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McBride Lake

The McBride Lake wind facility is located south of Fort Macleod, Alberta.

The facility is made up of 114 Vestas 660-kilowatt turbines. This 75-megawatt facility produces 235,000 megawatt-hours a year. Construction on McBride Lake began in fall 2002 and was completed in summer 2003.

McBride Lake is a joint venture between ENMAX, through its wholly-owned subsidiary ENMAX Generation Portfolio Inc., and TransAlta. TransAlta operates the facility and ENMAX purchases the electrical output.

Environmental highlights

The McBride wind facility has a UL ECOLOGO® Certification for Renewable Energy.

Turbine facts

  • The 50-metre tower is made up of rolled steel and comes in two pieces, weighing 24,000 kilograms
  • Each blade is 23 metres long; the rotor is 8,500 kilograms and is made up of three blades
  • The nacelle containing the generator and gearbox is about the size of a small motor home and weighs 20,000 kilograms
  • The foundation is 8.5 metre deep and 5 metre across. 102 tension-type bolts run the full length of the foundation
  • The sound produced from wind turbines is only 45 decibels at a distance of 200 metres

Note: TransAlta gratefully acknowledges Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) for its support for this project through the Wind Power Production Incentive (WPPI) program.

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