Canadian wind market set for 2019 rebound as Alberta lifts off
January 23, 2019
CanWEA chief Robert Hornung on the year ahead – from Alberta’s election to the fallout from Ontario’s cancelled contracts
The Canadian wind market is set for a sharp rebound in 2019 as Alberta’s build-out swings into high gear, although the province’s upcoming election hangs over the market’s future.
Canada added about 565MW of wind capacity in 2018, according to preliminary figures from the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA). That marks the third year of weak installations in a row, following a market pullback in Ontario and Quebec amid an electricity glut in those populous eastern provinces.
But with the first generation of projects out of Alberta’s landmark Renewable Electricity Program due for completion this year from EDP Renewables, Capital Power and Enel Green Power, the Canadian wind market is expected to bounce back in 2019 to its modern-day average around 1GW, CanWEA says.
