on july 8, the 100,000 kw wind power project (“longyuan canada wind power project”) that china longyuan power (china longyuan power group corporation ltd.) purchased in ontario, canada was given the construction permit by ontario power authority, which means the construction of the project can start. it is estimated that construction will begin in early august.
the longyuan canada wind power project is located in ontario of canada, a place blessed with abundant wind energy resources and fairly good renewable energy industrial base. the government of ontario issued the green energy act in 2009 and established the feed-in tariff (fit) mechanism for renewable energy resources, providing a powerful policy support for the investment in renewable energy projects. these made ontario lead the rest parts of canada in developing the renewable energy resources, in particular wind power, in canada. according to the international wind energy development: world market update 2012, an annual wind power report released by denmark-based consultancy company btm consult in march, 2013, by the end of 2012, ontario had an installed capacity of 2.043 million kw, ranking first among the provinces in canada, accounting for around one third of the total installed capacity of this country.
on july 13, 2011, longyuan (canada) renewable energy co., ltd., (“longyuan canada project company”), a subsidiary of china longyuan power, signed the equity acquisition agreement on canadian wind power project with canada melanchthon electric power co., ltd in beijing, marking china longyuan power’s first foray into the global wind power market. moreover, this deal also marks the first time for a state-owned power generation enterprise to invest in overseas new energy project.
in accordance with relevant requirements of the government of ontario, all renewable energy projects accessible to fit contract in this province must go through the related approval process before construction. of these, the environmental impact assessment (eia) approval is the most demanding and the slowest. it is said that it will take at least two years, sometimes even four years and more, to obtain the rea permit. after the acquisition, china longyuan power immediately got to work on the relevant work in and outside china, sent staff to carry out the preliminary work of the project in an all round manner in canada, worked hard together with local public relations firm, consultant company and china’s embassy in canada and made positive efforts in communicating and coordinating with canadian ministry of environment so that the eia approval can go without a hitch. during this process, this company experienced 17 rounds of community hearings covering 8 cities and counties, completing 18 research reports including those on archaeology, cultural heritage, hydrogeology, and the distribution of flora and fauna, as well as an over-3,000-page application report for grid access. in may, 2012, it was given the nod by ontario ministry of natural resources and ministry of tourism, culture and sports. after being passed all the formalities and confirmed by the ministry of the environment, it began the publicity in december 2012. in february 2013, the ministry of the environment started technical review after finishing eia publicity. finally, longyuan canada wind power project was successively given the eia permit by ontario ministry of the environment on june 10, track construction permit by ontario electricity advisory committee on july 5, and project construction permit by ontario power authority on july 8. now everything is ready.
furthermore, in order to make construction start immediately after going through all examinations and getting all necessary permits, longyuan canada also actively carried out the preparatory work in various aspects, including inviting bids for epc, preparing for the project construction, conducting land acquisition, financing, communicating and coordinating with local communities. domestically, longyuan canada wind power project was approved by ndrc to invest outside the country in july 2012. through two years’ hard work, china longyuan power overcame numerous difficulties and was finally qualified for construction.
longyuan canada wind power project is planned to go into operation in the first quarter of 2014. when completed, it is expected to supply electric power for 30,000 households.