News
The Future is in the wind: Energy experts keen to capitalize on stiff prairie breezes (Wpg Free Press - Feb.12/06)
THE strong winds that make Portage and Main so famous are ready to fill
the sails of the Manitoba economy.
Those same winds found blowing outside the Perimeter Highway --some of the
strongest and steadiest winds in all of Canada --are poised to offer real
solutions to everything from helping farmers stay on the land to reducing
our addiction to fossil fuels.
The Manitoba government knows that. In November it asked experts in wind
energy to propose how they would generate 1,000 megawatts of wind power
over the next six years in an effort to create a more sustainable and environmentally
friendly economy.
In two weeks, the government will receive boxes of documents from firms, including
Sequoia Energy of Manitoba,outlining how wind turbines erected around the
province could enrich our economy, our environment and our communities.
One of the clear messages in those proposals is that the communities are
already engaged. In Birtle, a 75-year-old farmer walked through a snowstorm
to attend a public meeting on a proposed wind farm in his area. That day
he signed a lease agreement along with dozens of his neighbours. Like him, they
are looking to diversify. They say that fees generated from leasing their
land to allow wind turbines to stand among their grains and grasses can
mean the difference between staying on the farm or not.
The provinces first wind farm in St.Leon injected $1 million a year in land
payments and municipal and education taxes. Some of the corporate profits
are dedicated to a special fund that, among other things, is helping to build
a home in St.Leon for senior citizens.
In early January, a group of students from Cecil Rhodes School in Winnipeg
took a day trip to St.Leon. The lesson in creating a video on the environment
and energy was also a lesson in homegrown pride. The teacher said when they
came over the hill to catch their first glimpse of the turbines, "all
of the students in my car gasped in delight! It was as if they were strolling
in Paris or on a boat in Sydney Harbour and caught a glimpse of a famous
architectural wonder."
You wouldn't have to look much further than those stories to know that the
future of wind power in Manitoba is picking up speed. We are not any different
than the 96 per cent of Canadians polled last February who said they prefer
the deployment of wind energy over conventional sources of electricity like
coal, nuclear, hydro and natural gas.
But the Manitoba government should see in the proposals they will soon receive
how our neighbours are quickly moving to develop wind energy. To the east, Ontario
and Quebec are developing more than 2,700 and 3,500 megawatts of renewable
energy (the vast majority of it in wind power) respectively in the next
four to seven years.
As well, our friends in North Dakota have spent the last few years developing
wind farms, energized no doubt by U.S. President George W.Bush's latest state
of the union address that urged Americans to get off their addiction to
oil and reduce their reliance on the Mideast.
Why Manitobans and Manitoba Hydro in particular should care about the American
push for wind energy is because it creates competition for the space on
transmission lines. Those north-south lines that allow Manitoba Hydro to
sell power to the U.S. hold a limited number of megawatts. And as Americans
demand and create their own "green power," we can expect to see
greater competition for the limited capacity on those lines.
IMAGINE if Manitoba could fill the increasing political and consumer demand
our customers east and south have for renewable and green energies by erecting
more wind farms while at the same time creating millions of dollars in spin-off
jobs in this province.
Imagine if we could be a leader in wind energy to the point where we could
attract international manufacturers of wind turbines to Manitoba, creating
well-paying and sustainable jobs. Imagine if we could catch up to countries
like Denmark and Germany that already meet 18 per cent and six per cent
of their electrical needs respectively through wind energy. (Canada is at
less than one per cent today, but could be at three per cent in the next
eight years). It's all possible. As fossil fuel prices go up and wind technology
gets more sophisticated, it is getting cheaper and smarter to produce wind
energy all
the time.
We also know this can all be done by the private sector in Manitoba and
can be led by made-in-Manitoba companies with Canadian and internationally
experienced partners.
As industry leaders, we know the promise of wind energy. We know it is as
strong environmentally and economically as the famous winds at Portage
and
Main.
Ron Diduch, CEO, and Bob Spensley, president of Sequoia Energy of Manitoba,
were part of the team to develop the first wind farm in Manitoba
in St.Leon.
rdiduch@sequoia-energy.com
bspensley@sequoia-energy.com