Basking in the wind

GASPÉ

Southwestern Alberta is not the only part of the country that has seen its economy benefit from a flurry of wind power development. Quebec's Gaspé region now has more than 200 turbines, and a wind industry that has helped balance some of the weakness in its fishing, forestry and agriculture businesses.

QUEBEC

The area also benefits from Hydro-Quebec's procurement policies, which ensure the utility will buy wind power only from developers that spend 60 per cent of their projects' costs in the province. That has spurred several companies that make or assemble wind turbine equipment to locate in Quebec.

While the rules are tough on developers, "Quebec might become the manufacturing centre in Canada for wind energy because of this policy," said John Keating, chief executive of Calgary-based wind developer Canadian Hydro Developers Inc.

IN CANADA

Over all, the Canadian wind industry employed almost 4,400 people in 2007, and that number will reach 10,000 by 2015, according to figures compiled for the Canadian Wind Energy Association. The industry currently spends almost $300-million annually on payroll, the study said, and adds almost $900-million a year to the overall Canadian economy.

AROUND THE WORLD

The booming wind sector now has about 300,000 workers around the world, according to a recent study from the Worldwatch Institute. The biggest concentration is in Germany, where more than 80,000 people are employed in the business.

The Worldwatch study projects that as many as 2.8 million people could be employed in the wind industry by 2050.

Richard Blackwell