Wind Power Production Incentive (WPPI)

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for the incentive, the prospective producer must negotiate and sign a contribution agreement with NRCan. The agreement contains the following criteria, among others, for setting up a wind farm. The wind farm must:

• be commissioned between April 1, 2002 and March 31, 2007;
• be independently metered at the point of interconnection with the electricity grid; and
• have a minimum nameplate capacity of 500 kilowatts. In northern and remote locations, the minimum capacity is 20 kilowatts.

Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) will implement this program and ensure that energy producers in every province and territory have the opportunity to take advantage of it.

To encourage regional participation, the program has set a minimum and maximum capacity for every province and territory, which will be reviewed on an ongoing basis.

Summary

Objectives and Benefits of the WPPI
The WPPI encourages participation from prospective producers in all regions and expects to leverage approximately $1.5 billion in capital investments across Canada.

The new wind power capacity and its momentum is projected to reduce GHG emissions by three megatonnes annually by 2010.

Terms of the Incentive
The amount of the incentive is about half of the current estimated cost premium for wind energy in Canada for facilities with good wind sources. The incentive is structured to reflect the decline in premiums for wind energy over time. The incentive can be claimed for every kilowatt-hour of net production during the first ten years of production as follows.

The WPPI is expected to motivate provincial and territorial governments, electric utilities, retailers and power consumers to act and participate in similar programs. The incentive will also help establish wind energy as a full-fledged competitor in the electricity marketplace.

Alberta Contact(s):
See National Contact.