TD bank recently announced an investment of over $50,000 in carbon credits that will benefit a provincially funded PEI wind farm. As the banking behemoth vies for carbon neutrality, critics are quick to point out that islanders aren’t the ones receiving the immediate benefits of this renewable energy source whose growth is just over the horizon.

For the best part of the last decade, PEI has been a North American leader in the development and generation of wind energy. In 2001, the North Cape wind farm, which was funded through the province, became the first utility grade wind farm in Canada. This sector has grown significantly, as electrical generation from wind became competitive with non-renewable sources, leading to the start-up of private wind developments as well.

In his 2008 speech from the throne Premier Robert Ghiz announced that the province will be developing up to 500 megawatts of wind generation capacity in partnership with Maritime Electric Company and private developers by 2013. Regulatory measures have also spurred the development of PEI's wind farms, which currently provide over 15% of the province's energy to the grid.

Increased wind energy development and the corporate responsibility movement have spurred the interest from one of the country's biggest banks as it aims to become carbon neutral by the end of next year. TD bank recently announced that they will purchase more than 10,000 megawatt hours of wind-generated electricity from the North Cape wind farm at a cost of $50,000 for the next 18 months. In an interview with the CBC, environment minister Richard Brown said that he hopes the revenue will fund more renewable energy projects in the province.

Despite the good news, there are those on the island that have criticized PEI's choice to export most of its wind energy for consumption outside of the province. In an article published by the Amherst Daily News, provincial NPD leader James Rodd commented that options to allow local consumption of sustainable energy should be examined before further business decisions are made.

Rodd said the wind farms at North Cape and East Point are examples of publicly developed projects that are already putting money back into the public purse, while reducing the island’s reliance on imported energy.

Although the wind farms on PEI have been successful, Mr. Rodd and many islanders have cause for concern. While PEI exports its power far and wide, the province is currently experiencing the highest energy rates in the country. Mr. Rodd’s main complaint is that Island residents are missing out on the direct benefits of a local energy boom whilst paying more money than other Canadians for their own private consumption.

As well, PEI has the capacity to be self sustaining largely with renewable energy. In fact a 2009 study by the Massachusetts-based Power Advisory LLC and commissioned by the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CANWEA) has found significant evidence that the PEI along with the other Maritime Provinces could actually produce as much as 7,500 megawatts of renewable energy, which would be more than the region could use. The excess energy would be funnelled through New Brunswick and sold to the north-eastern U.S. helping them acheive their sustainable energy targets in the coming decades, thus creating a spike in the Atlantic Canadian economy and a boom in the already growing sector.

“We see there is a huge market and we also see there will be a strong value for wind energy coming from Canada,” says Jean-Francois Nolet, CANWEA’s Quebec and Atlantic Canada Policy Manager. “The task now is to ensure our producers will have an easier access to this growing market.”

At the moment, this data is somewhat speculative and there are significant barriers to be ironed out such as namely transmission tariffs and physical constraints. If the major players on both sides of the border come to a consensus regarding these details, the Power Advisory study is expected to support the Atlantic Energy Gateway Initiative that was announced last March by the Federal Government. That could trigger a sustainable energy boom that will act as a ‘green flank’ or a possible ‘green light’ to the proposed gas pipeline between the Atlantic Provinces and the north eastern U.S.