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NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
In its first year of operation, the wind farm at Diavik diamond mine offset three million litres of fuel for power and, at its maximum, provided 58 per cent of the diamond mine's power needs, essentially powering Diavik's underground operations at that point.

Ken Quackenbush, superintendent of projects, monitors output from the base of a turbine. Sept. 28 marks the first anniversary of the wind farm providing power to the mine's grid. - photo courtesy of Diavik Diamond Mines Inc.

"We're still very optimistic that the wind farm will deliver (an average of) 10 per cent of our power needs," said Doug Ashbury, spokesperson for Diavik. "That's our goal and we are optimistic that it will get there."

The wind farm starting providing power to the mine's grid on Sept. 28, 2012, making this past Saturday its first anniversary.

The extreme cold of last winter meant some growing pains for the wind farm. Frost buildup on the blades as well as lubricant and electrical issues meant the wind farm was out of commission for portions of December and January.

Those two cold months brought down the farm's average power penetration for the life of the project, currently at seven per cent. However from January to date, a timeframe which does include some of the cold weather problems, average power penetration is eight per cent.

"December and January were very challenging months for the wind farm and we were not able to get a lot of power out of the turbines simply because they were not operating very much," said Ashbury.

"We were able to work those (issues) out and we're very pleased with the way it's been operating."

Ashbury said the farm is expected to pay for itself in about eight years.

Each of the turbines' blades has a channel which a fan blows hot air down to keep frost off the blades. To solve issues of frost buildup experienced this past winter, Diavik had the fans and heaters adjusted to better heat the blades.

Additionally, heaters were installed in the turbine towers to keep the electrical equipment from freezing. Lubricant was also adjusted to better handle the lower temperatures.

The mine's remote location, an estimated 300 kilometres from Yellowknife, posed unique challenges to the project. It meant taking full advantage of the ice road transportation season, obtaining custom designed trailers that could handle portages along the road, and having to rent a massive crane for a full year while only needing it for about one month of work.

Wind speeds for the farm ranges from six metres per second to eight metres per second but wind's volatile nature is why Diavik won't be adding more turbines or expecting the farm to provide more than an average 10 per cent of the mine's power needs.

Diavik's wind farm was a $31-million project, constructed $2 million under budget, and makes Diavik the largest wind-diesel hybrid facility in the world.

"(The wind farm) has worked out very well," he said. "It demonstrates that wind at our mine is a viable resource and can be successfully integrated into our power grid."

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