Wind energy is the fastest growing source of new electricity in the world today, growingat a sustained compound annual rate of approximately 30% per year with over40,000MW of installed capacity. In Canada wind power has experienced a slower startvs other countries with only 434MW of capacity installed, over 50% of which has beeninstalled in the last two years. This is due to the abundance of what has been up till nowlow cost hydrocarbon and water resources and little to no offsetting support forrenewable energy resources.These factors have all changed recently with the increase in hydrocarbon costs and theintroduction of the federal government's Wind Power Production Incentive (WPPI) and aseries of provincial initiatives aimed at developing this valuable natural resource.Additionally a new attitude is emerging which is beginning to look at wind energy as alarge scale energy source. Wind energy has the potential to expand dramatically andsupply on the order of 30% of Canada's electrical energy supply. The Canadian WindEnergy Association (CanWEA) has called for policies which would see 10,000 MW (5%of Canada's energy supply) by 2010 and 30,000MW are likely achievable before 2020.Wind power is now growing rapidly in Canada, however several challenges face thisfledgling industry as it expands.As with all new technologies, hurdles such as interconnection, transmission, access tomarket will exist which will impede progress in the near term. Higher costs should beanticipated until these factors are overcome and a permanent industrial complex aroundwind energy has been established. Additionally the market should anticipate severalplayers entering the market who lack sufficient experience to bring projects to completefruition. This will affect market success in the near term for which near term incentivesare designed to overcome, however in the long term wind will be a significant contributorto Canada's energy supply.
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