Even with its great wind potential, Canada’s wind energy industry has been slow to take off, but that looks like it’s changing.
Total wind capacity in Canada doubled in 2005, with 239 MW of new wind energy capacity installed. The country’s total wind capacity now stands at 683 MW, enought to power over 240,000 homes.
CANWEA, the Canadian Wind Energy Association, expects 2006 to be a banner year, with a minimum of 500 MW of new energy capacity.
“While wind energy’s environmental benefits are well known, its economic benefits are becoming more apparent with the rapid growth of the industry in Canada. Projects installed in 2005 represented more than $400 million worth of investment and we also saw investment in five new Canadian manufacturing facilities to produce wind turbine towers, blades and nacelles”, says Robert Hornung, President of the Canadian Wind Energy Association. “With the vast majority of wind energy development taking place in rural areas, wind energy projects are also providing real and ongoing economic benefits to both rural landowners through lease payments and rural municipalities through increased tax revenues.”
Wind energy projects installed in 2005 in Canada included the Pubnico Point Windfarm in Nova Scotia, the Mont Copper and Mont Miller Windfarms in Quebec, the St.Leon Windfarm in Manitoba and the Centennial Windfarm in Saskatchewan.
The year 2006 will see wind energy projects being constructed in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
“2005 will be remembered as the start of Canada’s wind energy boom as more than 3,000 MW of wind energy projects are now contracted and slated for construction in Canada over the next few years”, says Hornung.
“In fact, federal and provincial governments both put in place policies in 2005 that could facilitate the installation of a minimum of 8,000 MW of wind energy in Canada by 2015. This would make wind energy responsible for 16% of all electricity to be produced by new generating facilities to be constructed in Canada over the next decade.”
Canada now ranks as the 14th largest producer of wind energy in the world, but it remains far behind global leaders such as Germany (18,100 MW), Spain (9,825 MW), the United States (8,957 MW), and India (4,225 MW), as well as smaller countries such as Denmark (3,129 MW), the Netherlands (1,219 MW), Portugal (1,000 MW), and Austria (716 MW).
“While the growth we are seeing in Canada is both rapid and significant, we cannot lose sight of the fact that wind energy continues to develop much more quickly in other countries”, says Hornung. “With Canada’s unparalleled wind resource, we can still do more to maximize the environmental, economic and industrial development benefits associated with wind energy for Canada.”
The Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) represents more than 230 companies involved in Canada’s wind energy industry, including wind turbine and component manufacturers, wind energy project developers, and service providers to the wind energy industry. CanWEA’s goal is to see 10,000 MW of wind energy capacity installed or contracted in Canada by 2010.
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