Canada to hit 754MW extra wind capacity in 2010

CANADA: Canada is on track to install 754MW of new wind energy capacity this year, says a new projection from the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA).

The new wind farms represent C$1.7billion in investment and will bring the country's total installed capacity past the 4 GW mark, although the year's total will fall below the record 950 MW installed in 2009.

However, according to CanWEA president Robert Hornung, it is an indication that Canada's wind market "seems to be stabilising at a fairly high level of deployment."

Canada currently has 3499 MW of installed wind energy capacity.

In fact, it is virtually certain new wind build in Canada in 2011 will surpass 1 GW for the first time. "We expect wind energy's rapid growth in Canada to continue with production tripling in the next five years," said Hornung.

Developers have so far completed construction on eight projects in six provinces totalling 180 MW.

Other 2010 capacity additions are expected in Ontario, which already has about one-third of Canada's total wind generation and Nova Scotia, where projects delayed by the financial crisis are finally starting to come online.

In addition there will be a rise in capacity in Alberta, where transmission constraints and low power prices have hampered the wind industry's growth over the past couple of years.

A single 54MW project is also expected on line in New Brunswick before the end of the year.