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OTTAWA, Ontario, CA, July 12, 2006 (Refocus
Weekly)
Canada has become the 12th country in the world
to install more than 1,000 MW of wind energy capacity.
In the first six months of this year, the country installed a
record 365 MW of turbines and now claims total installed capacity of
1,049 MW. The output is generating electricity for 315,000 homes.
“The 1,000 MW milestone is another clear signal that wind energy has
moved from the margin to the mainstream in Canada, and our
record-breaking 2006 is laying the foundation for much more
significant growth in the years ahead,” says Robert Hornung of the
Canadian Wind Energy Association. “Canada’s provincial governments
are now targeting to have a minimum of 9,000 MW of wind energy
production in place by 2015, and many are currently examining the
possibilities of going further.”
The only province with no wind energy facilities operating (or
contracted) at this time is British Columbia on the west coast. The
federal government has frozen funding of its Wind Power Production
Incentive pending a review and will develop a package to address
energy issues by this fall.
“Policy uncertainty is always problematic and costly for business,”
adds Hornung. “We hope that the federal government will move to
release the funds associated with the WPPI program as quickly as
possible to ensure that the current momentum behind Canada’s rapidly
growing wind energy industry is not halted.”
“We believe wind energy is consistent with, and supportive of, a
number of stated federal government priorities in areas such as
rural economic development, the adoption of new and innovative
technologies, clean air, and GHG emissions reduction,” he adds.
“Wind energy must be part of any government’s energy strategy for
the 21st century.”
The growth of Canada’s wind energy industry is impressive but “we
must not lose sight of the fact that wind energy continues to
develop more quickly in other countries,” he adds.
Germany has 18,000 MW of wind which provides 6% of that country’s
power, China wants 30,000 MW installed by 2020 and the United States
is installing 10,000 MW of wind in three years. Denmark sources 20%
of its electricity from wind while small countries such as Portugal
and the Netherlands have more installed wind energy capacity than
Canada.
“With Canada’s unparalleled wind resource, there are clear
opportunities to do more to maximize the economic, industrial
development, and environmental benefits associated with wind energy
for Canada,” says Hornung. Major windfarms commissioned during the
past year represent a total investment of Cdn$650 million and
provide a range of local economic benefits in the form of lease
income to landowners, tax revenues to municipal governments, and new
investment and jobs in rural communities across Canada.
CanWEA represents 230 companies involved in Canada’s wind energy
industry. The association’s goal is to have 10,000 MW of wind energy
capacity either contracted on installed in Canada by 2010.
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