...	Contributed Atlantic Orient Canada of Dartmouth has exported wind turbines across the globe. With a new attitude toward sustainable energy taking hold, the company hopes to sell more of its product at home in Canada. Here company officials help train workers during an installation in India.

By STEVE PROCTOR / Business Editor

When Stan Mason first began attending wind-power conferences, they were small affairs attended mostly by "wind-power hippies" in tie-dyed shirts and ponytails.

The co-owner of Seaforth Engineering says the events now attract hundreds of people, most of them lawyers and contractors in jackets and ties.

"Oh yeah, there's been a big change in the last few years," he said in an interview in his Dartmouth office. "Wind power isn't just in the margins anymore. It's joined the mainstream."

Seaforth is the parent company of Atlantic Orient Canada, a manufacturer, marketer and distributor of small wind turbines since 1994.

Until recently the company was selling four or five $150,000-plus machines annually, usually to small foreign companies or governments looking for a cost-effective way to supply power to remote communities.

But with a global spike in interest in wind power, Mr. Mason believes the company will be selling 50 units a year within three years.

"We have two units going to India at the end of the month and orders for six more," said Atlantic Orient manager Paul Pynn. "Electrification of rural communities has become a priority for the Indian government. Since there are thousands of communities with little or no power, the potential is tremendous."

The opportunities in Northern Canada are no different.

"We've spoken with Nunavut Power and they are interested in 10 units right away. Four developers working in remote communities in Newfoundland are also interested."

The company's specialty, a 50-kilowatt unit that generates enough power for 10-15 homes, is ideally suited for rural assignments, said Mr. Pynn. It's easily shipped and assembled, is reliable when positioned in good wind, requires little maintenance and operating costs are a fraction of those of the diesel generation systems used in many remote communities.

The company's first Canadian installation began generating power on the Eskasoni reserve in Cape Breton earlier this month. It powers the band council office and its installation served as a training exercise for native workers who want to sell wind turbines to other Canadian reserves.

Canada has lagged behind countries like the U.K. that have extensively helped companies developing renewable energy sources, but he said it is beginning to catch up.

He said this province is "in the middle of a watershed moment," with Nova Scotia Power pledging to develop more renewable energy to comply with the government's energy strategy. That promise means small operations like fish plants or farms that use a lot of power becoming potential customers.

"Anyone with power consumption above $15,000 annually could reap benefits from our turbine," said Mr. Mason.

A jump in sales won't necessarily translate into a jump in direct employment. Atlantic Orient employs just a handful of staff because it subcontracts the manufacturing of most turbine parts to three Dartmouth businesses.

Mil-Aero Atlantic produces most of the electronics, Cherubini Metal Works builds most of the towers and Advanced Precision Machining makes a specialized braking system. The only parts not made locally are the fiberglass blades, which are imported from Scotland, said Mr. Pynn.

He acknowledged subcontracting is more expensive than doing all the work in-house, but the industry "still runs hot and cold" so it's better to provide work to other shops than to be forced to lay people off if orders dry up.