Anyone driving the stretch of highway from Pincher Creek to the B. C. border in southern Alberta knows wind power is more than a “pie in the sky” concept.
Rows upon rows of massive wind turbines are a fixture for over 100 km of the landscape. In fact, the foothills of southern Alberta are home to one of Canada’s most productive wind energy regions and there are a variety of players – from big energy companies to smaller-scale entrepreneurial efforts – looking to work with farmers and other landowners to harvest the wind.
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The revenue can be significant, but there are many ins and outs to consider. Now farmers can gain an inside track to the decision-making and deal-making processes in a new “Landowners’ Guide to Wind” document, expected to become available later this year.
“Farmers in the foothills and other wind hot spots are going to have increasing opportunities to lease or rent land to commercial wind power developers,” says Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD) energy specialist Kelly Lund. She is part of the ARD team working in partnership with the Pembina Institute to develop the guide.
“The guide will provide landowners with a tool to help them through the options they have available and the related processes, from developing contracts and choosing the best ownership model to determining an appropriate compensation framework,” says Lund. Watch for updates on the guide and other agriculture-related energy information resources on the ARD website, www.agric.gov.ab.ca
