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On this page:
- Key Takeaways
- Electricity and Renewable Energy Trends
- Recent and Planned Renewable Electricity and Energy Storage Projects
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island (PEI) has a distinctive electricity system marked by high reliance on imports, and strong contribution from local wind energy. Most of the province’s electricity generation, transmission, and distribution are managed by Maritime Electric, a subsidiary of Fortis Inc., while the PEI Energy Corporation owns and operates several renewable energy facilities and transmission assetsFootnote 1Footnote 2.
The province imports about 69% of its electricity from New Brunswick via four submarine cables. These imports meet most provincial demand and anchor reliability, while also facilitating the integration of variable renewable resourcesFootnote 3.
Key Takeaways
- In 2023, PEI generated 504.9 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity, with 500.2 GWh (99.1%) coming from renewable sources.
- Renewable capacity grew from 267 megawatts (MW) in 2010 to 295 MW in 2023, a 10.5% increase. Most of this growth came from wind (52 MW), while biomass went from zero to 1 MW, and solar from 0 to 1 MW. Over that time period, petroleum-fired generators declined from a capacity of 115 MW to 89 MW.
Electricity and Renewable Energy Trends
In 2023, PEI had the highest share of wind-generated electricity in Canada, with wind farms generating 98.2% of the province’s electricity output—supplying about 20% of total electricity demand. Most of the capacity growth between 2010 and 2023 came from wind additions (52 MW), and smaller increases from biomass (1 MW) and solar (1 MW).
Thermal capacity—primarily petroleum-fired generation—declined from 115 MW in 2010 to 89.5 MW in 2023. Despite accounting for 30% of installed capacity, these plants produced only 0.9% of the province’s electricity, since they are mainly used for emergency backup and peak demand.
Figures 1 and 2 show historical trends in generation and installed capacity, respectively. Figure 2 also includes planned capacity additions for 2024–2030. The planned portion of the figure may be conservative; additional projects could be announced and come online before 2030, and some projects in the outlook might not proceed.
Figure 1: Electricity Generation by Type in PEI
Source and Text Alternative
Source: The primary source for electricity generation data comes from Statistics Canada. Table 25-10-0020-01, 25-10-0084-01, and 25-10-0028-01 are combined to display data for all categories and years.
Data: Electricity Generation by Type in PEI [XLSX 20 KB]
Text Alternative: This graph illustrates electricity generation from 2010 to 2023 in PEI. In 2010, PEI’s total generation was 462.6 GWh (100.0% renewable). In 2023, total generation was 504.9 GWh (99.1% renewable). Most generation in 2023 came from wind (98.2%), petroleum (0.9%), and biomass (0.7%).
Figure 2: Electricity Capacity and Future Changes in PEI
Source and Text Alternative
Source: The primary source for electricity generation capacity data comes from Statistics Canada. Table 25-10-0022-01 and Table 25-10-0023-01 are combined to display data for all of the categories. It is supplemented by additional project-level data for planned capacity from provincial governments, utilities, and system operators, as well as industry associations.
Data: Electricity Capacity and Future Changes in PEI [XLSX 19 KB]
Text Alternative: This graph illustrates historical electricity generation capacity from 2010 to 2030 in PEI. In 2010, the province’s total installed electricity capacity was 267 MW (56.9% renewable). In 2023, capacity grew to 295 MW (69.8% renewable). In 2030, based on planned capacity additions, capacity reaches 356 MW (75.0% renewable).
PEI has around 11.8 MW of battery storage in service. In 2023, it had 39.7 MW of distributed solar capacityFootnote 4. PEI has the second highest per-capita biomass use for space heating in Canada; biomass boiler capacity in community, light industrial, institutional, commercial, and agricultural sectors totaled 23 MW in 2023.
Recent and Planned Renewable Electricity and Energy Storage Projects
This section highlights the main planned power projects in Prince Edward Island between 2024 and 2030. This is based on the latest information available as of September 2025.
- Summerside Sunbank Solar/Battery Farm – A solar and battery project owned by the City of Summerside and partners, added 21.6 MW of capacity in 2024Footnote 5.
- Eastern Kings Wind Farm Expansion – A wind project owned by PEI Energy Corporation, plans to add 29.4 MW of wind capacity via 7 new turbines expected to be commissioned in 2025Footnote 6.
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