The 24.6 MW Pierre-De Saurel wind farm includes 12 wind turbines spread over the municipalities of Yamaska, Saint-Aimé and St. Robert.
This project, which stems from a block of 250 MW forming part of the tender launched by Hydro-Québec in 2009, originates from the elected representatives’ efforts to diversify income sources and reduce the financial pressure on taxpayers. The three municipalities served will be able to generate 50 M$ in profits over a 20-year period, through the sale of their electricity to Hydro-Québec. This facility was developed, built and is operated by a limited partnership, the sole shareholder of which is the Pierre-De Saurel RCM.
The design and drawings had to meet the specific requirements of Hydro-Québec and Senvion, the wind turbine provider. CIMA+’s engineers suggested alternatives to the solutions required in the RFP specifications, which translated into significant savings for the client, such as the selection of aluminum cables and the use of a 25 kV pad-mounted rather than overhead switchgear, for the switching substation, which made it possible to decrease its final dimensions by 50% compared to the original design.