Northeastern BC has one of the world’s most extraordinary wind resources for several compelling reasons.

No other factor is more fundamental to the amount of wind power available for converting kinetic energy into electricity than wind speed. This is because the power in the wind is a cube function of wind speed: when wind speed increases by a factor of 2, the amount of power available increases by a factor of 8. Small changes in wind speed result in big changes in the amount of electricity that can be produced. 

Wind speeds atop the hundreds of kilometers of Rocky Mountain foothills in northeastern BC are not just slightly higher than those of most existing wind parks around the world: they are significantly higher. 

According to the US Department of Energy, areas with annual average wind speeds around 6.5 m/s and greater at 80 m height are generally considered to have a suitable wind resource for development. Many wind park sites in northeastern BC have Class 1 wind with an average speed well above 8 m/s. What’s more, the wind blows throughout the year, pushing capacity factors north of 40%. 

Wind direction

Wind direction is also an important factor in a site’s power potential. As this wind rose from Thunder Mountain shows, wind in the region is predominantly WSW—perpendicular to most wind park sites. This orientation allows turbines to be aligned single file with minimal spacing, optimizing the number of turbines and dramatically reducing mechanical losses due to changes in wind direction. 

The foothills are generally moderately sloped, rounded on top and have nothing to leeward but open prairie. When the wind arrives at a perpendicular angle, it accelerates up the slope, peaks at a narrow ribbon of flat terrain at the top, and flows off to the east with little turbulence. Textbook perfect wind park terrain. 

Firming infrastructure

Northeastern BC also has the WAC Bennett Dam, the GM Shrum Generating Station (GMS), and Williston Lake. The dam is BC’s largest, the generating station is BC’s largest, and the lake is BC’s largest. Together, they constitute the mightiest battery in North America for firming renewables. BC’s new Clean Energy Act stipulates that these heritage assets are to be used for this purpose, and that excess amounts of electricity are to be exported. 

Several of Aeolis’ best wind park sites are not far from the WAC Bennett dam complex and the 512 kV lines that transmit power to load centers in the south. Although the existing grid can accommodate a considerable amount of new wind-generated electricity, it’s only a fraction of the region’s potential. Fortunately, the BC Government’s proposed Northeast Transmission Line will parallel most of the region’s wind park sites, creating additional demand for clean, renewable wind energy. The other transmission option, espoused by Blue Fuel Energy, is to integrate wind and hydro to produce liquid fuels such as methanol and DME. These ultra-clean-burning fuels are “liquid electricity” that can be readily transported to markets in tanker cars along the region’s underutilized railway network.