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You should know that wind farms typically take 2-3 years from inception to commission
- Before you begin you should decide whether or not you are ready for the risks involved by completing a Self Assessment
You also need to consider the following:
- Consultants? – when should I get one.
- Hydro One connection impact assessment
- Environmental assessment
- Community Acceptance
- Test tower (MET) installation for data to be analyzed to confirm wind energy
- Obtaining the Standard Offer Contract
Challenges: securing financing for initial start up costs like feasibility studies which could range in the $250,000 range for a total project costing $20 million
Lending institutions are offering debt financing for 75% of the total cost with an additional 15% equity financing for some wind turbine projects.
$250,000 start-up include costs for consultants and advisors to provide services listed above. Ongoing discussions with accountants, lenders, wind consultants,
Producer/processor perception that the wind turbine project developers gains the greatest returns. Rent paid to producers/processors for land used for a wind turbine by a developer is not as lucrative.
Driving force behind opportunities are the Ontario Power Authority’s (OPA) Standard Offer Contract (SOC):
20 year contract
- Maximum of 10 Megawatts
- Annual escalation rate of 20% of the Consumer Price Index (CPI)
Next Steps
You have taken the self assessment, and reviewed all of your options and you have decided that a wind-turbine may fit your farm or food processing operation and you would like to know if your site is appropriate,
Suggested next steps:
Begin with wind energy modeling for proposed wind turbine site using the RETScreen program Investigate site data from the Ontario and Canadian Wind Atlases
You may also want to visit the Links to additional information and resources: Canadian Wind Energy Association or the Ontario Power Authority.
Talk to your broker about your insurance options
You may also find this technical guide useful: A Guide To Preparing Renewable and Alternative Energy Projects from a Technical Perspective
A proliferation of media hype, inventions and experts/consultants in the renewable energy field has made it is quite easy to make poor choices. To achieve all the desired objectives of a project, considerable knowledge and experience is required, usually best achieved by hiring a qualified expert/consultant. This guide will provide advice and assist with avoiding many of the common pitfalls, which often side track those new to the field of project management applied to renewable energy.
On June 11, 2007, Farms.com gave a presentation on Renewable and Wind Energy Business Planning and Financing Strategy for Prodcuers and Processors that reviews many of the components that must exist for a Business Plan for a Wind Energy project.
To prepare your business plan, you may also find the introduction to the Business Plan pages useful.
A wind project budget template is also available.
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