July 14, 2012
Nova Scotia

Wind farm gets permits for Lunenburg County; South Canoe would have 33 to 50 turbines

By JOANN ALBERSTAT, Business Reporter | The Chronicle Herald | thechronicleherald.ca 13 July 2012

A proposed $200-million Lunenburg County wind farm that involves a pair of Nova Scotia’s leading family businesses received its provincial environmental permits Friday.

Environment Minister Sterling Belliveau approved the 100-megawatt South Canoe Wind Farm Project, although there are conditions attached.

The project, which registered its environmental assessment in May, is a partnership between Oxford Frozen Foods, controlled by the Braggs, Minas Basin Pulp and Power, controlled by the Jodreys, and Nova Scotia Power.

The utility has a minority equity stake in the project.

“We’ve worked hard. We’re very, very pleased that it’s worked out this way,” John Woods, Minas Basin’s vice-president of energy development, said in an interview. “We hoped we would receive the approval and we got it.”

South Canoe is one of 19 wind projects vying to supply the province with renewable electricity starting in 2015.

The government-appointed renewable electricity administrator, John Dalton of Massachusetts-based Power Advisory LLC, has said he’ll notify the successful bidders on Thursday.

Woods said he hasn’t heard anything yet about the outcome.

“Ourselves, like all the other competitors, we’re holding our breath. We’re wishing for good news.”

The winning projects are slated to be announced in early August, after the administrator negotiates contracts to supply a total of 300 gigawatt hours per year of renewable electricity to the Nova Scotia Power grid.

South Canoe would be located on 2,790 hectares of private land, mostly owned by the Hantsport pulp and power company, that is surrounded by the communities of Waterville, Upper Vaughan, New Russell and Leminster.

The wind farm would have 33 to 50 turbines, depending on turbine size.

The project would generate enough electricity to power 28,000 homes.

Woods said none of the conditions included in the environmental approval are a surprise and the project will abide by them.

The conditions include consulting with the provincial Natural Resources and Environment departments on the location of turbines and a substation. The wind farm must also develop and implement a program to monitor mainland moose and Canada lynx, as well as a monitoring program for birds and bats.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/07/14/wind-farm-gets-permits-for-lunenburg-county/