BC's Bear Mountain Adds 102 MW to Canada's Current Installed Wind Energy Capacity
Following up on my earlier blog post, the Bear Mountain Wind Park is now officially open, online and generating electrons to the British Columbia power grid, bringing Canada's total current installed wind energy capacity to 2,956 MW.
The $200 million Bear Mountain project located near Dawson Creek, BC was completed on time and on budget. With a total capacity of 102 MW, the park will produce enough energy to power most of BC's South Peace region. Under the Government of Canada's ecoENERGY for Renewable Power program, the project will receive a one cent per kilowatt-hour incentive over the next ten years, in accordance with the terms of the agreement. The project includes green attributes, which AltaGas can trade or sell to third parties. One of those third party purchaser's is Bullfrog Power.
The Canadian Wind Energy Association recently made the following announcements regarding the development of wind energy in Canada:
- 523 MW of new installed capacity in 2008;
- 2009 will be a record year for wind energy development in Canada with new installed capacity from wind energy projects totalling 790 MW; and
- By the end of 2009, Canada will have 3,159 MW of installed capacity with wind developments operating in every province for the first time.
Click here for a map of Canada's current installed wind capacity (as of November, 2009).
With 19 wind projects bid into BC Hydro's 2008 Clean Power Call, British Columbians can expect more of their electricity to come from the natural power of the wind.
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