Snowfall presents a new challenge

With 150cm of snow at Grouse Mountain the project site of The Eye of the Wind has evolved into something very different. The white steel tower, viewPOD and blades are nearly camouflaged in their snowy surroundings. Access to the site is a large challenge as our team relies on snowmobiles and snowcats. The electrical control building of the structure is now full of the necessary gear that allows us to bring electricity from the generator into our local grid. We will complete the connections and testing of this gear over the next few weeks. Inside of the tower the elevator installation is progressing well. We have a near-complete elevator cab and elevator rails that go as high as 40 metres – two thirds of the way up the 65 metre tower. Still lots of work to do before the holiday season begins.

The blades are in motion

The Eye of the Wind blades are in motion – somewhat. The post-assembly mechanical work is complete and those with keen eyes will notice that the blades are now spinning freely with the wind at a very slow pace. Though the blades are in motion, the system is not producing any electricity as we still have a few months of electrical work to do before the generator will be connected to our grid in January 2010. Once connected, the blades will be angled in the most optimal direction to the wind which will provide enough force to spin the blades at their top speed of 260km/h at the tips. In the meantime, the elevator installation is in full force.

Eye of the Wind Construction Update

The site of The Eye of the Wind has been buzzing the past two weeks as we continue with the post-assembly of the wind turbine. Some guests have asked us why the blades are not spinning yet. The brakes are currently activated on the blades as we finish commissioning the mechanical works. In the meantime, we’ve been accessing the tower shaft to complete a long list of electrical work. This week, the elevator installation kicked off and is slowly starting to take shape inside the tower. The Eye of the Wind will be fully operational in January 2010.

Wind Turbine blades airlifted to the mountaintop

Today was an exciting day.

As you have probably heard, Grouse Mountain is building an iconic wind turbine. Today, three 37 metre long turbine blades arrived on the mountaintop. These blades - the first of the wind turbine project components - arrived from Denmark by sea last week, before journeying aboard a barge through Indian Arm overnight, and followed by a novel helicopter lift from barge to mountaintop earlier today.

The Erickson S-64E air-crane, one of the most powerful and versatile helicopters in the world, delivered each of the 12,000 lbs blades to their new home 1,250 metres above sea level as part of a concerted effort bolstered by ideal weather conditions.

Blue Grouse, our sustainability initiative that birthed the wind turbine project at Grouse Mountain, is our social, economic, and environmental commitment that informs all of our decision-making and policy development. Grouse Mountain’s Wind Revolution is a renewable energy movement symbolic of this leadership stance in sustainability.

To see more photos from today's airlift, visit our Wind Turbine Flickr Set.