Last autumnBeothuk announced plans to privately fund and build a 180MW offshore wind farmat an unspecified site in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
The siteBeothuk has chosen in St. George’s Bay has water depths of less than 50 metres, isoutside of major shipping lanes and bird-migration routes, and is close to a majortransmission corridor, according to the St. John’s-based developer.
Beothuk hasrequested an investigative permit from the government of Newfoundland andLabrador province for the proposed location.
The entireC$400m ($364m) proposal could create up to 600 jobs during peak construction,including 100 out of the O&M base at Port Harmon, Stephenville, thedeveloper claims.
Key to theproposal is Beothuk’s plan to establish a manufacturing base for gravity-basedfoundations at Corner Brook, some 80km north of Stephenville and the largestpopulation centre along the western coast of Newfoundland.
Gravity-basedfoundations, while increasingly rare in the European offshore wind theatre,feature commonly in eastern Canada’s growing offshore hydrocarbons industry,and Beothuk envisages a significant “transfer of technologies” between the twosectors.
Beothuk hassaid it will employ turbines rated at 6MW or higher for the project, usingtugboats to transport the various elements to the site.
The developerclaims the offshore wind farm will produce electricity at a cost of less thanC$100 ($91) per MWh.
Bycomparison, the UK – the world’s largest offshore wind market – has offereddevelopers £155 ($260) per MWh in 2014/15, dropping to £140 per MWh in 2018/19.
Between thewind farm itself, the foundations plant, and the O&M base, Beothuk aims toturn western Newfoundland – a large island jutting out into the Gulf of St.Lawrence with nearly 500,000 residents – into a “North American centre ofexcellence for offshore wind manufacturing, staging and servicing”, says chiefexecutive Kirby Mercer.
Anothercritical element to the proposal is the 500MW high-voltage direct-current(HVDC) “Maritime Link” transmission route that will enter construction thisyear, linking Newfoundland to Nova Scotia, which is part of mainland NorthAmerica.
The C$1.5bnMaritime Link – which includes a 170km subsea section running beneath the CabotStrait – is being built with an eye towards linking Labrador’s hydropowerresource to more populous regions in eastern Canada, but it may also benefiton- and offshore wind developers.
Beothuk hasnot proposed a timeline for its offshore wind project. The Maritime Link is dueon line in 2017.
Should theproject go ahead, it may become the first offshore wind farm in Canadianwaters, given the ongoing legal uncertainties plaguing Trillium Power’sproposed developments in Lake Ontario.
