Windstream’s Wolfe Island Shoals Offshore Wind Power Project will create 1900 jobs during the current five-year development and construction period and 175 long-term jobs during the subsequent operational period, a large portion of which will be in eastern Ontario. The project will generate over $700 million in direct Ontario-based capital expenditures.
The Wolfe Island Shoals Offshore Wind Project received a Feed-In-Tariff contract from the Ontario Power Authority in April for its 300 MW project in Lake Ontario offshore from Kingston. This is the first and only offshore project to receive a contract in Ontario.
The jobs projections come from a study conducted by AECOM to explore the employment and economic impacts of the project in Ontario. The results of the study show that the project has the ability to significantly impact unemployment rates in the region and across Ontario.
“The Windstream team includes the original developers of the Wolfe Island project, who remain committed both to investing in the region and developing Kingston as a centre of wind power knowledge. We have a long-lasting and strong connection to the local community, and are thrilled to be bringing Ontario’s first offshore wind project to Kingston,” stated Ian Baines, President of Windstream Energy Inc.
“I am very excited to learn of this offshore wind farm project. Not only will this project create shorter-term and long term employment opportunities for citizens of this region, it contributes to Kingston’s aim to become the most sustainable city in the country. More broadly, it helps promote Kingston and south-eastern Ontario as a hub for the renewable energies industry,” stated Kingston’s Mayor Mark Gerretsen.
“The Kingston Economic Development Corporation (KEDCO) will be working with Windstream to not only create lasting jobs, but to foster an opportunity for regional specialization and academic training,” stated Jeff Garrah, KEDCO’s Chief Executive Officer.
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Source: windstreamenergy, January 12, 2011