Wind power in Canada Totally Explained

Everything about Wind Power In Canada totally explained

Wind power in Canada amounts to an installed capacity of 2000 MW, with at least another 700 MW of capacity expected to come online by the end of 2008. Wind energy currently accounts for 0.8% of Canada's domestic electricity supply, or roughly 540,000 households.==Overview== Early development of wind energy in Canada was located primarily in Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta. Throughout the late 1990s and early years of the 21st Century, every Canadian province has pursued wind energy to supplement their provincial energy grids. As of August 2007, British Columbia is the only province without an operating commercial wind farm, but BC Hydro (the province's electricity supplier) has currently issued Electricity Purchase Agreements for over 300 MW of wind-powered electricity.

Year	Installed Wind Capacity (MW)
2000	137
2001	198
2002	236
2003	322
2004	444
2005	684
2006	1460
2007	1770

With increasing population growth, wind energy in Canada has been seen as a way to diversify energy supplies away from traditional reliances on fossil-fuel burning thermal plants, and heavy reliance on hydroelectricity in some provinces. In provinces like Nova Scotia, where only 12% of electricity comes from renewable sources, the development of wind energy projects will provide a measure of electricity security that some jurisdictions are lacking. In the case of British Columbia, wind energy will help close the electricity deficit that the province is facing into the 2010s and help reduce the reliance on importing power from other jurisdictions that may not use renewable energy sources.

Province	Installed Wind Capacity (MW)
Alberta	523
Ontario	501
Quebec	236
Saskatchewan	171
Manitoba	103
New Brunswick	59
Nova Scotia	72
Yukon Territory	0.81
Newfoundland	0.39

Concerns

While wind power has been embraced by provincial and federal governments and millions of citizens across the nation, resistance remains to the development of wind farms throughout the nation. Complaints against wind farms by residents near project sites are similar to those around the world; noise and visual pollution remain the two major complaints against wind power. Additionally, there's concern that wind power is less reliable than expected. Alberta has set a cap at 900MW due to concerns that higher levels could destabilize the electricity grid. As in the United States, even public figures have come out against the development of wind energy based purely on aesthetic reasons when developments are sited near upper-class resorts and bedroom communities.

Wind Hybrid Projects

Of potential use in smaller isolated communities not connected to the main power grid are Wind-Diesel and Wind-Hydrogen. One Canadian example is the community of Ramea, Newfoundland and Labrador that initially used a Wind-Diesel system and is now being converted to Wind-Hydrogen technology.

Wind tower manufacture

Canadian industry has started to supply major components for Wind Tower projects; Hitachi Canadian Industries being one example.

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