Wind EnErgy canada Wolfe Island Wind Farm in Ontario was commissioned in summer 2009 with 86 Siemens wind turbines and an output of almost 200 MW. Photos (2): Dieter Fries A buoyant market The Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) has set itself an ambitious target. Canada aims to supply a wind power capacity of 55,000 MW to the grid by 2025. he Canadian wind power market continues to the tariffs for megawatt-class WECs. In Canada, the grow at a fast pace. By mid-July 2009, a wind term small wind turbines applies both to turbines with Tpow er capacity of 2,854 MW had been connect- a capacity of less than 10 kW, which are used for pri- ed to the Canadian grid. According to CanWEA’s esti- vate and secondary homes, as well as to turbines of up mations, 800 MW were installed in 2009 alone. This to 300 kW, which are used by the agricultural industry corresponds to a growth rate of more than 50 % for its own power supply. As the market in Canada and against 2008. As the country’s second largest wind the US has a significantly larger volume than in Eu- power project, the 197.8 MW Wolfe Island wind farm, rope, CanWEA has prepared a very detailed code of in Canada’s province of Ontario, was commissioned practice for design and purchase of these turbines. in the summer of 2009. The project, which is operat- ed by Canadian Hydro Developers, features 86 Ontario’s pioneering role Siemens turbines, each with a capacity of 2.3 MW and a hub height of 80 m. Its location on Lake Onta- Ontario has adopted a fixed feed-in tariff for renew- rio guarantees very favourable wind conditions. An able energy. With this law, Ontario wants to strength- annual output of 600 MWh is expected. For the instal- en its position as the province with the highest wind lation of the project, most components were shipped power output in Canada. An application form must be from Denmark to North America, reloaded onto a filled in to obtain the feed-in tariff. The interested par- further ship and then taken to the island. Sophisticat- ty has to pay a fee of CAD (Canadian Dollar) 500 per ed project management was required to meet the MW (~ € 323) or CAD 5,000 as a maximum. The aim construction deadlines. The project was installed in of this procedure is to check if the applicant holds the close consultation with the local population. In addi- rights to use the land and if feeding-in at the select- tion, the operators and CanWEA use information ed grid access point is economically feasible and sheets to provide details about these sorts of pro- advisable. Moreover, local suppliers and producers jects. The information sheets include news about must be included in the project (known as domestic jobs and other local benefits. content level) amounting to 25 % for projects that are up and running before January 1, 2012. When com- Vast market for small turbines missioning after the deadline, the share of local sup- pliers/producers must be at least 50 %. An extra Small wind power turbines also have a contribution to tariff of up to 1.5 CAD-ct/kWh (called aboriginal price make. To boost the financial viability of the small tur- adder) is available if the First Nations – the Canadian bines, their feed-in tariff is significantly higher than indigenous population – have more than a 50 % 126 Sun & Wind Energy 1/2010 stake in the project. Community projects are eligible to receive up to Wind energy expansion in Canada 1.0 CAD-ct/kWh (called a community price adder). continues unabated. In 2009 alone, On the whole, Ontario has good wind resources. The majority of a capacity of 800 MW was installed. projects is located to the south of Ontario around the Great Lakes, where wind conditions similar to those near the sea shore prevail due to large areas of water. The first Canadian offshore wind farms are be- ing planned in this region. The first offshore projects in North Ameri- ca are also expected to go into operation here. Maintenance capacities must be increased With a population of approximately 23 million mainly living in the large metropolitan conurbations, Canada has a grid infrastructure that is not developed well enough in all rural wind regions for large- scale wind power capacities to be integrated. Current debates in- clude extending the grid in Canada itself, but also strengthening the electricity lines to the US. Because of the large share of hydroelectric power, Canada can opt to conserve these reserves during strong winds and to sell them in peak load periods to the US. However, quality standards and data bases for wind assessments must be improved, as the yields of many wind turbines have not achieved the previously calculated target values. Relevant research measures should remedy the situation. The dynamic growth of the wind power industry in Canada and the US has created a considerable demand for increasing mainte- nance combined with appropriate training. German companies in particular are currently utilising their experience with training in this area. The same applies to developing repair service as well as to tur- bine monitoring capacities. Dieter Fries Sun & Wind Energy 1/2010 127.