Wind Power in Canada - Overview

Overview

Further information: List of wind farms in Canada

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 power to supplement their provincial energy grids. Alberta built the first commercial wind farm in Canada in 1993. British Columbia was the last province to add wind power to its grid with the completion of the Bear Mountain Wind Park in November 2009. With increasing population growth, Canada has seen wind power as a way to diversify energy supplies away from traditional reliance 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. An additional 2,004 megawatts of wind power is to come on stream in Quebec between 2011 and 2015. The new energy will cost 10.5 cents per kilowatt-hour, a price described as "highly competitive".

Province/Territory	Current Installed Capacity (MW)	Expected 2015 Capacity (MW)
Alberta	1116.6	7013
British Columbia	389.7	781.7
Manitoba	258.5	242
New Brunswick	294	309
Newfoundland and Labrador	54.7	54.7
Northwest Territories	9.2	9.2
Nova Scotia	324	318.7
Ontario	2043.2	4479.2
Prince Edward Island	163.6	173.6
Québec	1716.2	2822.3
Saskatchewan	197.6	197.6
Yukon	0.81	0.81
Total	6568	16392.6