Wind in Canada

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GE Energy has signed contracts with two developers to supply up to 660 wind turbines for eight projects in the province of Quebec.

Completing an agreement first announced by GE Energy and Hydro-Québec in October, GE Energy has signed contracts with two developers to supply up to 660 wind turbines for eight projects in the province of Quebec.

When the projects come on line between 2006 and 2012, they will add 990MW of wind-generated electricity to the power grid of Hydro-Québec.

The contract signings follow a memorandum of understanding signed in October, naming GE Energy as the turbine supplier for the projects. It marks the largest single award for wind generation capacity in the history of the global wind energy industry.

GE will supply up to 740MW of wind turbines to Cartier Wind Energy and up to 250MW of wind turbines to Northland Power Inc./Northland Power Income Fund. Both were winning bidders in a solicitation for awards initiated by Hydro-Québec, under a 2003 request for proposals to supply 1,000MW of new wind power capacity by 2012.

The wind turbines for the new projects will be GE's 1.5MW machines, which are among the largest wind turbines assembled in North America.

Over the course of six years, GE's wind turbines will be installed at eight potential locations including Anse-a-Valleau, Baie-des-Sables, St.-Ulric/St.Léandre, Carleton, Les Méchins, Mont Louis, Montagne - Seche, and Gros Morne I and II. The power generated will be provided to Hydro-Québec Distribution, the utility's retail division, for distribution throughout Quebec.

As of December 2004, Canada's installed wind energy capacity was 444MW. Forecasts by the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CANWEA) anticipate the installation of 10,000MW of wind power across the country by 2010.

GE’s announcement comes just a month after the Canadian Government announced that it would support the development of 4,000MW of wind energy in Canada by quadrupling the country’s Federal Wind Power production Incentive’s (WPPI) 1,000MW target.

The WPPI program provides a payment of 1 cent/kWh to wind producers for electricity produced over a ten year period. The payment helps to close the cost differential between wind energy and other sources of wind generation.