World Wind Watch | Green Energy News

May 19, 2002 – Vol.7 No.8

WORLD WIND WATCH.

Canada expects to increase its wind capacity by 500 percent by the introduction of the $260 million (CDN) ($170 million) Wind Power Production Initiative (WPPI). Similar to the Production Tax Credit (PTC) in the U.S., the WPPI will pay qualifying wind energy producers between 0.8 and 1.2 cents for every kilowatt hour of wind generated electricity produced. WPPI will remain in effect for the first ten years of operation.

Currently Canada has about 200 megawatts of installed wind capacity. The Incentive should bring that number to 1 gigawatt. The PTC in the U.S. has been responsible for the significant growth of wind energy in the country. The WPPI, as a paid incentive, can be used as financial leverage by wind power producers to gain additional funding for projects. For the WPPI program, terms and conditions visit http://www.nrcan.gc.ca/redi .

The U.K. Government has given the go-ahead for what will be that country’s largest, to date, onshore wind power project. The 58.8 megawatt GBP 35 million ($51 million) facility to be built at Cefn Croes, Wales will be built by the Renewable Development Company and should be on line by mid-2003.

To become part of the growing wind energy industry in the U.S. Grupo Auxiliar Metalurgico SA (Gamesa) of Spain has signed a Joint Venture Agreement with Navitas Energy of Minneapolis, Minnesota to develop wind power projects in the U.S. upper Midwest. The new company will be 75 percent owned by Gamesa and will focus on wind opportunities in Minnesota and North and South Dakota. Navitas currently has 780 megawatts of wind capacity under development. The new venture will be focus on building another 1000 megawatts.

With the expected boost in sales of turbines, Gamesa will also go ahead with plans to build a wind turbine production plant in the U.S. At an as yet undecided location the plant would eventually create 200 new jobs and be open by the second half of 2003. Visit Navitas at http://www.windpower.com/ and Gamesa at http://www.gamesa.es/

Other ventures this week were in Spain, where a new company, Biovent Energia, mostly held by power utility Iberdrola, will invest over 1 billion euros ($920 million) through 2005. That investment could lead to the development of more than 3.8 megawatts of new wind capacity in the autonomous region of Castilla y Leon.

And in France SIIF Energies has signed an agreement to purchase the wind energy activities of the enXco Group. enXco owns 191 megawatts of wind capacity and operates and maintains another 550 megawatts. Under development or in planning stages is another 1600 megawatts in the U.S., Europe and Australia. Visit enXco at http://www.enxco.com/ .