The Paintearth Wind Project (PWP) began development in 2011 and includes approximately 31,000 acres of land located forty kilometres (km) southeast of the Town of Stettler. The PWP is located on privately owned cultivated and grazing land and will generate clean energy while allowing landowners to continue with their daily activities. The project area has an excellent wind resource which has been verified with over three years of collected onsite wind data.

In 2017, the Paintearth Wind Project LP (PWLP) applied for approval from the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) for a 44 turbine, 150 megawatt (MW) wind power plant, and a permit and licence for the Lanes Lake Substation. The AUC application was amended in 2018 to reduce the number of turbines and modify the nameplate capacity of the PWP, and the PWLP received a power plant approval and substation permit and licence from the AUC in January 2020. Additional changes were made in 2022 including a reduction in the number of turbines to 38 turbines and a change in the turbine manufacturer and model, and the PWLP submitted a Letter of Enquiry (LOE) to the AUC. Updated approval for the PWP was received in the summer of 2022 and construction is commencing in September 2022.

Construction of the PWP will involve the installation of thirty-eight (38) Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) 145-5.0 turbines, an underground collector system, access roads, upgrades to existing roads, and the construction of a new collector substation (the Lanes Lake Substation). The PWP nameplate capacity will be 198MW. The project layout is available here.

Construction has resumed at the PWP and the project contractor, Borea Construction ULC, mobilized on-site at the beginning of March. The following is a high-level schedule of key activities in 2023, which may be altered by weather and other unforeseen events. We will notify you again if the schedule changes significantly in the future:

• Completion of Access Road Construction and Road Upgrades – Spring/Summer 2023
• Completion of the Lane Lake Substation – Summer/Fall 2023
• Turbine Foundation Installation – Spring to Fall 2023
• Turbine Deliveries and Erection – Summer to Fall 2023
• Collector Line Installation – Spring to Fall 2023
• Project COD – Spring 2024

Throughout construction, and notably over the summer when turbine components are planned to be delivered to the site, there will be increase traffic on the road. The haul route map for turbine component deliveries will be made available here prior to Summer 2023.

PWLP has engaged local landowners and stakeholders throughout the project development process, and we will continue to do so in a way that respects the community member’s needs. If you have any concerns or questions about the PWP in 2023, please contact the new Construction Manager for the PWP: Silvio Martinez over the phone (403) 471-9757 or email at smartinez@potentiarenewables.com.