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Canada’s Opportunity for Wind Energy in Northern and Remote Communities

Canada’s Opportunity for Wind Energy in Northern and Remote Communities. CanWEA Presentation International wind diesel conference Girdwood, Alaska Emilie Moorhouse, Emiliemoorhouse@canwea.ca March 9 th , 2011. CanWEA and Small Wind. About CanWEA

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Canada’s Opportunity for Wind Energy in Northern and Remote Communities

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  1. Canada’s Opportunity for Wind Energy in Northern and Remote Communities CanWEA Presentation International wind diesel conference Girdwood, Alaska Emilie Moorhouse, Emiliemoorhouse@canwea.ca March 9th, 2011 Wind: Canada's infinite source of clean energy.

  2. CanWEA and Small Wind • About CanWEA • CanWEA has more than 420 members, most of whom are focused on utility-scale wind • Small wind committee guides activities, includes manufacturers, installers, service providers … • How we see small wind: • 300 kW and under • ½ of manufacturers in the 30-50 kW range are Canadian • Small wind market is now where utility wind was 10-15 years ago • There is an opportunity to “not miss the boat” on manufacturing • Comfort with small wind breeds comfort with utility-scale wind

  3. CanWEA Small Wind Manufacturers • Canadian-based: • WES Canada (80 kW, 250 kW) • Endurance (5 kW, 35 kW, 50 kW) • Seaforth (50 kW) • ReDriven (3 kW, 5 kW, 10 kW, 20 kW, 50 kW) • Cleanfield Energy Corp. (3 kW) • U.S. based: • Bergey (1 kW, 1.5 kW, 10 kW) • Northern Power Systems (100 kW, 2.2 MW) • Earth Turbines Inc. (2.5 kW)

  4. Wind Energy in Canada 2010

  5. CanWEA’sWindVision 2025 20% of Canada’s electricity demand to be met by wind energy by 2025 Opportunity: Canada has a massive high quality wind resource, a large hydroelectric base, green energy export potential and a solid industrial manufacturing base Impacts: 55,000 MW of installed wind capacity covering only 1/5000th of Canada’s land mass Minimum $79 billion investment in Canada Creates minimum 52,000 new jobs Reduces GHG emissions by 17 Mt CO2 annually

  6. What About Northern and Remote? • Demand is there: • 300 northern and remote communities; 200,000 people • Electricity is expensive and polluting: • Communities can pay up to $1.50 per kWh (often subsidised) • Significant air pollution, ground spills, limited local benefits • Technologies are there: • Experience in Alaska & Ramea demonstrate readiness of wind and wind-diesel hybrids • Expertise is there: • Canada has the experts, the technology and the institutions (e.g. WEICan)

  7. So what is stopping us? • Very hard to displace an incumbent supply methods • Diesel generators are familiar, and fuel is highly subsidized. Bureaucratic funding models for diesel are well established • Utilities only willing to pay avoided cost of diesel at today’s prices, no willingness to factor in avoided cost of pollution (spills, etc) • Have not been able to get “critical mass” • Most projects have been for demonstration purposes, have not been maintained once initial funding was spent • Not enough emphasis on regional strategy • No recognition for wind’s benefits • 1 cent/kWh incentive for large wind introduced in 2002 was the catalyst that Canada needed to develop big wind – ran for 8 years • Not a single northern and remote wind project from this program • So, what do we need?

  8. Northern and Remote Wind Incentive Program (NoRWIP) • Collaborative development: • Led by CanWEA in consultation with communities, ENGOs NRCan, INAC, utilities, provincial/territorial governments • Has been part of CanWEA’s main budget “ask” to the federal government • 2011 it is the main ask from the Federal budget • Incentive that recognises characteristics of northern and remote communities: • Higher cost than southern wind projects • Lower capacity factors • Design influenced by many other “lessons learned”, especially those in Alaska

  9. NorWIP Design • Recognises that there are (at least) two project types: • Large communities and mines with medium energy costs – 6 projects that are 2 MW or higher • Small, remote communities with extremely high energy costs – 20 projects averaging 300 KW • Recognises that we need to build critical mass: • Program first targets leader communities (“hubs”) to build capacity and gain early successes • Program then spreads to other surrounding communities (“spokes”)

  10. NoRWIP Design (cont.) • The incentive: • $250,000 capital grant upon completion of feasibility study • For large northern communities and industrial facilities (mines): • Capital contribution of up to $1,000/kW, or 20% of project budget • For small remote communities: • Capital contribution of up to $4,000/kW, or 30% of project budget • CanWEA initially advocated for a production incentive over 18years, but appears too burdensome for bureaucracy/fiscal management

  11. Costs and Impacts • Total cost of $63 million over 5 years • Direct Impacts: • 26 new wind energy projects (47 MW of capacity) • $500 million dollars in total diesel fuel savings • 8% of demand of elec. of remote communities met by wind • 80 kilotonnes of CO2 emission reductions per year, equivalent to taking more than 26,000 cars off the road; • Indirect impacts: • Foster the development of Canadian wind turbine technology and expertise in wind-diesel applications • Assist remote communities in diversifying their energy supply and stabilizing electricity prices • Support goals of Arctic Sovereignty Strategy

  12. Support for NoRWIP • Communities, First Nations & Aboriginal Groups: • Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, Inuvik NT • Tuktoyaktuk Community Corporation, Tuktoyaktuk NT • Beaufort Delta Regional Council, NT • Town of Inuvik, Inuvik NT • City of Yellowknife, Yellowknife NT • Hamlet of Ulukhaktok, Ulukhaktok NT • Hamlet of Sachs Harbour, Sachs Harbour NT • Ta’an Kwäch’än Council, Whitehorse YK • Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation, Old Crow YK • Tr’ond”ek Hwëch’in Government, Dawson City YK • Ka:’yu:’k’t’h/Che:k:tles7et’h First Nations, Kyoquot BC • Dease River First Nation, Good Hope Lake BC • Centre for Indiginous Environmental Resources, Winnipeg MB • Keewaytinook Okimakanank Chiefs, Fort Severn ON • Village of Inukjuak, Inukjuak, Nunavik QC

  13. Letters of Support for NoRWIP (cont.) • Governments, Utilities and Industry: • Yukon Energy • Government of North West Territories • Government of Nunavut • NGOs: • Mining Association of Canada • Ecology North, Yellowknife NT • Arctic Energy Alliance / City of Yellowknife, Yellowknife NT • David Suzuki Foundation, Vancouver BC • Yukon Conservation Society, Whitehorse YK • Pembina Institute, Edmonton AB • One Sky Institute for Sustainable Living, Smithers BC

  14. Provinces interested in wind-diesel • Certain provinces expressing interest in developing wind diesel: • Hydro Quebec looking to move forward on at least two wind diesel projects • Ontario expressed interest in a wind-diesel incentive program – however expressed need to work with Federal government on this • British Columbia considering a program for integrating renewables for off-grid communities Wind: Canada's infinite source of clean energy.

  15. Summary • “Utility wind” has a bright future in Canada • Many opportunities, but we’re playing “catch-up” • Opportunity for northern & remote wind even greater • Canada has “perfect hand” of need, technology and expertise • Opportunity to access growing market in Canada and overseas • Many challenges in getting at this opportunity • Dealing with an incumbent generator and bureaucratic inertia • Need to build momentum: “Go big or go home” • NorWIP is the catalyst: • Provides push that recognizes wind’s benefit • Relatively small amount ($63m) provides tremendous benefits

  16. Opportunities for Collaboration • We need your help: • Alaska and International success stories need to be heard in Canada • Regional leaders to cross the border and see projects first hand to demonstrate technical feasibility and economic and social benefits of projects • Other opportunities for North-North cooperation? Wind: Canada's infinite source of clean energy.

  17. Questions? Emiliemoorhouse@canwea.ca CanWEA Annual Conference: Vancouver, British Columbia, October 3-6, 2011 • Sessions on small wind and on wind diesel. Call for abstracts open until March 23rd - For more information please visit www.canwea.ca

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