Not every windy area needs wind energy...

Wind energy is all the rage. If most proponents of renewable energy development had their way, wind turbines would be put up in every region of the world. Governments would be encouraged to implement wind energy systems as quickly as possible and provide significant economic incentives (such as feed-in-tariffs) at high cost. The Al Gores of the world would think this great. Why on earth isn't everybody doing it?

I also thought this way up until I started doing work on my Honours Thesis earlier this year. The health and aesthetic concerns of wind turbines aside, it seemed odd to me that more governments in Canada weren't jumping on the wind energy bandwagon in quite the same fashion that Ontario was. Ontario, after all, recently introduced the Green Energy Act, which includes very high rates provided for generators of wind-sourced electricity.

My thesis included a study of Manitoba, Alberta and Nova Scotia in addition to Ontario. Although each province had significant wind resources -- it is quite windy -- some have a lot more wind energy than others. In Manitoba particularly the rates were quite low and much of it can easily be explained by its current electricity system. Hydroelectricity makes up 98% of all electricity generated in Manitoba and the province generates much more than it uses. Hydro, although not considered green by some, is generally emissions-free, extremely reliable and long-lasting. With the exception of diversifying its generation makeup, Manitoba has no real reason to build wind turbines.

The other three provinces have currently and historically relied on fossil fuel-based electricity generation, primarily from coal, natural gas and even petroleum. In response to climate change and the desire for renewable energy technologies -- and in Ontario's case, reducing air pollution -- these provinces have had considerable incentive to move away from fossil-fuel generation and towards wind energy. It makes sense for them, even if it means putting lots of money into it.

For places like Manitoba that don't really need wind energy, they shouldn't invest into it. Just because wind energy is the trendy thing to do with energy these days does not mean it belongs everywhere.