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TransCanada Corporation, a major player in Canada's power and pipeline sectors, has won unanimous final development plan approval for its first US wind power project, the 132 MW Kibby Wind Power Project. Maine's Land Use Regulation Commission approved the development last month. "The Kibby project will complement our existing operations in the US. Northeast and leverage our expertise in wind energy," says TransCanada's CEO Hal Kvisle. "We expect our investment to produce strong returns for our shareholders." Construction of the $320 million project will start this year, with commissioning expected in late 2009 or 2010. It will use 44 Vestas 3 MW turbines. Electricity from the facility will be sold to customers through a combination of short and long-term contracts. TransCanada says it has already sold a portion of the power and renewable energy credits to buyers in the New England market. The company has other power interests in the US Northeast, including 567 MW of hydroelectric facilities on the Connecticut and Deerfield Rivers in New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts, and a 560 MW gas-fired combined-cycle plant in Rhode Island. It also markets power to wholesale, commercial and industrial customers in the region. TransCanada, based in Calgary, also holds a 62% interest in Canadian wind project developer Cartier Wind Energy, which has contracts with Hydro-Quebec for the purchase of electricity generated by 740 MW of wind plant it is currently building in Quebec.