Gord Brown, Member of Parliament for Leeds-Grenville, announced a federal government investment of up to $59 million from the ecoENERGY for Renewable Power program to support the Wolfe Island EcoPower Centre at the official opening of the wind farm on September 10.


Government of Canada Invests in Clean Energy for Ontario

Wolfe island, Ontario - The Government of Canada today helped celebrate the second-largest wind power project in Canada, now delivering clean electricity at competitive prices for Ontarians.
Speaking at the official opening of the project today on behalf of the Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Natural Resources, Gord Brown, Member of Parliament for Leeds–Grenville, announced that the Wolfe Island EcoPower® Centre will receive an investment of up to $59 million from the Government of Canada over the next 10 years through the ecoENERGY for Renewable Power program.

“By investing in clean energy projects, like the Wolfe Island Wind Project, the Government of Canada is helping to create jobs and stimulate the economy while helping to reduce the cost of clean energy for Ontarians,” said Mr. Brown. “Not only does this project promote sustainable energy for Ontario’s future, it will also improve our environment.”

The Wolfe Island EcoPower Centre has 86 turbines capable of generating close to 600 gigawatt hours of clean electricity a year, enough to supply as many as 50,000 homes. The project, on Wolfe Island in Lake Ontario near Kingston, is owned by Canadian Renewable Energy Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian Hydro Developers, Inc. The electricity generated is being sold to the Ontario Power Authority.

“Canadian Hydro is Canada’s largest and most diversified renewable energy company, with 21 operating facilities spread throughout B.C., Alberta, Ontario and Quebec,” said Kent Brown, Chief Executive Officer of Canadian Hydro Developers, Inc. “The strong support of the Government of Canada is important in helping our company identify good renewable energy prospects, work with our stakeholders and build sustainable operations, like the Wolfe Island EcoPower Centre, that will serve Canadians for generations.”

Wind power and other renewable energy sources are increasingly becoming part of Canada’s energy mix. In recognition of this success, last week Minister Raitt announced a series of national roundtables that mark the beginning of a new level of partnership. They will bring together all the key players and promote a new level of discussion and collaboration, not just between governments but with everyone who has a role in determining our energy future — industry, researchers, government and the financial community.

The $1.5-billion ecoENERGY for Renewable Power program provides a one cent per kilowatt-hour incentive, with the goal of increasing Canada’s renewable electricity capacity by about 4,000 megawatts — enough to power a million homes. Canada’s Economic Action Plan builds on this investment with an additional $2.4 billion to support the development and deployment of cleaner energy technologies and supporting infrastructure, including the $1-billion Clean Energy Fund and the $1-billion Green Infrastructure Fund.


Following is the text of Mr. Brown’s speech at the opening of the Wind Farm

Thank you very much.

Let me say that it is a real pleasure to be part of this event, and of course, it’s always an honour for me to have the opportunity to deliver best wishes from Prime Minister Stephen Harper and our Minister of Natural Resources, the Honourable Lisa Raitt.

A special thanks to everyone at Canadian Hydro for having the vision and doing the hard work so we can celebrate another important step toward a goal we all share — a cleaner and more prosperous Canada.

I’m very proud of the role our Conservative Government is playing in making projects like this one possible — investments that are stimulating economic activity and creating and securing jobs for Canadians right now, while supporting our environment and our economy for years to come.

And I don’t think it’s possible to over-emphasize that point — that even in this time of economic uncertainty, when we have so many immediate concerns to address, we must also keep thinking about the future.

That is what our Government’s Economic Action Plan for Canada is all about.

The Economic Action Plan for Canada is a $62-billion investment in Canadians — a clear blueprint for action to ensure Canada does not just weather the storm, but emerges even stronger on the other side.

We’re delivering on this investment right now.

More than 80 percent of the measures in the Plan are already being implemented.

With initiatives like expanded EI benefits and work-share programs, and the $1 billion Community Adjustment Fund, we’re supporting and protecting Canadians and communities that have been hit hardest.

We’ve put more money in Canadians’ pockets with new tax cuts while making investments in infrastructure to create and protect jobs that will make our country even more competitive in the future.

We’re also investing in energy — clean energy.

An economy cannot grow without a reliable supply of energy, but we understand that we have to think about energy differently.
We need to be more efficient — Canada has a wealth of energy, but not so much that we can just throw it away.

That’s why energy efficiency is so important – at home, on the road and in the office.

We also need to find cleaner ways to produce and consume our conventional energy resources.

Our Economic Action Plan creates a new, Clean Energy Fund — a $1 billion investment to accelerate development of key technologies like carbon capture and storage — technologies that will help us meet our energy needs and protect our environment at the same time.

We’ve created the Green Infrastructure Fund — a further $1 billion for projects such as modernized transmission lines to make sure we can deliver our growing supply of renewable energy to Canadians.

These investments are proving to be immensely successful in bringing together new and productive partnerships between government, industry and our academic community.

We’ve created some real momentum, and we want to make sure we build on that — to create a real, long-term vision for sustainable energy in Canada.

Our Government took the next step in building that vision last week, with Minister Raitt’s announcement of three new, national roundtables.

These roundtables mark the beginning of a new level of partnership. They will bring together all the key players, and promote a new level of discussion and collaboration — not just between governments, but with everyone who has a role in determining our energy future — industry, researchers, government, the financial community.

The three roundtables — to be held as soon as schedules permit — will help to inform our decision-making as we set a course for the future of clean energy research and development in Canada; for integrated community energy solutions; and for renewable energy.

We want to — and we must build on the kind of success we are celebrating today, and continue to work and invest with partners like Canadian Hydro.

Since we launched our ecoENERGY for Renewable Power initiative in 2007, we’ve supported the development of more than 3000 megawatts of clean, renewable electricity across Canada — including the largest wind project in Canada – the near Shelburne, ON.

Today, it’s my pleasure to announce we’re also supporting the second-largest wind power project in Canada — over the next 10 years, up to $59 million from the ecoENERGY for Renewable Power program will support the Wolfe Island EcoPower Centre.

These funds will help to ensure that clean electricity generated here can be delivered to the market at competitive prices.

This is an essential investment — a critical step in building a strong, domestic clean energy industry in Canada.

These turbines will generate enough electricity to meet the needs of as many as 50,000 homes — and do it without a single kilogram of greenhouse gas emissions.

And this is just one of dozens of projects our Government will be supporting through the $1.5 billion ecoENERGY Renewable Power initiative.

This one initiative will help to bring about 4,000 megawatts of new renewable electricity on-line — enough to power a million homes.

It is just part of our commitment to meet 90 percent of Canada’s electricity needs from low-emission sources by 2020.

The benefits of this investment are clear — we’re increasing our energy security and we’re doing it without increasing harmful emissions.
We’re generating economic stimulus and jobs when we need those things the most, and we’re creating a new, long-term source of income for landowners here on Wolfe Island.

If you ask me, that’s a pretty good day’s work, and our Government is very proud to be a part of the success we’re celebrating today.

Thank you very much.