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Wind Facts
An infinite source of clean power: Canada’s bountiful resource.
Wind is powered by the sun. In fact, all renewable energy,
and even energy in fossil fuels, ultimately comes from the
sun. The sun heats our planet to different temperatures in
different places and at different times. This unequal distribution
of heat is what creates wind as warm air rises and cooler
air descends to fill the void. Wind is the ongoing movement
of this air.
As the sun warms the earth, it in turn, warms the air above
it, making it less dense or lighter. As the light air rises,
it creates a low pressure zone near the ground. Air from surrounding
cooler areas rushes in to balance the pressure. These are
called local winds. Temperature differences between the polar
caps and equator, as well as the rotation of the earth, produce
similar results on a global scale, called prevailing winds.
So how much wind do we have in Canada? We have more than
we could ever use, and it’s free. Our vast landscape,
our three windy coastlines, the plains and mountains all contribute
to this endless resource. Canada has still only scratched
the surface of its massive wind energy potential, which currently
powers the equivalent of 563,000 Canadian homes. Tomorrow
we hope to do even more. Countries like Denmark already get
over 20% of their electricity from wind. If we did the same
in Canada, we would have enough wind energy to power 17 million
homes! As long as the wind continues to blow, there is a great
future in wind energy.
Read up on Dr. David Suzuki's article on wind power in
Canada :
The Answer is Blowing in the Wind.
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