Wind Power for Thunder Bay
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Wind Power for Thunder Bay

Wind Power for Thunder Bay



by Scott A. Sumner

www.thunderbaybusiness.ca
  Anthony Zwig is President & CEO of Horizon Wind Inc and is working on bringing 30 wind turbines to Thunder Bay, spending some $75 million in the process. The company held a luncheon meeting with 100 mostly supportive people to provide more information on the project. “We wanted the opportunity to communicate with the community and this is a group of people who are interested in what we are doing. We have had many emails and letters of support as Thunder Bay needs an economic boost. When people are not buried in emotion they can see the benefits of the project,” said Anthony Zwig. “We want the city council to make their decision as soon as possible and will continue on with our provincial process of approvals. I am confident that in the end the council will approve the sites. The logic is good,
the sites are good and in most cases we are 4 times the provincially mandated distance from homes. We have gone far more than we are required to.”

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“ When ever you introduce, change people can get emotional and some people have been a little over the top, but that is part of living in a democracy. The provincial government has studied wind power for 18 months and came to the same conclusion. Wind power is safe and good and the fastest source of growth in energy in the world. An independent study was done by Queens Park and they are going to lay down the rules as they would in say speed limits on a highway. The province put a lot of resources into this.” said Zwig.
Currently Horizon has wind turbines operating with two projects, one in Nova Scotia and one in Minnesota. They have another one planned in Ontario aside from Thunder Bay. According to Zwig the Nova Scotia project is about a $17 million and Minnesota is $10 or $11 million in
capital investment. “Revenue wise, we will see a normal business return. You need 10% to see something fly after your expenses. 25,000 megawatts of energy are going to have to be replaced in the upcoming years in Ontario. The province is putting in incentives to get
these projects going quickly. They have looked at projects like this all over the world. They offer people like us a 20 year contract  which is very attractive to us,” said Zwig. “We will be one source of many electricity sources like hydro or nuclear. Our projects won’t affect the power rate as 13.5 cents per kilowatt is our price. This is the industrial opportunity of the century. It will be a race for the spoils in the province. Thunder Bay must move fast and be interested in the green economy. A wind farm in your community is a good way to do it. It will have as much impact on the economy as the autopact did in 1965 in Ontario. “
“We hope to build our wind farm and have it operational at the end of next year in Thunder Bay. There will be $15 million spent locally not including the turbine equipment and many construction jobs, engineering work, excavators, dumps truck, cranes, concrete forming, iron workers, a communication structure and project management,” said Zwig. “The city of Thunder Bay will receive rent and Neebing taxes. Spin offs will include the need for skilled workers to keep the equipment running. We need training courses so people can get trained in this business. It is a growing, sustainable technology and opportunities for a college to do this training are great. Eco tourism is also seeing the benefits as people want to visit the turbines. “
Anthony Zwig has had a long experience in Toronto downtown real estate where his companies have owned some 5 million square feet of prime office space. He liked the challenge of green energy and his company has reduced their real estate involvement to focus on wind turbine energy.



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