Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro announces it will issue a second RFP for additional wind power

Following the successful award for its purchase of 25 megawatts (MW) of wind generation, Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro (Hydro) announced today it will be issuing a second Request for Proposals (RFP) for additional blocks of wind power.

We�ve confirmed that the island of Newfoundland has one of the top wind resources in the country," said Ed Martin, Hydro�s CEO. "We were very pleased with the outcome of the initial RFP. Based on the quality of the proposals and the data received, we believe we have the potential to add additional blocks of clean, renewable wind power to the island sooner than we expected."

Hydro will issue a second RFP for 25 MW blocks of wind power on the island. The addition of 25 MW blocks of wind power will allow for the geographic dispersion of power sources which enables Hydro to take advantage of different wind regimes. Also, projects up to 25 MW can be integrated into most areas of the island system without having a major impact on normal operations. The island system can only accommodate up to approximately 80 MW of wind power without significant risk of spilling water at our existing hydroelectric stations.

Adding more wind power to the island grid has potential to further reduce emissions from the Holyrood Thermal Generating Station and provide consumers with more clean, cost-effective power.

The second request for proposals will close on October 31, 2006.

"Wind power has the potential to be a clean, competitively priced generation source that can make a substantial contribution to Newfoundland and Labrador�s future energy needs," said Mr. Martin. "We have every intention of providing the same level of oversight and rigour to this second process as we did on the initial RFP to ensure we provide consumers with cost-effective power."

Media contact: Dawn Dalley, NL Hydro, (709) 737-1315, 727-7715, ddalley@nlh.nl.ca.

2006 10 02                                                        2:20 p.m.