July 5, 2007
Calgary, Alberta

It is a real pleasure to be here in Calgary for this announcement. I’d like to thank Rob Toole, the President and CEO of Creststreet, for hosting us this morning.

We’re here to support a renewable energy project, and I really can’t think of a better place in all of Canada than Calgary to talk about energy. Canada is rapidly emerging as an energy superpower largely due to the resources of this province.

Oil and gas account for more than 80 percent of Canada’s trade surplus. We have annual energy exports of approximately $86 billion, and a good chunk of that comes from Alberta. It’s a tremendous advantage to be blessed with this kind of natural wealth. We also know that it’s equally important that we use it wisely. Producing and consuming fossil fuels is responsible for about 80 to 85 percent of all our greenhouse gas emissions and pollution.

So, it’s really important for Canada, as an emerging energy superpower, to also become a clean energy superpower. This is something that I’m very enthusiastic about, and it’s something we’ve been working on. As Ted [Ted Menzies, Member of Parliament, Macleod] mentioned, we recently launched our ecoENERGY Initiatives, and one of our programs is for renewable energy. We have to put a lot more clean energy onto the grid, which brings me to today’s announcement.

This project is much more than a first step; it’s something of a milestone. The Kettles Hill Wind Power Project is the first project to be launched under our Government’s ecoENERGY for Renewable Power initiative. With 35 turbines coming online with phase two, the Kettles Hill Project will generate some 200,000 megawatt hours of clean, renewable, emissions-free electricity every year. That’s enough to power 25,000 homes with no pollution and no greenhouse gases.

Over the next ten years, the Government of Canada will contribute more than $16.5 million to ensure that power produced at Kettles Hill is delivered at competitive prices. I’m proud that our Government has helped to make this project possible. I’m also very pleased to be working with Rob [Rob Toole, President and CEO, Creststreet Kettles Hill LP].  I’d like to thank Creststreet for helping us show Canadians what is possible. Canada can be a clean energy superpower.

You know, Creststreet is not new at this. They’re leaders in renewable energy. We’re seeing a lot of interest right across Canada, in every single province. And we’re very enthusiastic to support the wind industry as we move forward.

We see great potential in renewable energy. That’s why it’s one of our three areas of priority as our Government moves forward in delivering clean energy.

I would also like to mention another organization that we’re very proud to support — Sustainable Technologies Development Canada. I’m pleased to announce another $40 million in new funding through STDC for the development and demonstration of 19 clean technologies that benefit both the environment and the economy.

STDC is a foundation created by the Government of Canada that supports the development and demonstration of clean technologies. STDC supports solutions that address the issues of climate change, clean air, clean water and clean soil. They’ve been doing some really exciting projects right across the country.

In fact, earlier this year, the Prime Minister visited Victoria to announce the first tidal turbine in Canada. It’s a small demonstration project producing clean energy from ocean tides. The proponents are now looking at doing this on a commercial scale.

So, there’s a lot of very fascinating technologies, real cool things, that are happening in the field of renewable energy. And STDC has been there to support many of these initiatives.

We recognize the need for aggressive action on climate change, while at the same time ensuring that we can continue to allow our economy to grow. We have three priority areas.

We know fossil fuels are going to play a significant role in our energy mix for decades to come, so we’re investing heavily in developing new technologies such as clean coal and carbon capture and storage. These are priorities for our Government.

The second priority is the ecoENERGY Renewable Power initiative. As we talked about this morning, this one is an incentive, and we’re very thrilled about that.

And our third priority is our Energy Efficiency initiative.  I’ve said this many times — the largest untapped source of energy in this country is the energy that you and I waste every day.

These are the three core areas that we’re really moving forward on. And we’re proud to have companies like Creststreet that are helping us make it go from the drawing board to reality.

I’m looking forward to my visit to the wind farm. I think that windy southern Alberta has found its niche. And the Government of Canada is very proud to be part of it and to support it. So again, it’s my real pleasure to be here to announce the first wind project under our ecoENERGY Renewable Power initiative.

Thank you.