Yellowknife (Oct 18/00) - It stands majestic against the Rankin Inlet skyline, in stark contrast to the surrounding tundra.

Its three, bright white propellers dance effortlessly to the tune being played by the icy Arctic wind.

And, if all goes according to plan, the windmill erected at the pumping station near Nippisa Lake might help cut power costs someday.

At least, that's the hope of the NWT Power Corp.

Electrician Phil Owens says the windmill is a 50-kilowatt, three-phase induction motor with three blades.

The principle behind the apparatus is for it to take power from the grid, apply it to the motor, use it to create a power field and, hopefully, the wind will take over from there.

"The motor will, basically, be turned into a generator," says Owens.

"It's capable of producing a maximum of 66 kilowatts and, with good production for a year, it could produce about 250,000 kilowatt hours."

The windmill is still in the experimental stage, and it hasn't had a good track record in smaller communities such as Cambridge Bay and Sanikiluaq.

If ever proven successful, the windmill would deliver cheaper power than fossil fuels and, with no emissions, would be more environment friendly.

"Rankin might prove itself to be a better location because of its larger power grid and the wind being so consistent.

"They aren't really designed for these locations, but they've been adapted to the area and we're doing the best we can with what we have."

The Rankin windmill has already encountered problems, but Owens says the bugs will soon be worked out.

He says he doubts the windmill holds the promise to ever be able to take the main generators off-line, but it may provide enough support for them to run less.

"We have a faulty tip-break (used to slow the propellers) which is deploying too early.

"A technician from the company who designed the windmill will be here this month to see if the tip-break can be repaired or if it has to be replaced.

"It's only been up a couple of weeks and we hope to have it operational by the end of the month."