Manitoba Hydro has been assessing the feasibility of wind power since the early 1990s.
Wind power is a clean and renewable energy technology generated most commonly through the use of a turbine mounted on a tower. In the presence of sufficient wind, the blades on the turbine will spin causing the drive shaft to turn, and the generator to produce electricity. Wind power can be generated on a large scale, as seen at the St. Leon Wind Farm, or on a small scale for residential, commercial and remote applications.
Wind is intermittent and undispatchable, meaning it cannot be relied upon to produce electricity when needed. Other dispatchable sources of generation such as hydro, thermal, etc., are required to back-up wind generation when the wind is reduced or not available.
This results in wind power (intermittent power) having a lower commercial value than generation resources that are firm or dispatchable (like hydro or thermal).
For a large utility-based wind farm, the installed wind generation cost is approximately $2,000/kW (2007 CDN$). For a small wind system, the installed cost is about $5,500/kW (2007 CDN$). Small wind systems are currently too expensive to see large market penetration.
The St. Leon Wind Farm is privately owned and Manitoba's first wind farm containing a total of 63 wind turbines over an area of 93 square kilometers. This site is presently capable of delivering 99 MW of wind power with enough land area and transformer capacity of adding another 67 MW.
Manitoba Hydro has a Power Purchase Agreement with AirSource Power to purchase wind power for up to 25 years from the St. Leon Wind Farm. This renewable energy source can augment the hydroelectric power produced by Manitoba Hydro.
View more details on the St. Leon Wind Farm.
