Calgary, Alberta (GLOBE-Net) – Kettles Hill Wind Energy Inc., a subsidiary of Creststreet Kettles Hill Windpower LP, will be the first company to receive funding under the federal government’s ecoENERGY for Renewable Power program.

The initiative provides an incentive of one cent per kilowatt hour for up to ten years for projects that generate clean electricity from renewable. These sources can include wind, low-impact hydro, biomass, solar photovoltaic, geothermal, tidal and wave technologies.

Kettles Hill Wind Energy Inc. is completing construction of a 63-megawatt wind-power facility located five kilometres east of Pincher Creek, Alberta. When in full operation, the project is expected to produce 200,000 megawatt (MW) hours of emissions-free power each year, enough to power more than 27,000 average Alberta homes.

Businesses, municipalities, institutions and organizations are eligible to apply for funding under ecoENERGY for Renewable Power. Projects must be constructed over the next four years, from April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2011.

Full details on the program and application forms are available here.

In total, $1.48 billion will be available for renewable energy projects, which the government says will increase Canada’s renewable electricity generation capacity by about 4,000 megawatts.

The program replaces the previous government’s Wind Power Production Initiative (WPPI) and Renewable Power Production Initiative (RPPI), which offered similar incentives to renewable energy producers. Projects originally registered under those programs have now been shifted to the ecoEnergy program.

Creststreet is a developer and operator of renewable-energy projects across Canada. In addition to Kettles Hill, Creststreet also operates the 54-MW Mount Copper wind project located near Murdochville, Quebec, and the 30-MW Pubnico Point wind project located near Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Creststreet is expecting to start construction on the 180-MW Dokie Wind Project located near Chetwynd, B.C. in 2008, which will bring the total wind-generating capacity under construction or in operation by Creststreet to more than 300 MW.

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For More Information: Government of Canada