Green Power - A Consumer Guide to Green Power in Canada

WHAT TO KNOW

What are Green Power Technologies?

WIND

Wind is the world's fastest growing source of electricity (in terms of annual percentage increase in installed capacity). Canada has large utility-scale wind turbines in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Yukon with a total capacity of 590 MW. Other provinces are in the process of installing wind turbines. Based on the experience of other countries, the Canadian Wind Energy Association estimates that Canada could get 20 per cent of its electricity needs from wind energy. That represents 50,000 MW of wind energy capacity.

There are two main designs for wind turbines — horizontal and vertical axis — but the basic idea is the same: the wind turns the rotor blades and the spinning rotor shaft goes into a generator that produces electricity. Wind turbines come in various sizes, ranging from a 10KW cottage model to the 5 MW industrial giant with 50 metre-long blades and standing 100 metres tall from base to blade tip.

The harder the wind blows, the more electricity that is generated. But winds come and go so that, over a year, a modern turbine will produce 18-35 per cent of its total (peak) generating capacity depending on the site. Electricity generation usually starts when the wind hits 13km/h and increases until maximum power is reached at 55km/h. At 90km/h, most large turbines shut down for safety reasons.