World Wind Watch | Green Energy News

March 6, 2005 – Vol.9 No.50

WORLD WIND WATCH.

The Canadian Province of Ontario wants to add 1350 megawatts of renewable power to its grid by 2007, 2700 by 2010.

Starting with hydropower, the government has approved 18 sites that could be developed and has opened a 120-day window of opportunity for hydro developers to submit proposals.

Wind energy comes next. Beginning April 1, 2005 the government will begin accepting proposals for wind capacity that could be built on 21 sites of Crown Land (government owned).

In a first round of expressions of interest 16 wind developers sent in proposals. Wind developers will have 6 months to submit formal proposals after April 1.

Visit the Ontario Ministry of the Environment at http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/ (click Media Center, bottom of page.

Of the six new long-term contracts for 427 megawatts of renewable energy to be supplied to the Southern California Edison (SCE) grid, 5 contracts will require the construction of new capacity. One will be the expansion of an existing facility.

And, of the 427 megawatts of potential green power, 270 megawatts will be wind energy. The remaining sources include geothermal and biomass energy.

SCE now has 2588 megawatts of renewable capacity in its portfolio, about 18.2 percent of total. Of that,1021 megawatts comes from the wind, 892 geothermal, 354 solar, 226 biomass and 95 from small hydro.

As an investor-owned utility, California law requires that 20 percent of SCE’s portfolio be from renewable by 2010. They’re well on their way. Visit SCE at http://www.sce.com/ .

PPM Energy has been given permission by the Prowers County (Colorado) Planning and Zoning Commission to expand the Colorado Green wind farm near the town of Lamar by as many as 100 additional turbines, though only 72 new turbines are likely to be installed.

With 72 new turbines Colorado Green will have 180 turbines and a total capacity of 270 megawatts. The first phase of Colorado Green utilizes GE 1.5 megawatt turbines. PPM is also planning new wind capacity for Bent County, Colorado that could have 100 turbines.

The Planning and Zoning Commission is also reviewing a proposal by a local company, Prairie Wind Energy, to build a wind 46-turbine project also in Lamar.

In January PPM acquired wind energy developer Atlantic Renewable Energy. The new company, PPM Atlantic Renewable, has more than 500 MW of new wind power capacity in the development pipeline for the eastern U.S. states of New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and New Jersey. Visit PPM at http://www.ppmenergy.com/ .