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Prince Edward Island’s primary energy resource is wind. There is some potential for natural gas and coalbed methane, but neither have been developed to date.
The province produces electricity from wind power, and has fossil fuel generation for times of peak load; however more than 90 percent of its electricity is obtained from New Brunswick via cables under Northumberland Strait.
The utilities industry in Prince Edward Island accounts for about 1.2 per cent of the province’s gross domestic product. P.E.I. Energy Corporation, a crown corporation owned by the province, generated $3.2 million in net income in 2008.
Approximately 300 people work in the utilities industry in Prince Edward Island.
Discover the key energy facts about Prince Edward Island.
By the numbers (284KB PDF)
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Natural Gas
Although Prince Edward Island has no current hydrocarbon production, exploratory drilling indicates some potential for natural gas.
Twenty wells were drilled between 1944 and 2007, with one well off North Point in the extreme eastern part of the province testing 156,000 cubic metres per day.
Another well in the North Rustico area tested gas but the rates have not been released.
Prince Edward Island is underlain by substantial coal measures. These are too deep to be mined, but the coalbed methane potential is estimated at 215 billion cubic feet.
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Wind
Prince Edward Island has seven wind farms with combined installed capacity of 75.4 megawatts.
The largest is the Eastern Kings Wind Farm with 10 turbines and an installed capacity of 30 megawatts. It supplies about 7.5 per cent of the province’s electricity and displaces 70,000 tonnes of greenhouse gases per year, the equivalent of taking about 15,000 cars off the road.
The West Cape Wind Farm currently consists of 11 turbines with a combined installed capacity of 19.8 megawatts. There are plans to increase the number of turbines by 44 to 55, and the capacity by 79.2 megawatts to 99.
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Thermal Electricity Generation
As well as the electricity obtained from New Brunswick, Maritime Electric operates two generating stations. The Charlottetown Thermal Generating Station has five fossil fuel fired units with a combined installed capacity of 62 megawatts. It also has a diesel-fired combustion turbine with an installed capacity of 50 megawatts. The Borden Generating Station has two diesel-fired combustion turbines with combined installed capacity of 42 megawatts.
The City of Summerside generates electricity with a 10 megawatt diesel turbine.
In 2007, net generation from P.E.I. sources amounted to 112,682 megawatts. Generation from off-island sources totalled 1,058,641 megawatts.
