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Wind Power News: Manitoba
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational effort to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Trudeau imposes carbon tax, with rebates, on four provinces
Justin Trudeau is imposing a carbon tax on provinces that have balked at implementing their own, doubling down on what will be a core fight in Canada’s next election. Trudeau announced a plan Tuesday to tax industrial emitters and fuels in holdout provinces. The fuel surcharge alone will raise about C$2.3 billion ($1.8 billion) in revenue next year, rising to C$5.6 billion by 2022-2023. The baseline price on carbon will be C$20 per metric tonne initially, rising to C$50 by . . . Complete story »
Ashton makes campaign pledge to expand renewable energy projects
NDP leadership candidate Steve Ashton said today if he becomes the province’s next premier he’d expand renewable energy projects throughout the province. Flanked by former energy minister Tim Sale, Ashton said he’d double the number of geothermal installations on First Nations to 300 per year and install 100 rooftop solar systems in the province. It would include 50 electricity-producing solar panels and 50 solar thermal units to heat water. Ashton also said he’d establish a target of 20 megawatts of . . . Complete story »
Minnesota Power files for new power line from Canada to Iron Range
Minnesota Power, the biggest utility in northern Minnesota, on Wednesday formally started the regulatory process to build a 350-mile power line that could cost up to $650 million, a project so big it has its own name – the Great Northern Transmission Line. The line has been under development by the Duluth-based utility since 2012 after it struck an innovative deal with Manitoba Hydro to balance out wind power it is generating in North Dakota with water power from the Winnipeg-based . . . Complete story »
Further wind power development not viable: Manitoba Hydro
Manitoba’s former energy minister is slamming Manitoba Hydro over their lack of investment in wind power. Former NDP energy minister Tim Sale appeared before the Public Utilities Board (PUB) on Friday to make the case for wind power. Sale said Manitoba Hydro is making a huge mistake by writing off wind power as a viable alternate energy source. “I think it’s sad because I think Hydro is dead wrong in that regard,” said Sale. “They simply don’t like wind. They . . . Complete story »
Plug pulled on wind farm
The plug has been pulled on a proposed 175-megawatt wind farm near Manitou that would add more alternative energy to Manitoba and be a boon to farmers, a U.S. firm said. “There’s no prospective view of any future wind farms to be built in the province,” said Ed Pakulak, the Canadian spokesman for U.S.-based Competitive Power Ventures (CPV). “The focus is hydroelectric power.” The planned wind farm, next to the 63 turbines at St. Leon, had been in the works . . . Complete story »
Province blows off wind megawatt goal
While Manitoba’s neighbours are building turbines like gangbusters, Manitoba’s policy-makers are letting wind power breeze on by. The province is in the seventh year of an unofficial moratorium on turbines, part of a policy change that has quietly wafted in, replacing a pledge to build 1,000 megawatts of wind power by next year. There is no request for proposals for new Manitoba wind farms on the horizon, despite the province’s excellent wind. Other small provinces such as Saskatchewan, New Brunswick . . . Complete story »
Trim Hydro plans: ex-minister
Hydro spokesman Glenn Schnieder said while the wind farms help produce electricity for Hydro, wind power will never be enough for export. "It's not the same product," he said of wind when compared to a hydroelectric power. "It has a lot less value than a hydro resource, which is what we call 'dispatchable,' which you can count on to a large extent all the time. If you don't know when the wind's blowing, you can't in advance arrange to sell it or integrate into your network in such a way that you're maximizing the value of it." Complete story »
Federal government studies health effects of windmills
OTTAWA – The federal government is launching a $1.8-million study to see if windmills make people sick. Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said Tuesday the government has heard from a number of Canadians worried about the health impacts of wind turbines installed near their homes. The study will help paint a more complete picture of the effect of wind farms, she said. Health Canada officials said Wednesday the study will be completed by the end of 2014 and the results published in . . . Complete story »
Big trouble in the wind
As Manitoba’s three species of hibernating bats are threatened by white-nose syndrome, you would think the other three species, who migrate south for the winter, could step in to fill the ecological void. Unfortunately, migratory bat species in Manitoba face an entirely different threat: wind farms, which kill an estimated half-million bats every year in North America. Manitoba’s three species of migratory bats – hoary, eastern red and silver-haired bats – are all at risk of lethal strikes from windmills, especially during . . . Complete story »
State approves deal with Hydro
The unanimous approval this week by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission of a 15-year, 250-megawatt power purchase deal between Minnesota Power and Manitoba Hydro further solidifies the building of the province’s next hydroelectric dam, Premier Greg Selinger said Friday. “It means we’ve got to build Keeyask now, and it means that we’ve got a customer,” Selinger said. “It’s a great story.” The Minnesota state regulator approved the power purchase agreement on Thursday, a deal that was first announced four years . . . Complete story »
