For some time, Rob1 and I have been yapping about developing wind power on PEI. PEI is both fortunate and unfortunate in God's selection of blessings, lacking for example the natural resources such as a forested hinterland and mining resources that other parts of Canada take for granted. As the weather reports over at Craig's site remind, however, strong winds were clearly on God's list when he created the place. Having some experience with electric utilities, I have a sense that for PEI with its draw of 180 to 200 megawatts and dependency on expensive power from elsewhere, it is possibly sensible to put up at least the 200 towers that would supply 100% of local need. At least it is worth the review. Movement this way has been with them for some time.
What is disconcerting - as we find local politicians finding themselves on their road to Damascus all of a sudden, creating great excitement in those who get excited when local politicians deem a scientific and business idea great - is how the deal will actually work. PEI, like the rest of Atlantic Canada, loves the megaproject dream, preferrably run by a local monopoly on a contract not necessarily open to public scrutiny. As the statute books create a closed market for electricity despite all the unbundling and competition being seen in the eastern North American electricity market, you can bet a cornerstone of the deal is access to a few selected companies. Also potentially fascinating and yet worrying is the hydrogen aspect of it - they may be banking on a technology unproven in the market of using wind to split water to burn the hydrogen in various ways. Having had their very own symposium, however, the local politicians may now feel they are all world-classy lab-coatists. What would be easier is to see an open market of simple wind generation into the existing electricity grid with individual operators able to sell into the eastern North American grid. That would, however, require "wheeling" - use of someone else's power lines to move power through an area - as well as denying someone a monopoly on generation. The harsh and illogical reception Irving got to a proposal for privately funding such a development, tactily supported by the local Tory government, speaks to the likelihood of the marketplace being involved in the development. Introducing hydrogen into the mix allows for mesmerification of the whole project.
Given the problems the provincial government has had with things like arithmatic and the continuing tradition of state involvement in enterprise that would embarrass an disco-era East German, government control is not reassuring cornerstone of this still interesting development. Will it turn out to be more cucumbers in Newfoundland?
Comments
David Janes - January 15, 2004 10:50 am
Wind power may actually work in PEI, because
(1) not a large population
(2) the population is somewhat isolated, even from each other
(3) the population is not going to grow
It won't work in Ontario, for the negation of the above reasons.
One thing to keep in mind is _wind power is expensive_, though costs may be reduced through scale if society (in general) picks up on it in a big way.
The other problem with wind power is that it doesn't produce electricity in the way people use it. Power production has to be _exactly_ matched at all times to power consumption. This is actually quite complicated to do under the best of circumstances. This means that you have to be able to "bleed" off power from wind generators if there is too much and draw in power from elsewhere if there isn't enough. Note that this is what makes a free market of _small_ electricity producers difficult to do.
David Janes - January 15, 2004 10:51 am
The 1 tower in Toronto at the CNE provides power for 400 houses, at the best of times.
Alan - January 15, 2004 10:59 am
That is true that there cannot be true isolation from the grid but only net give and draw. This is good physics as well as good service. The problem PEI faces is the cost of any power infrastructure. Building a gas pipe and in province 200 megawatt generator - the last wacky plan - costs more that 200 one megawatt wind turbines - and required payment for the power source. Wind does not. That being the case, the private enterprise opportunity, which Irving was apparently willing to take on as a business risk, should be reasonable and available. Irving loves verticle integration and is a key electric user through its sppud processing. The risk to the local monopolists is allowing big users to self-supply thus ruining their "unending keg party of the captured purchaser."
Toby Rockwell - January 16, 2004 3:11 pm
Question from a dumb USer, but how important is the NIMBY factor going to be?
(Not in my back yard, in case that's a national acronym)
There were tentative plans afoot to set up windpower that would have powered Cape Cod and a bit more of Eastern Massachusetts, but the whole thing got Keboshed basically because it would have mildly impacted the view of people on Marthas Vineyard and the Cape (entry house $1M+), and possibly disturbed sailing in a small area (near a well connected yacht club).
Alan - January 16, 2004 3:14 pm
Have a look at this discussion of on the CityFiltre for Charlottetown for some sense of the NIMBY effect on PEI, Toby.
Power Blackout - March 3, 2004 2:55 pm
Sure windpower will work in Ontario.
Just put it outside of Queen's Park or Toronto City Hall!
<br>
<br>
<i>Power Blackout</i>