Canada on Verge of Wind Energy "Breakthrough"

"Despite having a huge land mass and some of the world's best sites for turning the energy in wind into electricity - particularly along the Atlantic, Pacific and Great Lakes coastlines and on the Prairies - Canada has been a laggard when it comes to installing wind turbines. Last year, it reached a relatively modest milestone, as wind power met 1 per cent of the country's electricity demand for the first time.

But despite wind's minute contribution to Canada's energy mix, it may be poised for a breakthrough. One sign that a dramatic expansion could be in the offing is that whenever provinces put out tenders for new wind farms, they're swamped by offers to build them.

Manitoba Hydro's recent request for wind energy elicited more than 80 offers. In total, companies were willing to build 30 times more wind-generating capacity than the province was seeking. The province selected a 300-megawatt wind farm, to be the largest in the country when it begins operating in southern Manitoba in 2011."