2013 was a record year for wind energy development in Canada with new installed capacity from 23 wind energy projects totaling nearly 1,600 MW, ranking 5th globally for new installed capacity.
Canada finished 2013 with 7,802.72 MW of total installed capacity—supplying approximately 3 per cent of Canada’s electricity demand with enough power to meet the needs of over 2 million Canadian homes.
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In 2013, wind energy projects were built and commissioned in the Canadian provinces of Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia and Saskatchewan. At the end of 2013, Ontario and Quebec led the country in total installed capacity with close to 2,500 MW each.
Canada’s wind power installed capacity infographic. (Credit: Canadian Wind Energy Association)
Canada’s installed wind power capacity
As we reported earlier, the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) expects global wind power installations of at least 47 GW in 2014, a dramatic increase over 2013 levels. The market will be led by China, but with strong recovery in the US market, and record installations in Canada and Brazil; and hundreds of MW in South Africa.
“The global market is back on track for 2014”, said Steve Sawyer, GWEC Secretary General. “A strong Chinese market, recovery in the US and an increasing role for emerging economies in the global market means that after 2014 the market will resume its steady if unspectacular growth, and end up just about doubling total global installations during the five year period to 2018.”
According to the International Renewable Energy Agency, last year in the wind industry China and Canada provided positive impulses while the outlook for the United States remains somewhat mixed because of political uncertainty. The offshore wind industry is still concentrated in Europe, particularly the United Kingdom and Germany.