Trillium Power Wind Corp. in talks with Danish wind turbine maker Vestas over possible deal

Canadian offshore wind developer Trillium Power has selected Vestas to provide the 740 wind turbines it expects to use in four offshore wind power projects.

Combined, Trillium Power’s four projects, Trillium Power Wind 1, Trillium Power Wind 2, The Great Lakes Array and The Superior Array, total approximately 3,700 MW. Developing these projects will require private-sector investment of $14.8 billion over a 10-to 12-year period.

The Ontario government is in talks with a wind turbine maker about possibly setting up shop in the province. While there’s no deal with Denmark-based Vestas yet, Premier Dalton McGuinty said Tuesday that there’s "a conversation that’s ongoing" about a possible venture.

Energy Minister Brad Duguid said there was no imminent deal, noting Vestas is looking at offshore wind energy generation, something that would involve a longer-term investment period.

"They’re having a look, but the fact that they’re creating partnerships and taking a look at the opportunities that exist in Ontario is good news," he said.

Duguid said the province had been advised of a partnership between Vestas and Trillium Power, announced Tuesday, but haven’t been told about any other possible plans.

Trillium Power Wind Corp., a private offshore wind developer, said Tuesday it had inked a deal with subsidiary Vestas Offshore, making Vestas its preferred supplier on four projects currently under development on the Ontario side of The Great Lakes.

Trillium Power has agreed to deploy Vestas V112 3.0 MW wind turbines for their first offshore wind energy development, Trillium Power Wind 1, located off the mainland in northeastern Lake Ontario.

If it chose to begin manufacturing in the province, Vestas would be the second international corporation to settle in Ontario in the last few months.

In January, the province announced a $7-billion deal with Korea’s Samsung to build wind farms and solar plants that will generate 2,500 megawatts of power, as well as four plants to manufacture components for green energy projects.

It’s a move critics said gave Samsung big advantages over Canadian-based wind energy and solar producers, as well as incentives that they said amount to a huge taxpayer subsidy of a foreign multinational.

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