The president of the Canadian Wind Energy Association says the industry has proven that wind can compete on price with other sources of electrical power but now it must prove it can be just as reliable.

Addressing the opening session of the 35th CanWEA annual wind energy conference and exhibition in Calgary, Robert Hornung said that is why next year's conference will switch to a new format in which wind, solar, storage and other renewable technologies will get equal billing.

He says it's also why members of CanWEA and the Canadian Solar Industries Association will vote in late November on a motion to merge the two organizations, thus promoting the benefits of wind, which tends to generate most of its power at night, and solar, which works only during the day.