Quick Facts about Wind Energy

• The global wind energy potential, even excluding environmentally sensitive areas, is roughly five times current global electricity use.
• Wind power is the world’s fastest growing energy source with sustained growth rates in excess of 30% per year. At the beginning of 2002, world-wide wind-generated capacity exceeded 24,000 megawatts.
• In the last decade the cost of wind-generated electricity was typically 30˘ per kilowatt-hour. Today’s cost ranges from about 8˘ per kilowatt-hour at a site with winds averaging 8 m/s (29 km/hr) to about 12˘ for 6 m/s (22 km/hr) wind sites. Even lower prices can be achieved at large wind farms through economies of scale. (David Milborrow, Windpower Monthly, January 2002)
• Major energy reviews by the British government and the US Department of Energy predict that in 2020 the cost of wind energy will range from 3.4˘ per kilowatt-hour to 5.5˘. (David Milborrow, Windpower Monthly, January 2002)
• The technology has matured rapidly with typical reliability rates greater than 98% for good quality, modern wind turbines, making them on par with the reliability of a present-day farm tractor.
• Canada has far more wind energy potential than its current total use of electricity (about 497,000,000,000 kilowatt-hours used in 1999). While wind energy will not ever supply all of Canada’s electrical requirements, it is not unreasonable to expect this clean, non-polluting, renewable energy source to supply up to 20%.
• At the beginning of 2002, Canada had about 205 megawatts of wind generation plant installed (see Production in Canada) producing about 449,000,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per year – enough to supply about 56,000 typical Canadian homes. If this electricity is used to displace coal-generated electricity, it avoids discharging about 449,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere annually.
• Canada has utility-scale wind turbines installed in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, Prince Edward Island and the Yukon.
• There are wind farms in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec and Prince Edward Island.
• Canada’s largest wind plant is located in the Gaspé region of Quebec. The Le Nordais project currently has 133 750-kilowatt turbines producing 100 megawatts of electricity at two locations – Cap Chat and Matane.
• The Pincher Creek area of Alberta is home to a number of large-scale wind projects and is expected to see even more growth in the near future.
• The largest modern wind turbine in North America (a Vestas V80 1,800 kW turbine) is located adjacent to the Pickering Nuclear plant in Ontario.
• Canada has the ability to manufacture utility-scale wind turbine components such as blades, towers and nacelles. However, there are no manufacturers of generators, gear-boxes and control systems, nor are there any comprehensive wind turbine manufacturing facilities in Canada at this time.
• Wind-diesel projects in remote northern Canadian and Alaskan locations have demonstrated that wind energy can reduce the high costs associated with transporting diesel fuel to these remote sites.
• Small wind turbines (under 100 kilowatts) are manufactured in Dartmouth NS and Guelph ON.
• There is a significant rural Canadian and potentially huge international market for small non-electric wind turbines for pumping water and aerating ponds.
• Canada’s federal Wind Power Production Incentive (WPPI) provides a production incentive of 1.2 cents per kilowatt-hr to qualifying wind turbines.