Welcome: Opening remarks

The Canadian Wind Energy Association believes that wind power, when all externalities are considered, is very cost effective as an adjunct to other existing energy sources. In many parts of the world, wind power is competitive even without externalities. These externalities include social costs such as environmental degradation, increased health care and others not charged directly to the producer or user of energy. Three methods have been used to calculate the environmental costs of energy consumption: the control cost, or the amount required to comply with existing environmental factors; damage cost, a measurement of the actual damage to the environment; and contingent evaluation, which surveys people and determines what they are willing to pay for avoiding an environmental impact or how much compensation they would ask to be willing to suffer such an impact. It is shown that social costing can be significant, often almost doubling the cost of a given energy source, with examples provided from Quebec energy projects. 2 tabs