RES Canada Announces Completion of $275 Million Greenwich Wind Energy Project

CALGARY, Alberta and MONTREAL, Nov. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Renewable Energy Systems Canada Inc. (RES Canada), a leader in the development and construction of renewable energy projects in Canada and an affiliate of RES Americas, is pleased to announce the completion of the Greenwich Wind Energy Project on the northern shore of Lake Superior, in Ontario.

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The project generated $50 million in revenue for regional businesses and created an estimated 200 construction jobs.  The 99 megawatt (MW) project is a limited partnership that is jointly owned by Enbridge and RES Canada, and in which Enbridge has a majority interest. RES Canada developed the project and then constructed the project under contract to the partnership.  RES Canada and Enbridge have invested a combined $275 million into this project.

"The project has been well received by the community and, without their support and the positive efficiency of the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, it would not have been as successful," said Andrew Fowler, Chief Operating Officer of RES Canada.  "While the Canadian Shield geology posed some construction challenges, RES Canada, Siemens, and the sub-contractors worked together to ensure we delivered a quality project on budget and ahead of schedule," Mr. Fowler continued.

The Greenwich Wind Energy Project marks RES Canada's second Canadian wind energy project to be both developed and constructed by the company. RES Canada's first project, the 99MW Talbot windfarm, was completed in December 2010.  Enbridge has a majority interest in that project as well.  

"We are pleased that the Greenwich project created positive economic benefits and a significant number of jobs in the region during its construction," said Peter Clibbon, Vice President of RES Canada. "Enbridge has been a reliable and strong partner and we look forward to working with them in the future."

"We're delighted to again partner with RES Canada through this project, which has been constructed safely, ahead of schedule, on budget, and with safety top of mind," said Don Thompson, Enbridge's Vice President, Green Energy. "Our investments in renewable energy align well with our objective to profitably grow our energy infrastructure business and to deliver superior returns to shareholders. With the Greenwich Wind Energy Project, we now have interests in eight wind energy projects – three of which are in Ontario, and three solar energy projects – all of which are in Ontario."

The Greenwich Wind Energy Project is expected to produce enough clean wind energy to power about 33,000 Canadian households. It comprises 43 Siemens SWT-2.3-101MW wind turbines and, under the terms of the agreement, was constructed by RES Canada under a fixed price, turnkey, engineering, procurement and construction agreement. Siemens will provide operations and maintenance services for the wind turbines under a five-year, fixed-price agreement. The project will deliver energy to the Ontario Power Authority under a Renewable Energy Supply (RES) III 20-year power purchase agreement.  

About RES Canada and RES Americas:

Renewable Energy Systems Canada Inc. (RES Canada) was founded in 2003 and is based in Montreal, Quebec. RES Canada is active in development and construction in several Canadian provinces, and developed and constructed two 99MW projects under the Ontario Power Authority's RES III Request for Proposal. RES Canada, in consortium, was also selected by Hydro-Quebec in competitive tenders for a total of 1004MW of wind energy projects, some of which are now entering construction. RES Canada has a further three projects currently in construction for third-party clients, totaling 170MW.

Renewable Energy Systems Americas Inc. (RES Americas) is a fully-integrated renewable energy company that develops, constructs, owns, and operates projects across North America.  RES Americas has more than 4400MW of construction projects, which represent approximately 10% of the operating installed wind capacity in the US, and has approximately 9000MW in development. RES Americas' corporate office is located in Broomfield, CO with regional offices located in Austin, TX, Portland, OR, and Minneapolis, MN.  

For more information, please visit www.res-americas.com.

Media Contact:
Raheleh Folkerts
(303) 439-4200, [email protected]

or

Peter Clibbon
(514) 525-2113, [email protected]

SOURCE Renewable Energy Systems Canada Inc.