The 1,000th GE (NYSE: GE) wind turbine to be installed in Canada will enter service next month at Cartier Wind Energy’s Gros Morne project in the Gaspésie Region of Quebec, GE announced at CanWEA’s 27th Annual Conference and Exhibition. Continuing to expand its presence in Canada’s wind energy sector, GE expects to have more than 1,100 wind turbinesinstalled in the country by the end of this year.
The 1,000th unit is among 67 GE 1.5-megawatt wind turbinesto be installed as part of the first phase of the Gros Morne project; the second phase will add another 74 units. “We are pleased to play a role in this milestone for GE’s wind business,” said Robert Guillemette, general manager of Cartier, a joint venture between TransCanada and Innergex. “We installed our first GE wind turbine in 2005, and by 2012, we will own more than 390 GE wind turbines for our projects in the country.”
The first Canadian installation of a GE wind turbine was in Alberta in 2004, and today, GE machines are installed across four Canadian provinces—Alberta, Nova Scotia, Quebec and Ontario—helping governments in those regions meet their greenhouse gas emissions regulations.
GE offers both its 1.5 and 2.5 wind turbines for Canada. The 1.5 is the most widely used utility-scale wind turbine in the world, with more than 16,500 installed for a wide variety of wind regimes. The first North American installation of GE’s advanced technology 2.5 wind turbines was at Suncor Energy’s Kent Breeze project near Thamesville, Ontario.The 2.5 is a product of GE’s evolution in the wind industry and is a leader in the multi-megawatt wind sector.
“Canada has a long history of supporting wind power. We are committed to working with developers such as Cartier to continue installing and improving technology that will help harness the country’s abundant wind resources,” said Simon Olivier, general manager of sales for GE’s renewable energy business in Canada.
Canadais among the world leaders in the production and use of renewable energy. Currently, about 16 percent of the country’s total energy supply comes from renewable resources including small hydro, biomass, wind, solar, geothermal and ocean energy.
Wind farms presently operating in Canada have a total capacity of 4,611 megawatts, enough clean, wind-generated electricity to supply more than 1 million homes, or about 2 percent of Canada’s total electricity demand.