Helifor Canada used a Columbia Model 234 Chinook to carry 104 towers from three assembly yards for the construction of the AltaLink Southwest Alberta 240-kV project. Ninety four of the towers were placed directly onto bases, and 10 were flown to the site and laid next to the site. The work was done in early March, 2010.
Southwest Alberta 240-kV project is an AltaLink project that will connect energy created from wind generation to Alberta’s electrical grid and support continued development of wind projects in the southwest part of the province.
The project involves a new 240-kV transmission line approximately 90 km in length from the Goose Lake Substation, in the vicinity of Pincher Creek to the North Lethbridge Substation, near the City of Lethbridge. The project crosses two First Nations reserves.
The project also includes the construction of a new 240/138-kV substation in the Pincher Creek area, the expansion of two existing substations and improvements to the existing 138-kV transmission system in southern Alberta.
The towers averaged approximately 225-ft tall (76.68 m) and weighed as much as 22,000 lb (9979.2 kg).
SNC-Lavalin T&D is the Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor for this project which has a scheduled in service date of Summer 2010.
