Oil & gas group Suncor will start building what could be one of Canada’s largest wind farms with Siemens Gamesa turbines.

Suncor tapped the wind OEM for 45 of its SG 4.5-145 machines for deployment at its Forty Mile wind project in Alberta.

The 205MW order and 20-year service deal cover the first phase of Forty Mile, which Suncor said is planned as a two-stage development totaling 400MW.

That would put the Suncor project among the biggest wind farms in Canada – another similar-sized development adjacent to it, and also called Forty Mile, is planned by RES and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Energy. Both would outstrip the 300MW Henvey Inlet project completed last year.

Suncor is seeking to develop 800MW of renewable energy, mainly in western Canada, as it diversifies its core fossil operations that include a major presence in oil sands.

Siemens Gamesa said the latest deal takes its tally for the SG 4.5-145 in Canada to 574MW. The turbines, which are fitted with noise reduction technology, are due to enter service in 2021.