Capturing the wind

By Paul Adair

While the Canadian government has declared an ambitious commitment to reduce national emissions by 40 to 45 per cent below 2005 levels by 2020 and to hit Net Zero by 2050, there is a question as to how Canada can possibly achieve these lofty targets.

For some – to quote singer-songwriter Bob Dylan – the answer is blowing in the wind.

In 1978, the world’s first wind turbine was produced in Denmark, pioneering many of the wind generations technologies currently being used today. Two years later, the world’s first wind farm (20 turbines) was put online, and the recognition of wind’s value as a source of energy has only taken off since.

And it’s not hard to see why. Wind is an abundant and inexhaustible cost-effective power source and, given southern Manitoba’s geography and reputation as a windy climate, the province is seen as a prime location for wind farm development.

“Where the wind farms are built in Manitoba, the topography is good and the wind resource is strong and plentiful,” says John Windsor, Vice President, Renew- able Generation Operations at Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. “The province is also an attractive location because it is very supportive of wind energy given the synergies between wind farms and traditional farming.”

Manitoba also has the benefit of being a relatively low-risk economic market to do business in when compared to other many jurisdictions, especially south of the border where energy buyers and sellers tend to face significant price fluctuations.

“Developers like us are – for the most part – risk adverse organizations,” says Windsor. “If we’re able to build a project and put a 25-year power purchase agreement (PPA) in place with an AA credit worthy off-taker such as Manitoba Hydro, we would naturally look very favorable on that kind of arrangement, as would our shareholders.”

As anyone who has ever set sail would know, wind and water go hand in hand. The same can be said about wind power and hydroelectricity.

Wind is an inherently intermittent source of energy and, as such, must be firmed and shaped so it can be brought to market within a predictable delivery quantity and schedule. Because almost all of Manitoba’s electricity is currently hydroelectric, reservoirs can store water when the wind is blowing and release water to generate electricity when the wind is calm. A greater diversity of Manitoba Hydro’s generation capabilities in this way provides greater value for Manitoba Hydro, and ultimately, all residents of Manitoba.

With two world-class wind farms already in the province and opportunities for growth, Manitoba has positioned itself to be a leader in wind generation and the road to Net Zero.

ST. LEON WIND FARM

For more than 30 years, Canada’s Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. has been committed to delivering sustainable energy and water solutions to customers and communities across North America. The company’s growing portfolio of clean, renewable wind, solar, hydro, and thermal power generation facilities today represent more than 3.4 gigawatts (GW) of renewable generation capacity in operation spread across six provinces, 11 states in the United States, and eight deregulated U.S. power markets.

The company’s St. Leon wind farm is not only the company’s first foray into the wind power sector, but also Manitoba’s original wind generation project. Commissioned in 2006, the St. Leon wind farm is a 50,000-acre facility located on the Pembina Escarpment in the Rural Municipalities (RM) of Lorne and Pembina. Algonquin later added ten turbines to the wind farm in 2012, bringing the total to 73 Vestas 1.65 MW turbines and delivering a capacity of 120-MW – enough to meet the needs of 40,000 homes or a city the size of Brandon.

ST. JOSEPH WIND FARM

As the country’s largest operator of wind power, Pattern Energy is dedicated to the production of clean, renewable energy, by Canadians and for Canadians. The compa- ny has more than 1,800- megawatt (MW) of installed capacity and has brought ten wind facilities to operation across four provinces, including the largest First Nation wind facility in the country.

Located approximately 100 kilometres south of Winnipeg in the RM of Montcalm, Pattern’s 30,000-acre wind farm in St. Joseph was commissioned in 2011 and harnesses a Manitoba’s wind resources to produce clean, renewable energy while also supporting the local economy with the creation of jobs and tax revenue.

The 138-megawatt (MW) wind farm consists of 60 Siemens turbines, each with a nameplate capacity of 2.3 MW. The turbines are set on towers 80 metres high, which generate power equal to the needs of about 120,000 Canadians/50,000 homes every year. Manitoba Hydro purchases St. Joseph Wind’s electricity generation under a 27-year power purchase agreement.

Evolving Technology

Wind as a source of energy is still relatively new to the Canadian market, particularly when compared to more traditional energy resources such as fossil, hydroelectric, or even nuclear. That being said, the technology and innovation surrounding wind power generation has evolved tremendously in the decades since it was first introduced.

When it comes to generating power from the wind, bigger tends to be better. Measured by the distance from the ground to the middle of the turbine’s rotor, a wind turbine’s hub height has increased significantly since 2000 and is now approximately 66 per cent taller (94 metres) than it once was. What’s more, the hub height is expected to continue growing to reach about 150 metres by 2035!

The diameter of the turbine’s rotors has also increased in size over the years to capture more energy. In 2010, turbines in the United States were 115 metres or smaller, while the average rotor diameter in 2021 was 127.5 metres – longer than a football field and 600 per cent larger than it was in 2000.

As technology advances and more fossil-based power sources are pulled from the grid, renewables like solar and wind will increasingly be called upon to fill the gap, especially when those resources can be complimented with more cutting-edge battery storage capacity that lasts for days, not hours.

“Everybody recognizes that the status quo will not get us where we need to be to achieve our environmental targets,” says Windsor. “There is a place for wind energy; we just need to figure out how to get it done and then work together to make the change.” v