Category Archives: wind power

Canada Keeps Pace With European Wind Energy Efforts

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The Europeans have always been in the lead when it comes to adopting the kind of green technology that includes the latest wind farm techniques and recent reports have them racing to place more clean wind energy off their coasts. In the last three years European wind energy efforts have more than doubled and plans to increase output continue to move forward.

Amid ever increasing fossil fuel prices and political pressure, more plans have recently been announced to bump up offshore wind energy capacity according to the European Wind Energy Association, or EWEA. Still called a niche industry, but one that’s rapidly growing, the offshore wind farm market will count for 8% of worldwide needs in 2016.

Not to be outdone, we’ve kept pace here in Canada. Currently we use only enough of what’s called our ‘massive’ wind energy potential to power 1 million of our homes, but there are hopes to harness the power of our three coastlines and windy mountains. The Canadian Wind Energy Association also advocates what they call a balanced energy diet whereby conventional electricity and the type generated by wind power compliment each other.

The proposed relationship between wind and hydroelectric is just one example of this suggested tag team. It’s proposed that over shorter time spans hydro can be used here in Canada to compensate for times when wind power isn’t as abundant. On the other hand, wind power is the clear choice to compensate when reservoir levels drop which is a forecast from the models derived from climate change.

There can be no mistake the push is on in Canada to make this sustainable resource one for the future in several provinces including Ontario. Consider the future plans for Canada’s biggest province when it comes to wind energy that encompasses:

· Plans to increase the province’s wind farm capacity by 2018. There’s a double-edged sword here when it comes to employment and revenue since the proposed 5,600 MW of new wind capacity will create 80,000 person years of employment. Good news for a province that has been ravaged by the hard times encountered by their manufacturing sector.
· Increased revenues in the forms of taxes and lease payments over the 20 year lifespan of the projects being proposed.

There are even those in the industry that are predicting bigger things than the current numbers support. In fact, one of the Canadian proponents of wind-based energy, CanWEA, is saying that this sustainable energy can support 25% of the nation’s electricity demands by the year 2025. A new way of thinking comes with any shift to clean energy and the problem has always been with detractors who say sustainable energy efforts don’t make room for job creation. Clearly that’s not the case here as the projections for 2025 are also including 52,000 new high quality jobs in the arena.

Across the globe, more and more countries are seeing the obvious benefits to looking into sustainable energy in general and wind energy specifically. From the wind farm techniques used off the coasts in Europe to our efforts at harnessing the power of this natural resource here at home, the benefits are becoming more and more clear.

Ontario FIT Program Explained

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FIT, or feed-in tariff, is a worldwide, governmentally funded program that is designed to encourage the growth of renewable energy technologies such as wind energy. It is achieved by offering long-term contracts, 20 years in the case the Ontario FIT Program for onshore wind energy projects, to renewable energy producers. Furthermore, the program also awards a lower per-kWh price, 13.5 ¢/kWh for wind power created in Ontario, to further assist in the growth of these renewable technologies.

Ontario first introduced their own feed-in tariff program in 2006, and later revised it in 2009, when the Green Energy Act and FIT program were officially launched with the goal of:

  • Making it easier and more efficient to develop renewable energy projects
  • Stimulating the economy and creating new jobs
  • Replacing output lost by the closure of coal-fired plants with cleaner sources of renewable energy

In just the first two years of the FIT program there have been approximately 2,500 medium and large renewable energy projects awarded and over 11,000 microFIT projects, with enough clean renewable energy produced to power almost 1.2 million homes.

Thanks largely to the efforts of the FIT program, Ontario has been able to shutdown 8 of its 19 coal-fired plants in the province, with the remaining scheduled to be closed by the end of 2014. Technologies such as wind and solar will be needed to make up the difference.

Even though wind energy is relatively new to Canada, two of the largest wind farms in the country are already located in Ontario, and by the end of 2009 they were producing nearly 1,200 megawatts of electricity for the province.

The Ontario FIT program is currently in the process of its 2-year review, which will help to ensure the continued success and sustainability of the program. The outcome of the review may be uncertain, but according to the Ministry of Energy website, Deputy Minister Fareed Amin expects to submit his “recommendations to the minister in the near future”.

With the recent release of the Drummond report, the Commission on the Reform of Ontario’s Public Services recommends that the province can reduce the impact on electricity prices by “lowering the initial prices offered in the FIT contract and introducing degression rates that reduce the tariff over time to encourage innovation and discourage any reliance on public subsidies”.

Only time will tell what the future of Ontario’s FIT program will be.

Will Wind Overtake Nuclear As The Preferred Worldwide Power Source?

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According to the Global Wind Energy Council, by the close of 2011, the total worldwide wind power generation output was 238 gigawatts. Although this may seem lower than the 392 gigawatts of power that was generated from nuclear plants in 2010, as reported by the World Nuclear Association, you just have to look at wind power’s short history to see that, if the trend continues, wind will overtake nuclear as the preferred worldwide power source.

In just ten short years wind power’s output as increased 10 times since 2001, where only 23.9 gigawatts were generated. Furthermore the 2011 numbers were up 21% from 2010.

Nuclear on the other hand has only risen by 7% since the 2001, and the numbers have actually fallen within the first month of 2012. The decline in nuclear output is in relation to the Fukushima disaster, which not only shut down two of Japan’s nuclear reactors, but a host of other reactors where also shut down around the world in order to avoid a similar accident.

Industry experts agree, that if the trend for significant growth in wind power generation continues, that in just five short years wind will overtake nuclear as the preferred worldwide power source.

Eight Reasons Why Wind Energy Rocks

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Wind energy rocks. It always has, of course, but now there are more and more reasons why governments and industry are turning to wind energy to power the future. Here are just eight of those reasons.

  1. Wind is abundant does not fluctuate over the long term. Today might be windy, tomorrow less so, the next day you might have to hold your coat closed. Such is the nature of wind. Day to day, it can be fickle. This year, there will be plenty of wind. Next year, more wind. The following year, you can count on more of the same. Such is the nature of wind. Year over year, the wind keeps blowing.
  2. Wind is available at all hours (unlike solar). Wind blows in the morning. Wind blows in the afternoon. Wing blows at midnight. Wind blows at noon. Wind even blows at tea time. Yes, even while you sip your Earl Grey, wind turbines are working to power your electric candles.
  3. Wind is everywhere:

    Top 10 wind power countries (source)

    Country

    Total capacity
    end 2009 (MW)

    Total capacity
    June 2010 (MW)
    United States 35,159 36,300
    China 26,010 33,800
    Germany 25,777 26,400
    Spain 19,149 19,500
    India 10, 925 12,100
    Italy 4,850 5,300
    France 4,521 5,000
    United Kingdom 4,092 4,600
    Portugal 3,535 3,800
    Denmark 3,497 3,700
    Rest of world 21,698 24,500
    Total 159,213 175,000
  4. Wind is clean. It leaves no emissions (unlike coal and fossil fuels). That is not to say that wind is 100% clean; no human activity leaves the world unmarked. It does take materials to build the turbines and the towers, there still is wiring, etc. But wind does not emit pollution. Wind does not use chemicals that could be toxic. Wind does not block rivers or carry the risk of a meltdown. Most of the concerns over wind power generation have been aesthetic, meaning that in some cases people have not wanted the towers in their neighborhoods because they do not look rustic enough or they do not match the colour of the houses or because of some other reason related to appearance.
  5. Wind is free. Everyone has access. Countries will fight for water and for oil, but the wind blows around the globe. Sun is less abundant farther from the equator in the cold season, but wind is everywhere.
  6. Wind power has history. Think of Dutch windmills. Think of the Santa Maria discovering the new world. Think of kids flying their kites.
  7. Wind is economical. Energy costs money, but over time, non-renewables cost more. That is the nature of supply and demand. On the other hand, renewables cost less over time. Such is the nature of economies of scale.
  8. Wind is safe. Some birds might get hurt by the turbines (manufacturers are working on ways to reduce this), but there are no risks of explosions or water contamination or nuclear fallout, and the risks to wind power workers is much less than for most forms of energy generation.

Wind – reliable and renewable

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There are several sources of renewable “green” energy. In fact, the world is practically composed of energy. One of the advantages of living in a world full of energy is that we should not have to transport energy long distances (which consumes or degrades the energy, the farther it is transported).

  • Oil tankers ship petroleum across the ocean.
  • Hydro power is transported through huge corridors over long distances.
  • Nuclear power, generated at a few centralized stations, is transported through huge corridors over long distances.

Huge urban areas cannot generate all their energy locally, but a lot of energy needs can be generated in a more dispersed manner. Wind is everywhere. Sun is everywhere. Geothermal is everywhere. Each one has places and times where it is best suited.

In northern climates like Canada’s, especially in regions where there is a lot of cloud activity, solar energy makes little sense. But wind makes a lot of sense, especially in coastal regions, where wind tends to be greater.

Wind has a long history of powering boats and mills, and now we can harness that energy to power refrigerators and computers, too.

As long as the earth turns, there will be wind. As long as there are warm regions and cooler regions, there will wind. And wind is 100% renewable.

Close your eyes and imagine a world where electricity is produced right close to your home, using renewable sources that don’t require military budgets and people dying to keep them secure.

Imagine a world where a diverse range of renewable “green” energy sources power everything we do.

Imagine a world where your house is powered in large part by wind.

But don’t keep your eyes closed to long; when you open them, imagination might already be reality. Already wind power provides 14 percent of electricity in the U.S. state of Iowa and an incredible 40 percent in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein.

Welcome to the future.

A Brief History of Wind Power

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If we are to discuss wind power generation, we should start at the beginning.

One of two 1887 wind turbines

Wind energy has a long and glorious history. In fact, it was around long before mankind learned how to harness it so that it would serve a more useful purpose than merely dispersing the leaves you had just finished raking into a pile.

Once upon a time, wind powered our ships, blowing into our billowing sails. Wind powered our mills, grinding our grain so that we could make bread and cakes. Wind was used to ventilate buildings. Wind-powered pumps drained the Netherlands and pumped water into the desert.

But it was not until late in the 19th century, that mankind learned how to make wind energy portable by converting it to electricity. Today, wind powers everything from light bulbs to heating systems, from power tools to home entertainment. And it still powers our mills, but not our ships.

The first wind turbine to produce electricity was in Scotland (a land where Windsmith has installed several wind farm projects), where it powered a house in 1887. The cloth-sailed wind turbine stood 33 feet high and produced enough electricity to power the street lights in the town of Maykirk – but the townsfolk rejected electricity as “the work of the Devil”.

Of course, wind no longer works alone; the electricity wind farms generate is combined with energy generated from solar, nuclear, fossil fuel and coal power generation, together mixing in what we call “The Grid”.

It must be understood that until recently, wind was not a major player feeding the grid. Not until the 1990s did the public start to discuss wind as a mainstream source of electrical power. Climate change and an eventual shortage and even depletion of fossil fuels have combined to make wind energy more attractive.

In the posts ahead, we will discuss wind power and its role in electricity generation, climate change, economics and practical applications, and we will also share with you some of our wind farm installation and maintenance experiences..

Testing various wind turbines at North Cape, PEI, Canada