A breath of fresh air blew the cap off the amount of energy that can be generated in Alberta from wind.
Before last week’s change, the province’s wind turbines were collectively not allowed to produce more than 900 megawatts of power until the operator of the province’s electrical grid could get an understanding of how wind energy affects the grid.
Warren Frost, vice-president of operations and reliability for the Alberta Electric System Operator, said the cap was a time-out that was needed to assess the impact of wind energy generation.
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“Wind can ramp up and down very quickly,” said Frost.
A balance of electrical supply and demand must be maintained for the grid to operate effectively. A combination of new technology and all parties working together has given the system operator more understanding of how traditional coal-fired power generation and the sporadic output of wind can work together, he said.
Alberta produces about 500 megawatts of electricity from wind, about four to five percent of its total electrical output.
Frost said it’s possible Alberta will reach 900 MW of electricity from wind in less than two years and shortly thereafter 1,500 MW of energy, or 15 percent of the province’s energy supply.
“Albertans like their wind.”
Tim Wise, senior technical and policy adviser with The Pembina Institute, said the removal of the cap was a good step. Alberta was the only province to place a cap on wind energy generation.
“It sent a cooling signal to the industry,” said Wise, who believes the removal of the cap will be a huge benefit for southern Alberta, where most of the wind power is generated.
Wise predicts southern Alberta will soon be a leader in clean energy production that is increasingly popular with consumers.
“Southern Alberta is sitting on a huge wind and solar resource,” he said.
With different wind patterns across the province, the entire 500 MW of electrical generation isn’t turned on and off at the same time, said Wise.
Each of the giant industrial wind turbines generates 1.5 to two MW of power.
Robert Hornung, president of Canadian Wind Energy, said the cap was a large deterrent for wind energy projects.
“It sent a very negative signal to wind energy developers and investors,” said Hornung.
While the 900 MW cap was temporary, there was no sense of when it would be removed.
About 5,000 MW of wind energy projects are in development waiting for approval in the province, he said.
“There certainly is broad support for wind energy.”
