Weather station feeds Naikun data for B.C. Coastal wind farm location
Nathan Vanderklippe , Financial Post Published: Saturday, September 29, 2007
A $2.5-million offshore weather station installed off the windy northern coast of British Columbia is the first of its kind in North America and a major milestone for NaiKun Wind Energy Group Inc., a company focused on building a 320-megawatt wind farm off the coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands.
The bright-yellow weather station -- called a meteorological mast -- is fitted with such high-tech instruments as an acoustic Doppler current profiler, used to measure waves and currents, and wind gauges, which will allow NaiKun to determine the best spots to build wind turbines in Hecate Strait, the waterway between the Queen Charlottes and the B.C. mainland.
NaiKun installed the mast earlier this week. Its share price has risen from under a quarter to nearly $3 in the past year, and while it remains a high-risk stock, Northern Securities analyst David Brill wrote in a research note this week that the company is well-positioned to plug into B.C.'s growing power demands.
"This is very much a milestone and a harbinger of things to come from NaiKun," he wrote, and maintained his "speculative buy" rating on the company.
One concern is the delay in BC Hydro's 2007 call for power, which will now not likely pick winners until spring of next year, delaying NaiKun's plans.
"But, the call is now a 'clean' call; that is, BC Hydro is looking for clean, renewable energy, exactly what NaiKun will produce," Mr. Brill wrote.
"While we do not expect much more news to drive the price of the stock up in the near future, we are of the opinion that NaiKun will get a [power purchase agreement] and consequently, we are reiterating … our 12-month target price of $4.20."
