Preamble
Figures from CanWEA.
This presentation is based on one I gave just over a year ago. Last year, there was only one wind farm in Ontario. Now Ontario leads all the provinces on installed capacity. How did this happen?
Wind Energy Isn't Alternative
The traditional windmill
Pitstone Windmill, Bedfordshire - Photo Credit: Michael Reeve.
The American farm wind pump
Typical Wind Turbine Configuration
photo credit: Siemens
Alternative: Direct Drive Wind Turbine
photo credit: Americas Wind Energy
The Also-Ran: Darrieus VAWT
photo credit: Atlantic Wind Test Site, via CanWEA.
Despite extensive research work in Canada and abroad, the vertical axis wind turbine has never been a commercial success. It won't self-start, shows variable torque throughout its rotation, and tends to suffer from fatigue. Its ability to accept wind from any direction is less of an advantage than you'd think; in strong (useful) winds, the wind pretty much comes from the same direction.
Turbine Size: Tiny - Marlec 50W
Turbine Size: Small - Bergey 10kW
Turbine Size: Utility: Vestas DWT 400kW
Turbine Size: Huge - RePower 5MW
photo credit: RePower
How Turbines Have Grown
figure credit: Vestas
Energy yield has increased 42x in 21 years. That's over 19%/year, or doubling in less than 4 years. Not quite Moore's Law, but pretty nifty for rotating plant ...Other applications
- water aeration
- wind/diesel hybrids for remote areas
- water purification
- Hydrogen? Who knows!
Ontario RFP Winners
Image credit: OPA
2004 RFP winners
- Erie Shores Wind Farm, Erie Shores Wind Farm L.P. (Port Burwell), 99 megawatts
- Prince Wind Farm, Superior Wind Energy Inc. (Prince Township, near Sault Ste. Marie), 99 megawatts
- Melancthon Grey Wind Project, Canadian Hydro Developers, Inc. (Shelburne), 67.5 megawatts
- Blue Highlands Wind Farm, Superior Wind Energy Inc. (Blue Mountains), 49.5 megawatts
- Kingsbridge Wind Power Project, EPCOR (Goderich), 39.6 megawatts
2005 RFP II winners:
- Kingsbridge II Wind Power Project, Epcor Power Development (Ontario) Limited Partnership [Goderich], 158.7 MW.
- Kruger Energy Port Alma, Kruger Energy Port Alma Ltd Partnership [Port Alma], 101.2 MW.
- Leader Wind Power Project A, Leader Wind Corps (Enbridge) [Kincardine], 100.65 MW.
- Leader Wind Power Project B, Leader Wind Corps (Enbridge) [Kincardine], 99 MW.
- Melancthon II Wind Project, Canadian Hydro Developers [Shelburne], 132 MW.
- Prince II Wind Power Project, Brascan Power Wind - Prince II (Brascan Power) [Sault Ste. Marie], 90 MW.
- Ripley Wind Power Project, Suncor Energy Products Inc and EHN Windpower Canada Inc. [Ripley], 76 MW.
- Wolfe Island Wind Project, Canadian Renewable Energy Corps (Canadian Hydro Developers) [Kingston], 197.8 MW.
More updates on ontarioelectricityrfp.ca.
WindShare
- started building community support in 1997
- unbelievable amount of permitting and bureaucracy required before building
- secured various grants from federal/provincial/city bodies
- first share issue 2002
- turbine built December 2002 – January 2003
- our co-op model now in use by groups associated with OSEA, and worldwide
Why and how of WindShare:
- because we could do it
- because we should do it
- we're disconnected from the sources of generation, and should consider the consequences
- it's a cool landmark
- because people wanted it
- currently own half of a 750kW wind turbine at ExPlace; other half owned by Toronto Hydro
- community coop with ~400 members
- members invest, and get dividends from sale of power
- part of community wind farm development, LakeWind
Wind Siting: Selection
So how do you find good land?
photo credit: Vestas
Wind Siting: Offshore
photo credit: Siemens
Transmission Problems
Image Credit: OPA.
Ontario does not have enough transmission lines to get power from where it's generated to where it's used.
Visual Clutter
photo credit: Stan Shebs
Thanks!
