FLEETWOOD - It was two in the morning on Jan. 9 when the first of two transformers weighing 114 metric tonnes arrived at the rural construction site where Surrey's newest BC Hydro substation is being built.The massive machinery weighed the equivalent of a fully-loaded 200-passenger 747 jumbo jet at takeoff and required a 128-wheel flatbed truck to deliver it from Fraser Surrey Docks, where it had arrived three weeks ago from a factory in China.Greg Reimer, executive vicepresident of transmission and distribution for BC Hydro, said the $94-million project in Fleetwood is one of four major capital projects in Surrey over the next four or five years to meet population growth projections."Reliable power is essential to growth," said Reimer. "To allow the economy to grow, the electrical system needs to kind of keep up with it. In fact we need to be one step ahead of that."According to projections, Surrey is expecting a 30 per cent increase in population over the next 10 years with a two-fold increase in electricity demand over the next three decades.Reimer said the substation, which will become operational in October, will allow BC Hydro to decommission four aging substations across their infrastructure network.But farmer Penny Beck, whose horse ranch is directly adjacent to the site at the base of 156th Street, said the project has been a nightmare since construction began last January.For the first eight months, she said, construction crews worked with heavy machinery spewing dust and making noise at all hours of the day and night. The effect on her farm was noticeable when she was unable to sell her usual crop of blackberries and strawberries."We could not sell any of our blackberry crop this year because it was too dusty," said Beck, whose family has been on the land since 1975. "(People) don't want dirty berries, they won't touch them."The noise and dust has created stress on her horses as well, according to the farmer who raises yearlings that frighten easily. She claims that the net result is likely bankruptcy.She's also worried about the loss of habitat for wildlife, claiming red tail hawks, bald eagles, coyotes, black squirrels, hummingbirds, screech owls and other animals have disappeared since the project began.Beck said she's not the only disgruntled resident. One local resident and nature photographer has documented the loss of trees on his website, Stephenbolwell.com.Most disturbing of all, Beck said the substation is being built on prime agricultural land. BC Hydro received special permission from the Agricultural Land Commission to remove the farmland from the reserve and build over it.However, Reimer said the project has an environmental plan and managers to ensure proper compliance."I've been out to the sites a number of times to see progress as we started construction and to make sure we're taking all the steps necessary to mitigate the impacts to the environment, noise, dust and the residents in that area," he said.Reimer added that the project operates within the city's noise bylaws and makes use of a water truck for dust suppression.The substation is located just behind Surrey Lake Park near the Serpentine River floodplain and along an existing transmission line.amacnair@thenownewspaper.com With files from Amy Reid