BC Hydro confirmed nine wind projects announced in a 2024 call for power will be subject to the 25% tariffs on wind towers, an increase critics say could derail the projects
Stefan Labbé, Business in Vancouver
A recent federal measure to place a 25 per cent tariff on steel-derivative products “such as wind towers” threatens to derail wind-generation projects and increase the price of electricity for ratepayers, say clean energy advocates.
Late last month, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office released a sweeping list of measures meant to boost domestic demand for steel and lumber.
Among the measures, the government said it would impose a global 25 per cent tariff on “targeted imported steel-derivative products,” including wind towers, prefabricated buildings, fasteners and wires.
Patricia Lightburn, the Canadian Renewable Energy Association’s director of policy for British Columbia, told BIV the tariffs are expected to hit wind projects in western provinces the hardest.
“The problem is that Canada’s domestic manufacturing of wind towers is not currently set up to meet the demand of Canada’s growing wind industry,” she said.
The tariff announcement comes at a time many Canadian jurisdictions are turning to wind power to meet increasing demand. Read more.