June 6, 2005. For Immediate release

CANWEA LAUNCHES NEW SMALL WIND WEBSITE:
www.smallwindenergy.ca

NEW WEBSITE RESPONDS TO GROWING DEMAND FOR INFORMATION ON SMALL WIND TURBINES FOR HOMES, FARMS AND BUSINESSES

(OTTAWA) - The Canadian Wind Energy Association today launched a new website aimed at providing information and decision-making tools for Canadians interested in small wind turbines. The website, accessible at www.smallwindenergy.ca responds to a growing demand from individuals, businesses and communities looking at small wind as a way of providing clean, renewable electricity for their homes, farms and businesses.

"Small wind turbines are one of the most cost-effective ways for individuals to generate clean, emissions-free electricity at their own site", says Sean Whittaker, Policy Director for the Canadian Wind Energy Association. "Every year CanWEA receives over 1,000 inquiries from Canadians looking for information on small wind turbines. We are pleased to offer this new on-line resource that the public can access to learn more about the technology, and to determine if small wind is a viable option for their location."

The website, supported by Natural Resources Canada with assistance from Environment Canada, provides a user-friendly structure that visitors can navigate to learn about small wind-related topics, including wind energy basics, wind resource assessment, net metering and on and off grid case studies.

The site also contains a roadmap that leads users through every step of the decision-making process, from first idea through to purchase and installation. The roadmap includes a new "Ballpark Cost Calculator" that allows users to obtain a quick estimate of system costs. Users only need to enter their postal code and average electricity usage, and the calculator produces a cost estimate based on wind data from Environment Canada's new Canadian wind atlas.

CanWEA hopes the website will facilitate growth of small wind in Canada, an industry that has not enjoyed the same rapid expansion as its utility-scale large wind counterpart.

"With 471 Megawatts now installed in Canada, wind energy is one of the country's fastest growing electricity sources. However, the majority of this growth to date has been in large wind turbines, and there has been comparatively little growth in the installation of small wind turbines for homes and businesses", says Whittaker. "CanWEA recognizes that one of the barriers to increased growth of the small wind industry is access to information, and that's why we decided to develop and launch this web site."

The website, developed by Marbek Resource Consultants with assistance from Energy Matters and the Green Web Host, highlights the key considerations that go into the purchase and responsible installation of small wind turbines. The website is currently only available in English, but CanWEA expects to release the French version in the coming months.

About the Canadian Wind Energy Association

The Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) has more than 160 corporate members representing wind turbine component manufacturers, electric utilities, wind energy project developers (including several of Canada's leading energy companies), and service providers to the wind energy industry.  Our objective is to have 10,000 MW of installed wind energy capacity in Canada by 2010.

For more information or to arrange interviews, contact:

Sean Whittaker
CanWEA Policy Director
Tel: (613) 598-4658  cell:  (613) 324-9036
e-mail: seanwhittaker@canwea.ca

Robert Hornung
President
Canadian Wind Energy Association
Suite 750, 130 Slater Street
Ottawa K1P 6E2
(p) 613 598 4658
(f) 613 594 8705
roberthornung@canwea.ca
www.canwea.ca