WINDFARMING

“Wind farms” bring together groups of wind turbines to produce enough electricity to power thousands of homes. The world's largest wind farm, located in Texas, consists of 421 turbines producing 735 Megawatts of electricity. The turbines cover nearly 47,000 acres (190 km²) of land.

There is a big difference between a wind farm (known as “large wind”) and “small wind”. “Small wind” usually involves either a small turbine powering a house or a medium-sized turbine powering a farm, business or a small community. Large wind provides electricity to the electric grid (rather than just a home or business).

Right now, wind farms in Canada have a capacity of 1,876 MW – enough to power 569,000 homes or equivalent to 0.8 % of Canada’s total electricity demand. Canada’s wind resource is well distributed in rural areas throughout the country with 83 wind farms in operation, and more now under construction. In total there are 1,410 turbines now operating in Canada.

In September 2001 the City of Calgary decided to power their C-Train with electricity from commercial wind energy and named it Ride the Wind!™ because riders would actually be traveling with the help of energy captured from the wind. Before the switch, the C-Train’s energy supply accounted for about 20,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases and other air pollution every year – still less than 1/10 of the pollution that
would have resulted if all C-Train passengers had driven in their own cars. Most of that electricity came from coal-fired generating stations. How it works: Each of the 12 turbines that power the C-Train, can produce more than 600 kW of electricity, or 1.3 million kWh of electricity annually – enough to supply nearly 250 average Alberta homes – and more than enough to meet the needs of C-Train commuters. The results: Under the Ride the Wind!™ program, the C-Train’s expected air emissions from electricity use have been reduced from 20,000 tonnes to practically zero. The resulting greenhouse gas reduction is like taking 4,000 cars off the road for a full year.

Manitoba’s first wind farm at St. Leon generates 99 megawatts (MW) of clean power. The 63 wind turbines represent a $210-million project that will result in significant employment opportunities; $20 million in municipal taxes; and approximately $10 million in local landholder payments over the 25-year lifespan of the project. In addition, having a 99-MW wind farm up and running is equivalent to reducing 260,000 tonnes of global GHG emissions and can have the same positive impact as taking 50,000 cars off the road or planting 1.2 million trees.

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