ACCIONA Energy announces that Adarsh Mehta, development director of ACCIONA Wind Energy Canada, has been elected as the new chair of the Canadian Wind Energy Association (CanWEA) Board of Directors. At the helm of CanWEA Mehta’s top priority will be strengthening broad public support for wind energy development.
“Wind energy development has the potential to be one of Canada’s fastest growing industries and we must nurture it,” she says. “To achieve this we should focus on raising awareness of the economic and environmental benefits of wind energy development and on enhancing our current electricity infrastructure. I look forward to working with CanWEA to achieve these goals.”
Other tasks Mehta will tackle include raising visibility of CanWEA and highlighting the benefits the organization provides its members and the communities they serve. She will also push for legislative policies at provincial and federal levels that support renewable energy development in order to attract investment dollars.
“We are pleased to see Ms. Mehta assume her leadership role with CanWEA,” says Robert Hornung, president of CanWEA. “She is passionate about the organization’s mission to build a thriving wind energy industry in Canada and she brings a wealth of experience both in the industry and with CanWEA, making her ideally suited for this position.”
Mehta began her 10 years of work in the wind energy industry by conducting academic research of wind flow over complex terrain. At GPCo and ORTECH Power, Mehta performed wind resource assessment and conducted technical due diligence. After joining GDF Suez to lead western Canadian business development, Mehta ran her own management consultancy while gaining an executive MBA. She joined ACCIONA in May of 2010 and has been an active member of CanWEA for five years already serving on various caucuses and special steering committees.
ACCIONA Energy has already installed and operates 136 MW in three wind farms in Canada with local partners Suncor and Enbridge. Two of these farms—Magrath Wind Power Project and Chin Chute Wind Power Project (each with a capacity of 30 MW)—are located in Alberta, and the third, Ripley Wind Power Project (76 MW), is in Ontario. The Lamèque Wind Power Project (45 MW), located in New Brunswick, will be completed in early 2011 and will increase ACCIONA’s installed capacity in Canada to 181 MW. ACCIONA’s presence in Canada includes the company’s infrastructure business, where it has been contracted for five projects under a public-private partnership. Learn more at www.acciona-na.com.
