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Description

Renewable energy generates 98% of electricity in British Columbia (BC). As energy demand is expected to grow substantially over the next 20 years, renewable energy sources are expected to meet these demands. In recent years, wind energy has become one of the rapidly growing sources of renewable electricity globally. British Columbia has one of the most consistent wind regimes in Canada, providing a strong potential for onshore wind energy. This study assessed the spatial availability of wind energy potential in BC using geographic information systems (GIS) and multicriteria decision analysis, accounting for core technical, economic, and regulatory factors. A total of 9 criteria, including wind speed, wind power density, elevation, slope, proximity to power substations, proximity to main roads, landcover, proximity to airport, and proximity to protected areas, were used. The analysis was implemented in Python, and all nine criteria were integrated into a weighted overlay analysis using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). The study found that BC has approximately 2,527.7 km2 of land suitable for wind energy development, representing 0.27% of BC’s total area. The predicted annual production was estimated using three commonly used turbine models in BC with different installed capacities and rotor diameters, namely General Electric, Vestas, and Senvion, and it was found that the corresponding annual energy production was 41.5, 49.2, and 54.5 Terawatt-hours per year, respectively. The results suggest that wind energy is a strong candidate for addressing BC’s future energy demands. Additionally, they show that BC not only has the capacity to expand energy production but also the potential to become a leading wind energy development hub in Canada.