Northeastern BC's extraordinary wind resource
Wind energy is the world's cleanest source of electricity. It's renewable. It produces no greenhouse gas emissions or waste products. It requires no drilling, mining or refining. Along the flat-topped foothills that parallel the eastern flank of the Rocky Mountains, northeastern BC is a source of wind energy like few others on earth. Integrated with the region's vast hydro reservoirs, wind energy will drive economic growth in BC for years to come.Artist rendering of a section of Hackney Hills with turbines installed
Aeolis Wind — BC's preeminent wind developer
Aeolis has long-term leases for a number of prime wind park sites in northeastern BC, on which we have an extensive network of data collection and monitoring towers. Our Victoria head office monitors data from these sites in real time and analyzes it with state-of-the-art software. We are currently developing two wind park sites in the region with a total potential generating capacity of 1,900 MW. Aeolis demonstrated its in-house technical and project expertise in leading development of BC's first wind project: the 102 MW Bear Mountain Wind Park near the town of Dawson Creek. Bear Mountain began commercial production in November 2009—on time and on budget.Thunder Mountain
Thunder Mountain is a wind project located north of the Heritage Highway in the Peace River District; it has an estimated total generating capacity of up to 600 MW. In February 2010 Brookfield Renewable Power Inc. acquired a controlling interest in the project. Thunder Mountain is located on provincial Crown land and, at its nearest point, is about 18 km southeast of the coal-mining community of Tumbler Ridge and 27 km from a grid interconnect point. The site is largely treed and traversed by petroleum development and forestry service roads, which offer relatively easy access. In 2009, the Thunder Mountain Wind Project was awarded a BC Environmental Assessment Certificate for up to 320 MW and it has all major permitting in place leading up to construction, including a General License of Occupation covering approximately 2300 hectares. There are 10 meteorological towers in the project area that have been collecting wind data for about six years.Thunder Mountain South
Aeolis continues to develop Thunder Mountain South, which includes an investigative area of approximately 4200 hectares, located south of the Heritage Highway in the Peace River District. The project has a superb, world-class wind resource and an estimated total generation capacity of up to 800 MW. Two meteorological towers have been collecting data on this site since 2006, and this data has been analyzed and modeled in-house at Aeolis for most of that time. Similar to Thunder Mountain, Thunder Mountain South is located on provincial Crown land; it is approximately 45 km southeast of Tumbler Ridge and 55 km from an existing grid interconnect point. The site is largely treed and traversed by petroleum development and forestry service roads, facilitating access.Hackney Hills and the Northeast Transmission Line
Located approximately 50 km northwest of the town of Hudson's Hope and the Bennett Dam, the 500 MW Hackney Hills Project has exceptional wind values, which explains why the site is almost treeless. It's also on the logical route of the recently announced Northeast Transmission Line. The BC Government plans to build this line to provide power to the new Horn River Basin shale gas field, one of the largest of its type in North America. Hackney Hills: the right project—at the right time.
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Updates
October 2011 — A BC Hydro planning document titled Generate 2011: Meeting new power needs highlights BC Hydro's awareness of unprecedented load growth in northern BC and warns that that the province will require major investment in transmission infrastructure.
October, 2011 — A report written by Steve Davis and Associates commissioned by the Canadian Wind Energy Association and titled Additional Industrial Electricity Load Growth in BC to 2025 makes it abundantly clear that demand in BC for electricity is poised to accelerate.
October, 2011 — A report written by Steve Davis and Associates commissioned by the Canadian Wind Energy Association and titled Additional Industrial Electricity Load Growth in BC to 2025 makes it abundantly clear that demand in BC for electricity is poised to accelerate.
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Feb. 4, 2011) - Brookfield Renewable Power Inc. ("Brookfield Renewable") and Aeolis Wind Power Corporation ("Aeolis") are pleased to announce that Brookfield Renewable has acquired a controlling interest in Aeolis' Thunder Mountain and Redwillow wind development projects in the Peace River region in northeastern British Columbia. The site has obtained an environmental assessment certificate for up to approximately 320 MW of wind generation. Brookfield Renewable will lead and control future development of the project with involvement of the Aeolis team. Aeolis has undertaken initial development and permitting activities on the project since 2005, and will have the option to retain certain ownership in the project on completion. More.
July 2010: In an article titled "Shale Gas and Climate Targets: Can They Be Reconciled" SFU professor Mark Jaccard and researcher Brad Griffin explain how developing BC's shale gas fields in northeastern BC is diametrically opposed to the BC Government's GHG reduction targets—unless measures to mitigate emissions of carbon dioxide can be implemented. Aeolis maintains that implementing Blue Fuel Energy's strategy of using these emissions to produce low-carbon Blue Fuel Methanol, Blue Fuel DME and/or Blue Fuel Gasoline is the logical way for BC to have its cake and eat it too.
July 2010: In an article titled "Shale Gas and Climate Targets: Can They Be Reconciled" SFU professor Mark Jaccard and researcher Brad Griffin explain how developing BC's shale gas fields in northeastern BC is diametrically opposed to the BC Government's GHG reduction targets—unless measures to mitigate emissions of carbon dioxide can be implemented. Aeolis maintains that implementing Blue Fuel Energy's strategy of using these emissions to produce low-carbon Blue Fuel Methanol, Blue Fuel DME and/or Blue Fuel Gasoline is the logical way for BC to have its cake and eat it too.
