Harvesting the Wind for Ontario
The 270 MW K2 Wind facility is located in the Township of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh (ACW) and commenced commercial operations in June 2015. A consortium led by Axium Infrastructure, including minority stakeholder The Alberta Teachers Retirement Fund (ATRF), purchased the K2 Wind facility in January of 2019.
Axium Infrastructure (comprised of Axium Infrastructure Inc. and its affiliated entities) is an independent portfolio management firm dedicated to generating long-term investment returns through investing in core energy, transportation and social infrastructure assets. The firm benefits from the capabilities of a group of specialists with decades of experience acquiring, developing, financing, operating and managing infrastructure assets. Since 2010, the firm has invested, or committed to invest, in a diversified portfolio of over 100 North American infrastructure assets. For further information, including information about other infrastructure assets the firm has invested in, please visit our website.
Based in Edmonton, ATRF is an independent corporation that manages and administers pension plans for over 80,000 teachers in Alberta. ATRF has over $16 billion of net assets under management. ATRF manages a diversified global portfolio composed of investments in public financial markets, infrastructure, private equity, real estate and absolute return strategies.
Every year, the K2 Wind facility is expected to produce clean, renewable electricity equal to the needs of approximately 100,000 Ontario homes and contribute an estimated $450,000 in property taxes benefiting the Township of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh, Huron County and local schools. K2 Wind sells 100% of its electrical output and environmental attributes under a 20-year power purchase agreement with the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO).
Ontario workers have been involved in every aspect of K2 Wind – manufacture and assembly of wind turbine components, site construction, component installation, and facility operations. An average of 300 workers were on-site during project construction and approximately 20 full-time employees operate and maintain the facility, along with seasonal positions and the use of local contractors. K2 Wind uses 140 Siemens 2.3 MW wind turbines that were made in Ontario. The blades were manufactured in Tillsonburg by Siemens, and the turbine towers were manufactured in CS Wind’s Windsor plant using Ontario steel.
In addition to significant property taxes paid by the facility, K2 Wind will contribute $15 million over 20 years to support community initiatives in the Township. K2 Wind is also providing an annual Community Renewable Energy Benefit payment to non-participating landowners living within one kilometer of turbines. Please join our email list if you would like to receive periodic announcements from K2 Wind. We value your opinion and you can reach our team at any time.