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Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA)

"Wind energy is natural energy. It dries our crops, circulates the air that we breath, and it is a welcome friend that will sustain our energy needs as it passes over our rich land. We don't have to burn it or dam it. It is quickly becoming the major power generator of the globe. Thanks to Peace Energy, it can now quickly become a major power source for the Peace Country."

Gary Loiselle, Rancher
Dawson Creek

Membership is growing everyday at the Peace Energy Cooperative and there are a number of benefits to belonging! Click WHAT'S NEW for further information!

Wind Energy Facts

1. What is Wind?

Like all forms of energy, wind is created as a result of the sun.

            The sun heats a land mass and the heat from the land is absorbed by the surrounding air.  

            When the air reaches a certain temperature, it begins to rise quickly upwards. This results        

            in a low pressure area at ground level and a higher pressure area above the land. Air naturally

            moves from high pressure zones to low pressure zones. This air movement creates wind.

2. Wind Turbines Whisper Quietly

Wind turbines operate under windy conditions, the harder the wind blows the faster the turbine turns.. However, much of the sound from the blades is masked by the sound of the wind itself and of the accompanying sound of rustling leaves in nearby trees and shrubs. At distances over 200 meters, during normal wind speeds, the 'swishing' sound of rotor blades is usually masked completely by wind noise in the leaves of trees or shrubs. Any mechanical device has the potential for mechanical noise – the sound that is emitted when two parts rub together. The good news is that this type of sound has virtually disappeared from today’s well engineered modern turbine.With today's turbine technology it is possible to stand at the base of a wind turbine and converse in normal tones.

The Enercon E-82 being installed on the Bear Mountain Wind Park is a gearless turbine which emitts virtually no mechanical sounds. The wind park will have the quietest wind power technology currently available in the world.

3. Wind Energy is Clean, and Saves Energy

Can a wind turbine ever recover the energy spent in producing, maintaining and servicing it?

Wind turbines use only the energy from the moving air to generate electricity. Wind energy leaves no harmful emissions or residue in the environment. Compared to a coal burning generator, a wind turbine can displace 1,900 tonnes of C02 (carbon dioxide) and five to eight tonnes of NOx (nitrogen oxides) and SO2 (sulphur dioxide) per year. The energy produced by a wind turbine throughout its 20 - 25 year lifetime (in an average location) is 80 times larger than the amount of energy used to build, maintain, operate, dismantle and scrap it again. In other words, it takes only about three months for a wind turbine to recover all the energy required to build and operate it.

4. Wind Energy is Abundant

Wind resources are plentiful. Globally, wind energy has increased by approximately 32% a year over the last five years. In Canada, wind energy production has grown to 1,670 MW; enough to power more than 480,000 homes. Wind will not run out.

Since 1993 Canadian wind turbine installations and wind parks have spread across the provinces from the Yukon, Pincher Creek and Taber in Southern Alberta, through Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario to the Gaspé region of Quebec, and into the east coast provinces.

As of October 2007 there is currently 2338MW of wind energy with signed power purchase agreements and/or currently under construction with a commission date before the end of 2010..

            5. Wind Energy Makes a Difference

            Wind Turbines have grown dramatically in size and power output. A modern wind turbine has  

            a rotor diameter of 54 metres (177 feet) and a 1000 kW generator. It will produce between   

            2,000 and 3,000 megawatt hours in a year. This is equivalent to the annual electricity 

            consumption of 200 to 300 Canadian households. Worldwide, over 30,000 MW capacity has 

            been installed to date. The W.A.C. Bennett Dam (G.M. Shrum Generator), in comparison, has a

            capacity of 2,730 MW and floods 166,000 hectares (410,000 acres). In other words, worldwide  

            power generated by wind turbines already replaces the need for 11 dams the size of W.A.C. 

            Bennet Dam and the flooding of 1.8 million hectares of land.

            6. Wind Energy is an Advancing Technology

            Technological advances in aerodynamics, structural dynamics and micro-           

            meteorology have contributed to a five per cent annual increase in the energy yield per square

            metre of rotor area (1998-2001). New technology is continuously being introduced in new wind

            turbines. The weight of Danish wind turbines has halved in five years, the sound level has

            halved in three years, and the annual energy output per turbine has increased 100-fold in 15

            years.

            7. Wind Energy is Inexpensive

            Wind energy has become the least expensive renewable energy technology in existence.        

            Since the energy contents of the wind varies with the cube of the wind speed, the economics of

            wind energy depends heavily on how windy the site is. There are generally economies of scale

            when building wind parks of many turbines. Current energy production costs are approximately

            $0.07/kWh. This has been declining as technology improves.

            8. Wind Turbines are Efficient

            The maximum power that can be captured from the wind is 59% of the kinetic energy in the

            wind (Betz law). Today's turbines capture more than 50% of the available kinetic energy. The

            speed of the wind, the temperature of the air, the sweep area of the blades and the height of

            the tower all influence the power generated.

            9. Wind Energy is Safe

            Wind energy has a proven safety record. Modern wind turbines have a design life of at least 20

            years in all weather extremes expected to occur in their operational environment. All major

            manufacturers use international safety standards in turbine design. Compliance to these

            standards is audited by third party organizations.

Wind turbines have special inbuilt safety equipment to deal with emergencies. They are equipped with vibration sensors to detect rotor problems. All modern turbines allow complete shut down during excessive wind speeds, virtually eliminating the risk of the turbine rotor or tower failing. The blades on some models are designed so that ice is detected as an uneven load and the turbine will shut down immediately. Many manufacturers also have monitoring systems to keep the turbines under 24/7 surveillance. Wind turbines also produce no harmful emissions in the generation of electricity.

Wind turbines are considered so safe that at many windparks on public lands around the world, people may walk to the base of the turbines at any time, animals graze under them and farmers plant and harvest to the base of them.

10. Wind Turbines are Reliable

High quality modern wind turbines are operational on average, or ready to run, during more than 98 per cent of the time. This is better than any other electricity generating technology.

11. Wind Energy Uses Land Resources Sparingly.

Wind turbines and access roads occupy less than one per cent of the area in a typical wind park. The remaining 99 per cent of the land can be used for farming or grazing, as usual.

12. Wind Turbines Coexist Peacefully with Wildlife

Deer and cattle habitually graze under wind turbines, and sheep seek shelter around them. Wind energy development's impact on birds and bats is extremely low compared to other human-related activities, such as vehicles, building, high tension lines or habitat loss. Wind turbines with smooth sided towers reduce nesting sites, and many turbines have slower rotation speeds, thereby reducing risk to birds and bats.

13. Wind Energy Integrates Well into the Electrical Grid

Wind power is variable, but wind tends to match consumers' daytime peak demand for power. Also, it fits well into hydro-based grids whereby dams store water. When the wind is not blowing, stored water is used to produce power instead.

14. Wind Energy Provides Jobs

In 2001 the wind energy industry provided more than 50,000 jobs worldwide and it is estimated that some 163,000 people are now directly employed by the wind energy industry worldwide. Last year the wind energy industry grew by 30%.

The total value of new wind energy generating equipment installed globally in 2006 was US$ 23 billion. According to CanWEA estimates, Canada’s wind energy industry contributed $736 million to the country’s Gross Domestic Product in 2005. That same year, there were 1,200 full-time equivalent jobs (FTE) in the wind energy industry, an increase of 65% over 2004. Achieving the minimum goal of 10,000 MW of installed wind energy capacity in the country would mean, among other benefits, thousands of jobs in manufacturing, project development, operations and maintenance. The wind industry is becoming more multinational, as the industry matures and more manufacturing is established in new markets. For example, in Denmark alone, more than 20,000 people make a living from wind energy, designing and manufacturing wind turbines, components, or rendering consultancy and engineering services and operating and maintaining turbines.

15. Wind Energy is Popular

Worldwide, wind energy capacity has tripled in the last five years. Globally, installed wind generating capacity in 1995 was 4800MW and at the end of 2006 it was 74,223. It has become very important in Germany, Denmark, India and the USA.

In 2006 newly installed generating capacity was US 2,454; Germany 2,233; India 1,840; Spain 1,587; China 1,347; France 810; Canada 776; Portugal 694; UK 634 and Italy 417.

This brought installed capacities to Germany 20,622; Spain 11,615; US 11,603; India 6,270; Denmark 3,136; China 2,604; Italy 2,123; UK 1,963; Portugal 1,716; France 1,567; Netherlands 1,560 and Canada 1,460.

Wind turbines tend to be good tourist attractions when they are new in an area, and large wind developers often establish visitors' centres at their wind parks. It is also generally popular with people who hold environmental values. Wind energy will help us to meet Kyoto targets by reducing green house gases.