Pattern Development gets funds for 300-MW wind project in Ontario

US-based Pattern Energy Group LP has completed CAD 1 billion (USD 791m/EUR 665m) in financing for its 300-MW Henvey Inlet wind project in the Canadian province of Ontario.

Pattern Development, as the US renewable energy firm is also known, is developing the project under a 50/50 joint venture with Nigig Power Corp, a unit of Henvey Inlet First Nation. The partners plan to share the ownership and operation of the wind farm following completion, Pattern Development said on Tuesday.

The project will be situated on First Nation land on the northeastern shore of the Georgian Bay. It will be powered by 87 turbines of 3.45 MW each with a 136-m rotor diameter and 132-m hub height, supplied by Denmark’s Vestas Wind Systems A/S (CPH:VWS)

The Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) to buy the entire output of the Henvey Inlet wind farm. Pattern Development expects to bring the plant online in the first half of 2019.

Once up and running, the park is to produce enough power for about 100,000 local homes per year. The plant will bring over CAD 8 million in annual lease royalties to the Henvey Inlet First Nation, Pattern Development noted.

"This landmark project is a first on many fronts: largest wind project in Ontario, largest on-reserve wind installation in Canada, highest hub heights in North America, and the first to develop a First Nation Environmental Stewardship Regime under the First Nations Lands Management Act," said Pattern Development CEO Mike Garland.

(CAD 1.0 = USD 0.791/EUR 0.665)

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