Wind Development Stages

While various jurisdictions may use different terminology, within the wind energy industry there are generally agreed upon stages to the wind development process:

Site evaluation

In this initial stage of ‘prospecting’ for wind, proponents look for strong wind resources with access to the electrical power grid and initial community support. Initial wind testing is done at this stage to determine the viability of the resource. This stage takes approximately 12-18 months. In areas that have excellent existing wind data this stage can be reduced to 3-12 months. As each market matures, one can expect to reduce the time of this stage.

Project development

In the project development stage, milestones include: site acquisition; completion of environmental assessment/permitting process; delivery of final wind reports; production of interconnection and preliminary engineering and siting studies; as well as the negotiation of the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), financing and the EPC (engineering and procurement of turbines and other improvements). The project development stage can begin when the initial wind testing analysis is completed and determines that the site is good for wind development – usually after 3-6 months of reliable wind data has been produced. Project development can be happening concurrently with the last half of site evaluation and takes approximately 12-24 months. The key milestone for this stage is the acquisition of a PPA.

Test/Construction

A relatively short stage compared to other energy development projects, this includes all site enhancements (including roads, interconnection, cabling), test turbines erected for operation for 120 days to qualify as a Canadian Renewable and Conservation Expense (CRCE) wind energy system (in Canada), and for the remainder of the turbines to installed based on positive test results. Depending on the topography and accessibility of the wind plant construction of a wind plant can be completed within 6-12 months of EPC. Certain projects will not utilize the CRCE provisions and will be developed without a separate test phase.

Operation/Production

Upon installation of all turbines the wind plant begins full production of electricity. Energy is sold as per the PPA and the turbines receive ongoing service and maintenance as required under the terms of warranty and service agreements. The operating life of a wind plant is approximately 20 years depending upon the type of turbines used.

For more information on Wind Energy please visit our Wind Energy 101 page.