Backgrounder

GREEN POWER

The green power for the federal facilities covered by the first institutional green power agreement in Canada comes from two large wind turbines owned and operated by Vision Quest Windelectric Ltd. of Calgary. Installation of the two turbines on separate sites at Castle River East and Belly River, near Pincher Creek in southwestern Alberta, was completed earlier this month. With a rated capacity of 600 kW the two turbines are the largest operating turbines in Canada, along with one in Ontario. Each turbine is capable of supplying on average sufficient electricity to power 200 homes. The turbines were manufactured in Denmark by Vestas Inc. Denmark is the largest wind turbine producer in the world, and 7% of its electricity is generated by wind power.

ENMAX, Calgary's electric system, is responsible under its agreements with the federal government for making sure that its power suppliers meet contract specifications. To qualify, electricity must be generated from new capacity. As well, green power suppliers will have to meet and maintain EcoLogo certification under Environment Canada's Environmental Choice Program. The green power is provided through the regular Alberta electricity grid at a premium price.

Under the first institutional green power agreement in Canada, 2.2 million kilowatt-hours of electricity provide all the electrical needs of facilities owned or operated by Environment Canada in Alberta. This is equivalent to electricity used by approximately 250 homes.

About 10 million kilowatt-hours of electricity are to be obtained for facilities owned or leased by Natural Resources Canada, if a further agreement is approved -- enough to power more than 1,000 homes.

Together, the agreements would displace more than 10,000 tonnes of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide annually, since a corresponding amount of Alberta's existing coal and natural-gas fired electricity production will not be used. As well, reducing coal-fired electricity will cut emissions of smog-producing nitrogen oxides, acid rain-causing sulphur dioxide, fine particulate matter suspected of harming human health , and several toxic heavy metals.

Natural Resources Canada and Environment Canada will work with ENMAX to facilitate the purchase of green power by other federal departments. Alberta currently generates some 52 tera-watt-hours of electricity, with resultant greenhouse gas emissions of 48 million tonnes of carbon dioxide or the equivalent.

Green power is becoming more available as provincially-controlled electricity markets are deregulated, allowing both generating companies and energy-service or distribution companies to compete to meet customer needs for better prices and more environmentally acceptable sources or means of production.

Environment Canada is assuming ownership of the emission reduction credits arising from the green power purchase for its facilities in Alberta, as part of a pilot project to monitor and register such credits. West Kootenay Power Ltd. has also purchased some emission reduction credits resulting from green power generation in Alberta, as part of a pilot project in British Columbia to trade greenhouse gas emission reduction credits. The Town of Pincher Creek, Alberta, has already committed to green power service. Federal and provincial ministers are considering the possibility of tradeable emission schemes as a market-oriented mechanism to enable Canada to meet any legally- binding treaty commitments which might be made further to negotiations under the Framework Convention on Climate Change meetings in December in Kyoto, Japan.

Green power purchases by the federal government were first proposed in the November 1994 report to the Ministers of Finance and the Environment by the Task Force on Economic Instruments and Disincentives to Sound Environmental Practices. An examination of such purchases was also one of the new initiatives announced in October 1996 in NRCan's Renewable Energy Strategy—Creating a New Momentum, which focuses on accelerating the development and marketing of renewable energy technologies.

For further information please contact:

Leslie Welsh
Environment Canada
(819) 953-1127