites on three farms in the neighbourhood- Thurler Farms north of the creek, Tibben Farms to the south and, further to the west, Byker Farms near Glen Stewart.

"It’s close to home, and that’s good," noted Geleynse, project manager. "Obviously, we would have liked to have gotten it all," he added, though he later qualified the remark by observing, "Shoot, 30 MW is a very healthy-sized project."

Prowind had to compete for limited grid capacity with a long list of other hopefuls in the alternative energy sector, he pointed out. "What squeezed us out was probably a lot of the solar applications."

Now that South Branch has gotten the contractual go-ahead, Geleynse looked forward to the next immediate steps. They include wrapping up an ongoing environmental assessment, which he said is already 80 to 90 per cent complete, as well as securing private financing for the estimated $70- to $100-million project, which will involve erecting 12 to 15 turbines that must be operational no later than December 2012.

On the financial front, having that guaranteed per kilowatt hour contract offer from the Ontario Power Authority "is one major hurdle overcome,"he said. "It’s a bankable offer."

Conventional banks and other lending institutions like insurance companies should be interested when Prowind solicits the required credit for construction, according to Geleynse, asserting it now represents "a much lower risk than regular development financing."

Though the project won’t hinge on the idea, he said the company could also explore the possibility of having local individuals contribute as investors. If 50 per cent of capital were to be raised this way, the build would qualify as a community project, garnering an additional one cent per kW on power sold. "We’ll have to gauge that, really, and we’ll be looking for expressions of interest in that regard."

At Laflèche Environmental, president Brian King said he was "very excited" with the contract offer that will finally allow the company to proceed on its planned 4 MW biogas cogeneration plant.

The resulting facility will collect methane from Laflèche’s Moose Creek landfill operation, then burn the gas in a turbine to create both heat and electricity —and at a constant rate, unlike solar or wind power.

King said the company had been waiting for an answer since applying for an OPA contract a year and a half ago.

Now that they’ve got it, King said that Lafleche would shortly advertise for tenders on the installation of the gas collection system, for completion this fall. The remaining power generating components would be procured in time for an anticipated spring 2011 start-up, he added.

Waste heat scavenged from the resulting process could be used to heat

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greenhouses and aquariums, he said.

While 184 projects across the province got immediate contract offers, approximately the same number showed up on a waiting list — stuck in an uncertain queue until the province can justify the expense of upgrading local grid capacity. Such projects are said to be subject to an "economic connection test."

Prowind’s proposed 20 MW wind turbine installation at the Zollinger farm, officially titled the Kerr’s Ridge Rd. project, shows up in that category.

"That queue will determine for Hydro One, where they will upgrade the grid in the future," predicted Geleynse.

Similarly appearing in the queue is Kinu Energy’s proposed 10 MW Newington solar project, though it’s listed under the name of the applicant, Sun Edison.

"I can’t say anything about it, OK?" Kinu Energy co-founder Ian Young briefly replied when reached by The Record.

In an article appearing in March 2009, Young said his company spent $150,000 developing its plans for the South Stormont site, on 150 acres of land leased from Bill and Corallee Sanderson, and that Kinu Energy was working with another firm to serve as owner and operator of the facility.

Totally absent from either list was another proposed 10 MW solar project in South Stormont, once touted by Solaris Technology of Ottawa. In preparation for the development, Solaris leased 100 acres of municipal land from the township, at an undisclosed location somewhere between Ingleside and Long Sault, according to company vice president Robin Hutcheson in 2008.

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