Wind generation capacity in Canada approached 10,000 megawatts in 2014, with Ontario producing more than 3,000 MW and expected to hit 5,000 by the end of this year, the National Energy Board reported in a market snapshot last week.
Turbines accounted for about 7% of the country’s installed generating capacity last year, and about 1.4% of actual electricity production, the Board reported.
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In Ontario, “a wave of feed-in tariff-procured wind energy is expected to be online in 2015,” pushing the province’s total installed capacity past the 5,000-MW mark. “In June 2013, the Ontario government ordered that large wind facilities be removed from the feed-in tariff program, meaning large wind projects must be procured through competitive contracts, which will affect the addition of wind going forward.”
Quebec has about 2,400 MW of installed capacity, and is expected to reach its 2006-2015 goal of 4,000 MW by 2018, the Board said, citing the Canadian Wind Energy Association. Alberta has 17 wind projects totalling more than 2,300 MW in the queue. “However, the nature of Alberta’s open market makes revenue streams for wind generators less certain than in other provinces.” (h/t to Clean Energy Review for pointing us to this story)
