Wind will power our future
Expanding Eastern Kings wind plant is the next logical step for P.E.I.
The opinion piece in your newspaper Peter Noakes (Why we should stop putting up wind turbines, Nov. 4) tries to justify why we should stop putting up wind turbines. Having spent over 35 years in wind energy, I think his points are, largely, incorrect and I’d like to counter some of his points.
1. They cost too much. This is incorrect. Over the last 35 years, the cost of energy from wind turbines has declined by a factor of 10, to less than 5c/kWh. This makes them a strong investment as a source of renewable energy. Referencing one CBC article published in 2019, 10 years ago the cost of new wind power projects was at about 28 cents/kWh, but with improvements in technology, that rate is now between 2 and 4 cents/kWh (https:// www.cbc.ca/news/business/ wind-power-cost-1.4979213).
2. They don’t produce the power we need. P.E.I. is blessed with a stellar wind resource and, as society moves towards zero emissions energy resources, we need to find reliable renewable energy sources. We are fortunate to have a large and economic resource for electricity at our fingertips.
The reality is that renewable energy is intermittent and stochastic. But what many people don’t realize is that no electricity supply is always available. Modern electricity systems rely on a mix of energy resources and, of the options available, the most economic is always used to meet the demand. Renewable sources, like wind and solar energy complement this system nicely. There are assumptions that adding wind energy to the grid means the plan is to rely exclusively on wind energy. That is not the expectation for wind, or for any other energy source.
The world is realizing that more investment needs to go toward renewable energy. The IEA reports that, since 2016, investments in renewable energy has been twice that of coal and oil combined. Wind energy is leading the way, and PEI is a leading player in the use of wind.
3 & 4. They require huge areas of land and their manufacture and installation are extremely damaging to the environment. Wind turbines generally occupy about 3 per cent of the land within a wind plant. The remaining area is undisturbed. A photo of the Hermanville wind project shows the minimal impact on the land and the considerable impact on emissions. In fact, the wind plant at Hermanville has increased the CO2 displaced within the development area, by a factor of 20 relative to the original forested area.
5. Turbines only last 20 to 30 years and their dismantling and recycling are not established. Wind turbine projects are usually financed over 20 years but, with life extension, can reach 30 to 40 years of operation, which is not uncommon for mechanical systems. They are often replaced after their economic lifetime with larger and more economic technology. Unlike the masses of orphan oil wells across the country, which need public money to remove, there are no orphan wind turbines. The value of their recycled materials is enough to pay for their removal.
6. They kill birds and bats. Birds and bats are killed in many ways. According to Environment Canada, cats kills more than 10,000 times, while buildings and vehicles each kill 1,000 times as many birds as wind turbines.
In P.E.I., we are fortunate to have a publicly owned investment vehicle to develop our wind resource. The P.E.I. Energy Corporation has, over the last 20 years, invested in five wind projects that Islanders are proud to own. During that time, the Corporation’s profits have enabled continued investment in wind project and the growing financial capacity provides an asset the province uses to negotiate reduced interest rates to finance our public debt. We all win.
The corporation is continuing to develop ‘net zero’ electricity for Islanders and has two projects underway. A recent study on four locations across P.E.I. has identified the most economic option to be an expansion of the Eastern Kings wind plant. Economics were favoured by the strong wind resource near the eastern tip of the island and by available infrastructure at the existing 30 MW wind project operating unobtrusively in the community for the last 15 years.
The project, under development for nearly two years, has almost full participation from landowners in the project area and has fully conformed to onerous municipal bylaws. Plans to build in 2021 have been set back by a recent decision by the community council to deny the corporation’s special development application. The denial is based on claimed environmental concerns, of which council has no expertise, despite the expenditure of more than $600,000 on highly qualified experts and approval by both provincial and federal agencies. The decision, which would result in lost revenue to landowners of nearly $250,000 per year and the community itself of nearly $150,00 per year is clearly not in the community’s best interest.
As disappointing as it is, it does offer Islanders an opportunity to reflect on where our future energy might come from, who should own the assets, and how should projects be controlled and developed.