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Wind Power News: Canada
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.
Financial hit from faulty wind farm turbines expected to deepen in P.E.I.
Profits at the P.E.I. Energy Corporation were slashed by more than half last year, with auditors warning revenues will drop even further as the Crown enterprise tries to fix one of the province’s biggest wind farms. In its annual report released last week, the P.E.I. Energy Corporation recorded a profit of $3.5 million. That’s less than half of what the utility has posted in any fiscal year since 2014-15, the first full year the Hermanville wind farm in eastern P.E.I. . . . Complete story »
Hermanville, P.E.I., wind farm faced with year-long repairs
One of P.E.I.’s largest wind farms has nearly ground to a halt as six of the 10 towering wind turbines sit idle due to structural damages. The Hermanville wind farm is now faced with significant structural repairs to the tune of $10 million, all to be funded by the P.E.I. government. A statement from the P.E.I. Energy Corporation on Aug. 30 recognized the underperformance of the wind farm, equating it in part to the significant amount of maintenance the farm . . . Complete story »
Another grenade lobbed at Alberta wind and solar
New information requirements for Alberta power generators including wind and solar projects will create further problems for a booming renewables industry that government policy has already slowed, said an industry advocate. “They introduced more questions than answers,” said Jorden Dye of the Business Renewables Centre, a group that links generators and purchasers of renewable power. On Wednesday, the Alberta Utilities Commission released a series of interim information requests that those proposing new projects will be required to answer. The requests . . . Complete story »
P.E.I. asserts its ‘clear authority’ over municipalities on wind farms, solar
The P.E.I. government has made regulatory changes under the Renewable Energy Act to give itself “clear authority” to issue permits for solar and wind farms, including within municipal boundaries – a move that will allow projects to go ahead even if the local council is opposed. The rule change comes with the province still smarting over a four-year battle to expand its wind generation capacity in the Rural Municipality of Eastern Kings, a project the local council voted down. “We’re in . . . Complete story »
‘Will not be implemented’: Alberta pushes back against Ottawa’s new energy regulations
The draft federal regulations are intended to create a net-zero power grid across Canada by 2035, something Alberta and three other provinces have challenged as not being possible. The Alberta government is vowing to “chart its own path” in reaction to the federal government’s proposed clean electricity regulations (CER) for the energy industry that were released early Thursday, with Premier Danielle Smith calling the draft rules “unconstitutional and irresponsible.” The regulations are intended to create a Canada-wide net-zero power grid . . . Complete story »
Alberta suspends approvals for green energy projects, like wind or solar power
Alberta’s United Conservative government is pausing all approvals of large renewable energy projects in response to what it says are rural and environmental concerns. In a statement Thursday, the government said the Alberta Utilities Commission is to institute a six-month moratorium on approving all wind and solar power projects greater than one megawatt over issues of development on agricultural land, effect on scenery, reclamation security and system reliability. “We are proud of our leadership in responsible renewable energy development and . . . Complete story »
6 of 10 turbines out of commission at P.E.I. wind farm, government says
One of P.E.I.’s biggest provincially owned wind farms is operating at less than 40 per cent of its design capacity. The wind farm at Hermanville, near the eastern tip of the Island, came online with 10 turbines at a cost of $60 million in 2014. On Tuesday, the P.E.I. Energy Corporation said only four of those turbines remain functional – with no reason given as to why. “It’s something that needs to be rectified quickly, because it’s standing in the way . . . Complete story »
German business magazine casts doubt on EverWind’s ‘green hydrogen’ claims
Germany’s largest business magazine has published a feature story delving into EverWind Fuels’ “green hydrogen” project in Point Tupper, Nova Scotia. The article, written by Karin Finkenzeller after a month-long trip to Canada that took her from Montreal to Cape Breton, including to Point Tupper to see for herself the status of the project, appeared in the June 18 edition of Wirtschafts Woche (meaning “Business Week”). As the Halifax Examiner did last September, Finkenzeller found the green hydrogen claims confusing . . . Complete story »
Collapse of wind power across prairies and central U.S. on Wednesday morning
Wind power generation dwindled to a near standstill across Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and even deep into the central United States on Wednesday morning. According to the outlet Pipeline Online, major wind farms ranging across Alberta to Saskatchewan and down south to New Mexico and Texas fell to near-zero levels. Data from the Southwest Power Poll (SPP) which reports power generation from grids in Canada and the US shows that for several hours, wind power reached a new low. Wind Power . . . Complete story »
Lightning strike likely caused wind turbine fire: company
Lightning likely sparked a wind turbine fire in Muirkirk, east of Chatham, Thursday night, a company official says. Fire crews from Station 10 Orford responded to 20275 Duart Rd. at 7:15 p.m. and secured the area. No injuries were reported and the cause was undetermined, fire officials said in a release Thursday night. The fire struck Tower 2 at the Gesner wind farm, said Saturn Power chief executive Doug Wagner. “The probable cause of this fire is believed to be . . . Complete story »
