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CanWEA’s 23rd Annual Conference and Trade Show Concludes; Awards Presented at Gala Celebration

Quebec City, Quebec -Wednesday, October 3, 2007.  The Canadian Wind Energy Association today concluded its 23rd Annual Conference and Trade Show. The closing plenary discussion ‘Global Developments in Wind and their Impact on Canada’ provided an excellent wrap up to discussions held during the previous conference days.  Last year’s record-setting attendance of nearly 1,200 delegates was surpassed this year as over 1,500 delegates and 160 trade show participants came together in the provincial capital.

Tuesday evening’s Gala Celebration recognized the CanWEA award winners for 2007, including:

Individual Leadership Award.

Gilles Lefrancois, President of Innergex, a member of the Cartier consortium that won a large part of the first Hydro Quebec 1000 MW RFP.  The first of these projects, Baie-des-Sables has served as a model of wind project development in terms of its community engagement and outreach efforts. It has thus served as a positive example of wind development at a time when wind has come under intense scrutiny by the public and media. As president of Innergex and spokesperson for the Coalition pour la Promotion de l’Eolienne, Mr. Lefrancois is very active in public relations, speaking on many occasions on behalf of the wind industry and also engaged with municipal leaders, leading efforts to come to a consensus position on the thorny issue of municipal royalty payments.  Mr. Lefrancois spearheaded the launch of a partnership between Innergex and the Federation Quebecoise des Municipalités in support of small wind projects.

First awarded in 2003, the Individual Leadership Award is awarded to the individual who has, through their own efforts, significantly advanced the wind energy industry in Canada

Group Leadership Award

Bullfrog Power, a retailer of green electricity to residential and commercial customers in Ontario and Alberta was the winner of this award. It. has been instrumental in identifying and engaging a customer base who select wind as their power of choice, facilitating the deployment of several small-scale wind energy projects in Ontario and Alberta (Schneider Power, Sky Generation and Alberta Wind Energy). In addition to purchasing ‘green’ power, Bullfrog assists ‘small wind’ developers to access equity and leveraged financing.  Bullfrog has also developed creative partnerships with industry, taking an equity stake in some projects in order to advance the project. Bullfrog uses innovative communications tools and media outreach to raise wind’s profile and assist consumers in making the connection between consumption patterns and environmental choices.

First awarded in 2001, the Group Leadership Award recognizes the Government Department, corporation or non-profit organization that has contributed significantly to the advancement of wind energy in Canada.

R.J. Templin Award

Radio Advisory Board of Canada (RABC) is the recipient of this award, given for scientific, technical or engineering excellence. RABC proactively developed Canadian guidelines to assist wind energy project developers in identifying when their projects may pose a problem for radar and radio interference. Previously wind energy projects may have faced delays and issues associated with the potential impact of wind turbines on radar and radio signals.  The achievements of RABC were praised for their consultative nature, which resulted in a jointly endorsed document to outline guidelines and standards.

CanWEA’s 2008 Conference will be held next autumn in Vancouver, October 19th – 22nd. 

For more information contact:  Ulrike Kucera, Media Relations, 613 234-8716 ext. 228