If you haven’t been paying much attention to Canadian wind lately, now is a good time to start. Following a record year for Canada’s wind industry, the 30th annual CanWEA Conference and Exhibition is shaping up to be a must-attend event for North American wind energy developers.

The Canadian market added 1,600 MW of new turbines last year, ranking it fifth globally in added capacity. It is also considered by many companies and investors to be an entry point for the U.S. market due to Canada’s less capricious energy policy compared to the U.S.

At the end of this month, 1,500 industry experts and 150 exhibitors will meet in Montréal to discuss policy, new investment opportunities, and share technological advancements for the coming year.

Several different educational session tracks will be held on topics including global investment, climate change, and the O&M market, which is projected to reach $5 billion on the American continents by 2020.

New to CanWEA 2014 is the “Innovation Zone.” Here attendees can learn about new advancements in smart grids, hybrid generation, and energy storage among other state-of-the-art technologies. New technological solutions will be presented by researchers, industry experts, and entrepreneurs.

Special events

A few special events will take place around the conference. The first is a tour of the 100-MW Montérégie Wind Farm

sponsored by Kruger Energy and ENERCON Canada on October 27. Transportation will be provided, and the tour group will leave at 9:00 a.m. from the Palais de Congrés. The tour is complimentary but advanced registration via the CanWEA2014 website is required to attend.

On the 27th at 6:00 p.m. the opening reception will take place in the exhibit hall. All exhibitors, delegates, and CanWEA members are invited to the networking event. There is no charge and no need to register separately.

Finally, an award banquet ceremony and celebration of the 30th anniversary of CanWEA will be held on the last day of the conference, October 29, in the ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Hotel. The reception starts at 6:00 p.m. with dinner to follow. Individual tickets are available for $80 CAD.

Educational sessions

In addition to the plenary session speakers and round table discussions, CanWEA 2014 offers a number of concurrent breakout educational sessions. Here is a list of events:

Tuesday October 28

1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

• Maximizing the Use of Wind Resource
• Operations and Maintenance Leaders Panel
• Global Opportunities for New Wind Energy Investment
• Community, Municipality and First Nations Engagement — Back to the Future

3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

• Wind Resource Assessment and Forecasting
• Nuts & Bolts
• The Costs of Wind: Potential for Future Cost Reductions and Strategies for
• Minimizing Costs, Siting — From Concept to Reality

Wednesday, October 29

1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

• Technical and Economic Impact of Grid Integration Aspects on Wind Projects
• Tax, Ethics, Acquisitions and Technical Review Through a Finance Lens
• Current Best Practices to Responding to Common Concerns
• Health, Safety & Environment

A full list of the session speakers and detailed summaries of each session is available at CanWEA2014.ca.

The opening ceremonies are at 2 p.m. on Oct. 27. The Québec Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Pierre Arcand and The Globe and Mail National Affairs Columnist Jeffrey Simpson will be the keynote speakers. CanWEA Board Chairman Roby Roberts of EDP Renewables and Robert Hornung, president of CanWEA are also slated to speak.

Keynote speaker, Pierre Arcand, is the Québec Minister of Energy and Natural Resources.

Arcand is an elected Member of the National Assembly of Québec. He is the former Minister of International Relations. As a member of the Québec Liberal Party, Arcand is currently the Minister of the Francophonie and of Environment, Sustainable Development, and Parks.

Keynote speaker, Jeffrey Simpson, is the national affairs columnist at The Globe and Mail

Simpson has been the national affairs columnist for The Globe and Mail since 1984. As one of Canada’s most respected journalists, Simpson frequently participates in conferences and political debates throughout Canada and the world. In addition to his column in The Globe and Mail, he contributes news and commentary for CBC Television. Simpson is also a senior fellow at the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs.

Roberts joined EDP Renewables in 2010, with more than 20 years of experience in renewable energy policy, communications, business development, and regulatory affairs. Roberts has been president and board member of the American Wind Energy Association and is currently chair and board member of the Canadian Wind Energy Association as well as member of boards of many prominent regional and national renewable energy advocacy organizations. As vice president of communications and government affairs, Roberts is responsible for ensuring the successful strategic direction and development of policy, communications and regulatory activities in the United States and Canada.

Robert Hornung has been president of CanWEA since August 2003. He represents the interests of its roughly 250 members who are Canada’s wind energy leaders. Hornung is also a board member of the Global Wind Energy Council and was named a fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society in 2009. WPE