SAULT STE. MARIE - The Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of
Health and Minister for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern
Ontario, was at the Prince Wind Energy Farm today to announce more than $53
million in funding, over ten years, for the largest wind energy project in
Canada. Minister Clement, speaking on behalf of the Honourable Gary Lunn,
Minister of Natural Resources, was joined by Mr. Harry Goldgut, Chairman and
Co-Chief Executive Officer of Brookfield Power, to make the announcement.
"We need energy to power our economy, and we need clean energy to protect our
environment - that's a priority for our government and the foundation of our
practical, balanced approach to climate change," said Minister Clement. "By
investing in projects like this one, we are making sure that clean, renewable
power from the wind, the sun and the tides will form an increasingly important
part of our energy mix for the future."
The Prince Wind Energy Farm, situated on 20,000 acres of land northwest of
Sault Ste. Marie, qualified for the one cent per kilowatt-hour incentive under
the ecoENERGY for Renewable Power initiative. The wind farm's 126 turbines are
capable of generating up to 189 megawatts of clean, renewable power, enough to
power nearly 40,000 homes. Over ten years, this ecoENERGY program will provide
about $53 million to the wind project and ensure that renewable energy generated
at the wind farm can be delivered at competitive prices for Canadian
consumers.
"As a global renewable power company based in Ontario, we are proud to be the
developers of Canada's largest wind energy farm. The approximately $400-million
project took a little over twelve months to construct and has now been
generating clean renewable energy for the past year," said Mr. Goldgut. "The
project's success is a tribute to the members of the local community, the First
Nations community, our employees and construction partners, and the federal,
provincial and municipal governments and their agencies."
Businesses, municipalities, institutions and organizations are eligible to
apply for funding under ecoENERGY for Renewable Power, announced by the
Government in January 2007. The initiative provides $1.48 billion to increase
Canada's supply of clean electricity from renewable sources such as wind,
biomass, low-impact hydro, geothermal, solar photovoltaic and ocean energy. It
will encourage the production of up to 4,000 megawatts of new electricity from
renewable energy sources - enough electricity to power about one million
homes.The Prince Wind Energy Farm is owned by Brookfield Power, the company
that comprises the power generating and marketing operations of Brookfield Asset
Management Inc. Brookfield Power has developed and successfully operated
hydroelectric power facilities for over 100 years. Brookfield Power's portfolio
comprises more than 3,800 megawatts of capacity and includes more than 155
hydroelectric power generating stations and one pumped storage facility located
on 60 river systems, one wind farm, and two thermal plants, principally in
northeastern North America and Brazil.
FOR BROADCAST USE:
The Honourable Gary Lunn, Minister of Natural Resources, has announced the awarding of two geoscience survey contracts worth $1.73 million. The contracts will provide knowledge essential to finding new mineral and energy deposits in areas of B.C. affected by the mountain pine beetle.-->
FOR BROADCAST USE:
The Government of Canada is contributing more than $53 million to the Prince
Wind Energy Project near Sault Ste. Marie. It's the largest wind energy project
in Canada. The wind farm will operate 126 turbines capable of generating enough
electricity to power 40,000 homes.
Media may contact:
Louise Girouard Director of Communications Office of the Minister
Natural Resources Canada Ottawa 613-996-2007
Shelley MoorheadDirector of Communications, Canadian
OperationsGatineau, QuebecTel:
819-561-8921shelley.moorhead@brookfieldpower.com
The general public may contact:
Mon-Fri, 8:30-4:30 EDTTelephone: 613-995-0947TTY:
613-996-4397(teletype for the hearing-impaired) E-mail: questions@nrcan.gc.ca
The following media backgrounder is available at www.nrcan.gc.ca/media:
ecoENERGY
Renewable Initiative: Increasing Canada's Renewable ecoENERGY Supplies
NRCan's news
releases and backgrounders are available at www.nrcan.gc.ca/media.
