A study by GE Energy Financial Services estimates that renewing a Canadian federal financial incentive that has now allocated virtually all of its funding for wind energy projects would more than pay for itself through tax revenues from the projects' income, vendors' profits and individual workers' wages.
The study estimates that injecting an additional C$1.5 billion into Canada's ecoENERGY for Renewable Power program could spawn 5.2 GW of new wind projects and carry a net-present-value benefit to Canada's government of C$287 million.
The analysis concludes that the ecoENERGY for Renewable Power program is a government investment that yields a financial return, as well as encourages development of wind farms that provide a source of carbon-free electricity and help create thousands of Canadian jobs in manufacturing, construction and operations.
‘GE's new study makes crystal clear that Canada's ecoENERGY for Renewable Power program is good for the environment, good for the economy and even good for the Treasury,’ says Robert Hornung, president of the Canadian Wind Energy Association.
The Canadian government established the ecoENERGY for Renewable Power program in 2007, to which it committed C$1.48 billion. Renewable energy projects receive C$0.01 (before tax) per kWh for the first 10 years of power production.
SOURCE: GE Energy Financial Services
