A large wind farm proposal from J.D. Irving, a first for the company, has been given approval by the province to proceed.

Known as the Brighton Mountain Wind Farm, the $550-million project is near the hamlet of Juniper in Carleton County.

A provincial document dated Nov. 5 gives the company approval for Phase 1 of the project, which company documents available on the project website outline as up to 34 turbines on the northern half of the project property with a capacity of up to 200 megawatts.

“Now that the project has been approved, we are looking forward to working with stakeholders and the local community to make the project a reality and, in doing so, help New Brunswick achieve its long-term renewable energy goals,” JDI spokesperson Anne McInerney said in an email statement Friday.

The company has previously said it planned to break ground in 2025 once it had approval. The approval document from the province says construction must begin within five years.

The second phase, which would include up to 24 turbines with a capacity of up to approximately 150 megawatts, would need its own approval.

When the project was first announced in May, J.D. Irving said it planned to sell the energy to N.B. Power. N.B. Power spokesperson D’Arcy Walsh said in an email Friday that the utility still does not have a power purchasing agreement in place for the project.

A map shows where each of the 58 turbines will be spaced out on the project site, marked by numbers. Only those on the northern half of the site have been approved by the province. (J.D. Irving)

JDI completed an environmental impact assessment in April, and now must adhere to all the obligations and mitigation measures detailed, according to the approval from the province.

At a public meeting in Juniper in August, several locals spoke out against the project, citing environmental concerns and what they called a lack of communication from the company.

JDI set up an email address to answer questions about the project, as well as a website detailing the plans and linking to the complete environmental assessment.

The website JDI set up for the project estimates that just 0.3 per cent of the property will have to be cleared for the project, or about 227 hectares. The company also said existing forest roads would be used as much as possible for construction.

Guidelines from the province’s approval include halting construction if any archeological remains or nesting migratory birds are discovered at the site. Additional approvals are required for any construction on or near wetlands.

JDI must also conduct post-construction bird and bat studies to submit to the federal and provincial governments, the approval said.

The wind turbines must be decommissioned within a year of when they stop operating and the province requires a decommission plan that includes site reclamation.