New study highlights wind potential in Ontario/Canada

A new study by GE Energy highlights the increasing contribution that wind power can provide in meeting Ontario’s future electricity needs.

The study was undertaken on behalf of the Ontario Power Authority (OPA), the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO), and the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) to assess the implications of large scale wind integration into the Ontario power system. The study found that there were minimal system operation impacts for levels of wind capacity up to 5,000 megawatts (MW).

Ontario currently has more than 300 MW of wind power in service in the province with an additional 1,000 MW expected to be in service by 2010. The study also found that the average capacity level for wind during the summer peak is approximately 17 per cent, with values ranging from 16 to 19 per cent between June and August and 38 to 42 per cent between the months of November and February.

“Clearly there is a potentially significant role for wind power in the future supply mix for the province of Ontario,” notes the study. “The joint study assists our power system planning by clearly identifying the system impacts and when they are likely to occur,” said Bob Gibbons, Director of Resource Integration for the OPA.

“We also found the 17 per cent summer peak average capacity level very interesting. That is up from an existing rule-of-thumb of 10 per cent. ”

“The results were encouraging in two respects,” said Don Tench, Director of Planning and Assessments for the IESO.

“First, how much better the wind regime actually is in Ontario compared with other neighbouring jurisdictions and second, the contribution that Ontario geographic and wind diversity plays in facilitating the integration of larger amounts of wind supply into the electricity system. The IESO is committed to integrating new wind projects in a timely manner into our system while maintaining reliability standards,” said Tench.

“The results of this study are good news for the emerging wind sector in Ontario and for our members, said Robert Hornung, President of CanWEA. “Wind energy is among the fastest growing renewable energy technologies in the world, and this study makes it clear that there is significant scope for growth in wind energy in Ontario,” added Hornung.

A copy of the study can be found at: http://www.ieso.ca/imoweb/pubs/marketreports/OPA-Report-200610-1.pdf.