Alberta is a province that is known for it’s oil. However, it could easily become a strong producer of clean, renewable wind energy.
Currently there are no incentives to invest in Albertan wind power, despite the millions of dollars required for commercial operations.
Alberta is currently poised to retire 4 GW of it’s coal fired energy generation capacity. This leaves a lot of room for wind power to fill the hole.
However, without provincially endorsed long-term contracts or financial benefits to aid the struggling wind industry, Albertan wind producers will have a tough time finding economic balance.
Ontario and Quebec, which are much larger producers of wind energy, both have such incentives. For example, Ontario’s Feed-In-Tariff (FIT) program mandates long term agreements for the benefit of wind energy producers.
Despite the lack of government support, many private firms are still making the fight for wind energy. Such as BluEarth’s soon to be open 78 MW facility in Alberta.
Maybe it is time for the province to help these pioneers create a strong case for wind energy.