Serving the Heart of Central Alberta for 105 years
VOLUME ONE HUNDRED SIX
PM40011853 R08546
NUMBER FORTY-NINE
STETTLER, ALBERTA
December 5, 2012
PRICE – $1.09 Plus GST
Brent Gosnell, 11, was a busy boy Monday as he shovels a Stettler sidewalk after Sunday’s heavy snowfall. More than 15 centimetres was dumped on the region in the biggest snowfall of an already eventful winter. More flurries and cold temperatures are in the forecast for the rest of this week, before a reprieve on Sunday.
It’s snow-going in Stettler
Photos by Les Stulberg Independent reporter
After an overabundance of snow landed Sunday, Jeff Skaley of Skaley Landscaping uses a snowblower Monday to clear a sidewalk near Stettler’s provincial building. Stettler’s Memorial Park was transformed into “a winter wonderland.” While many Stettler residents spent much of Monday digging out, they ran into more snowbanks Tuesday as high winds caused drifting throughout town. And the forecast for the rest of this week calls for more snow and temperatures in the minus-16 C range.
Halkirk wind project ready to roll RICHARD FROESE Independent reporter After years of planning and months of planting turbines, the 150-megawatt Halkirk wind project is slated to be in full operation within a few weeks. The project is touted as Alberta’s largest wind farm. “All 83 turbines are up and we expect to be fully operating by the end of December,” said Sandeep Sharma, project manager under Capital Power Corporation. Standing more than 80 metres high, with blades 44 metres long, the turbines between
Halkirk and Castor on both sides of Highway 12 have altered the landscape in the west side of the County of Paintearth. “Some of the turbines have already been commissioned,” Sharma said. Work continues to finalize the functions on several other turbines, as the construction phase nears the end. “We are proud of our accomplishment,” Sharma said. “We are happy to be in the community and working co-operatively with support from landowners and the County of Paintearth.” Sharma also acknowledged the strong support from the community, as more than 1,200 signed a special blade that has been erected on one of the blades along Secondary Highway 855,
just south of Halkirk. The facility is projected to employ 15 fulltime workers, with headquarters in Halkirk, Sharma said. Although no event has been planned to officially mark the full operation of the Halkirk wind project, Sharma said the facility would be up and running before New Year’s Day. It’s pegged to generate clean, renewable energy for Alberta, and enough electricity to meet the average annual power needs of 50,000 homes. Energy produced as part of the Halkirk wind project will be sold onto the Alberta spot market, as renewable energy credits are being sold to Pacific Gas and Pacific Electric under a 20-year fixed-price agreement.
Readers can also find the Stettler Independent at stettlerindependent.com