The project did not come without opposition. Locals fought through May 2015 when they reached a legal dead-end.
It took 18 months to complete, but the K2 Wind Power Facility (commonly known as K2 Wind) is about to begin commercial operation. The project is one of Canada’s largest solar wind projects with 270MW of capacity and expected to serve 100,000 homes on an annual basis.
K2 is owned and operated by Capital Power Corp and Samsung Renewable Energy. Based in Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh, the project brought approximately 500 new jobs during the construction phase which included the installation of 140 wind turbines.
Installing turbines can be time consuming. Each generator shown above must be lifted into place prior to assembling the turbine’s blades.
The project did not come without opposition. Locals fought through May 2015 when they reached a legal dead-end. “The court has given us two choices: leave the land my family has farmed for three generations, or be a guinea pig for the government and the wind companies,” one of the residents told CTV News in London. Those opposing the project were unable to continue their fight as they had not officially been harmed, a key element for many legal battles.
Wind turbines such as the ones pictured above can be noisy, sparking protest from those who reside near them. To gauge the size of each turbine, notice the vehicles parked at the base of the turbines.
Despite the opposition with the K2 project, wind energy is catching on in many area of the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Those who host turbines can also receive revenue from the operations, causing some people to take to crowdfunding in order to absorb the initial cost of purchasing and installing a turbine.
Some companies are also expanding the wind energy sector with the development of new types of technology to catch the energy from the wind. One such company, Vortex Bladeless, manufactures a pylon that does not contain any blades. According to The Boston Globe, the pylon is cheaper, easier to install, and not as noisy as common wind turbines.
