Power lines to be strung across river for Saint John wind farm project

Mysterious new power poles being installed in Saint John have been demystified.

Saint John Energy says the large, cross-like structures running from the top of Reversing Falls over to the other side of the St. John River are part of the Burchill Wind Energy Project.

They will be used to run power lines across the river to transport the green energy from the wind farm in Lorneville to Saint John, said Jessica DeLong of Saint John Energy.

"This is really starting the path for us to cross the river to make sure that we are providing that green wind energy to our citizens," she said.

The two new "monopoles" are tall, narrow power lines, made of steel and about 90 feet (about 27½ metres) high, DeLong said. One is on Riverview Drive on the west side and one is on Chesley Drive in the north end, she said.

She said the land doesn't belong to Saint John Energy, but the utility works with the property owners to make sure they have permission to use that property. She did not confirm who currently owns the land but said they do have permission to use it.

She said before the end of the month, Saint Johners should expect three lines to be hung between those two poles, about 440 metres across the river.

"Right now we have decided on a process that actually uses a drone that will take a smaller line across the water, and it will start to lead through those three lines," she said.

She said that is planned to happen before the end of the month.

To connect these monopoles to the rest of the grid, DeLong said the utility will be upgrading and adding power poles, including building new infrastructure along Douglas Avenue. 

She said this could create traffic disruptions and outages as the Douglas Avenue power lines go up.

"If there is any traffic disruptions or anything like that, we will let everyone know ahead of time," she said.

The wind farm on the western outskirts of the city was supposed to be done by 2021 but was delayed. The project also had to add $6 million to construction costs after N.B. Power refused to allow the utility to use its nearby transmission lines.

The revised end date is this winter, which the utility is on track to meet, DeLong said.