Canadian Company Announces Big Offshore Wind Plans

Beothuk Energy Inc. (“Beothuk”), an international company headquartered in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, announces its intention to develop large-scale offshore wind farms to meet the energy demands of Atlantic Canada and the North Eastern United States.

Beothuk and the Corner Brook Port Corporation are presently in the evaluation and preplanning stages of identifying a suitable port location for development as a manufacturing facility for offshore wind farm gravity based structures.

“It is our intention to use our innovative business model, coordinating technologies, economics, and environmental disciplines to establish a new industry that will sustain growth for the west coast of Newfoundland, while adding value to our company, our community, and contributing to a healthier green environment,” said Kirby Mercer President and CEO of Beothuk Energy Inc.

Offshore wind energy has emerged as one of the most attractive solutions to the world’s energy challenges. It is green energy with no major environmental impacts. Studies have shown that winds blow harder and more consistently offshore. Another benefit is that offshore wind farms can be located out-of-sight from onshore residents, thus eliminating any objections of noise and visual pollution.

Offshore wind energy is an already proven technology, having operated successfully in many parts of Europe for over 25 years. Many of these established wind farms are now further benefitting from the great advancements in wind energy generating technologies. The United States Department of Energy estimates that in its country, over the next thirty years, coastal wind energy has the potential to generate up to 900,000 megawatts of electricity with potential revenues of over 100 billion dollars US.

Beothuk intends to manufacture, supply, and operate offshore wind energy projects using gravity based structures as foundations. These structures are proven lower risk, lower cost, and more versatile. Beothuk’s proposed Corner Brook manufacturing facility would be the first of its kind in North America designed to manufacture gravity based structures for offshore wind farms. Corner Brook has an excellent deep-water port located next to the major energy markets of the United States and Canada. It offers efficient shipping facilities for both the import of the turbines and the transportation of the finished units. Corner Brook and surrounding areas offer a skilled work force with technical expertise.

Beothuk is also proposing an offshore demonstration wind park that will generate 180 MW of green electricity. The park will be located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence covering an area of 40 square kilometers. It will have thirty, six-megawatt turbines and the capital cost will be approximately $400,000,000 CDN. Generated electricity is projected to cost less than ten cents per kilowatt hour.

The Gulf of St. Lawrence has Class A offshore wind conditions considered some of the best on the planet. The park’s location will not be visible from shore, will be in close proximity to electrical transmission and interconnections, and outside of shipping lanes and commercial fishing grounds. Beothuk’s gravity based structures will be environmentally friendly and generated power will be GREEN.

Kirby Mercer, President and CEO of Beothuk Energy Inc. states: “This industrial development has the potential to have an immense beneficial socioeconomic impact on the west coast of Newfoundland similar to that which the offshore oil industry has had on the east coast of our province.”

Beothuk Energy Inc. is a Canadian Based international green energy company with a strategic focus on offshore wind power.

[mappress]

Press release, September 22, 2013; Image: cornerbrookport