Wind Projects
Over the past ten years global wind power capacity has continued to grow at an average cumulative rate of
over 30%, and 2009 was another record year with more than 27 GW of new installations, bringing the total
up to over 120 GW. The United States passed Germany to become the number one market in wind power, and
China’s total capacity doubled for the fourth year in a row.
Wind energy is the fastest growing renewable energy source in Canada with an average annual growth rate of
60 percent since 1998, with installed capacity increasing from 26 megawatts (MW) in 1998 to 3,472 MW at the
end of 2009 – enough to power over 1 million homes or equivalent to about 1.1 % of Canada’s total electricity
demand. Canada is expected to experience significant growth in the upcoming years as estimates suggest a
capacity of nearly 10 000 MW by 2012 and more than 20,000 MW by 2020.
Even though Canada has a massive hydroelectric resource, which currently provides 60% of Canada’s electricity,
wind energy is a complimentary energy source to satisfy day-time peak loads. With extensive hydro transmission
line networks there is an excellent opportunity to integrate more wind energy into the system than is the case in many other countries.
Please visit our Links page.
|