Samsung Renewable Energy, Inc. and Pattern Energy Group LP have signed a 20-year power purchase agreement with the Ontario Power Authority, for the 100 MW Belle River Wind project in Ontario. Under the terms of the agreement, Samsung and Pattern Development will jointly develop, own and operate the Belle River Wind project, which will be built in Lakeshore, Ontario.

“Samsung is dedicated to delivering meaningful benefits to communities where we are building clean, renewable energy projects,” said Steve Cho, vice president of Samsung C&T Corporation. Belle River Wind is the fifth wind project of a $5 billion Green Renewable Energy Investment in Ontario.

For Pattern Development, the project marks the company’s fifth in Ontario. “Ontario’s renewable program is unique in North America and has created thousands of manufacturing and construction jobs, as well as millions of dollars in annual revenues to the landowners and communities where the projects and the manufacturing facilities are located,” said Mike Garland, CEO of Pattern Development. “On a local level, the Belle River Wind project will make a significant positive impact, generating hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in landowner payments, community benefits and tax revenue for the community around Lakeshore, Essex County and for the local schools.”

Compared to coal-fired generation, the Belle River Wind project would conserve enough water to meet the annual freshwater needs of nearly 9,000 Ontarians and avoid more than 300,000 tonnes of CO₂ each year. That’s the equivalent of taking more than 60,000 cars off the roads, according to emission rates from the Ontario Ministry of Environment and southwestern Ontario per capita water consumption from Environment Canada.