February 5, 2013
Nova Scotia

Martock Ridge wind project gaining momentum

Ashley Thompson | The Hants Journal | February 5, 2013 | www.hantsjournal.ca

Scotian Windfields Inc. plans to have three wind turbines, producing enough power to provide electricity for roughly 1,700 homes, spinning at Martock Ridge by the end of the year.

The Dartmouth-based company passed the environmental assessment stage of the Martock Ridge Community Investment Project, and is looking for investors to buy-in to the renewable energy project with minimum offers of at least $100. It is one of five wind projects the company is working on this year.

Scotian Windfields CEO Daniel Roscoe says power produced by the turbines will be consumed locally, but sold to Nova Scotia Power Inc.

While it won’t mean cheaper power rates in the near future, Roscoe says adding another source of renewable energy to the grid could mean ratepayers will benefit from lower energy production costs in the long run.

“It’s helping meet our greenhouse gas emissions targets and it’s also providing… fixed electricity costs, which will help stabilize electricity prices,” he explained in a phone interview Jan. 23.

“It’s important to note that if we don’t meet our environmental goals through federal legislation that we’ll end up having to shut down our coal plants and a lot of our power rates will essentially spike because we’ll have to build new ones.”

Scotian Windfields will be paying the Municipality of West Hants about $36,000 in taxes annually, and leasing land for the turbines from the Town of Windsor for slightly less than that, Roscoe noted.

He says the Martock Ridge turbines will be installed at least two kilometres away from the nearest home.

“Even the (harshest of critics) with respect to wind turbines think two kilometres is an appropriate setback,” he added.

He says “a tremendous amount of work” went into the environmental assessment the company registered with the provincial government.

“On a high level, the impacts of climate change for birds and wildlife in the environment would be far worse than any particular wind turbine.”

He said there are no “highly sensitive areas of warning” to worry about as the $15-million project moves forward.

Scotian Windfields hosted an open house at the Hants County War Memorial Community Centre in August to inform the public of their plans for Martock Ridge.

Roscoe says the idea was well received by citizens concerned about rising power rates and climate change. He encourages people with questions about the project to visit: www.scotianwindfields.ca/wind/comFIT/martock-ridge-community-wind-project.

Scotian Windfields will be hosting an open house in Windsor Feb. 13 at 7 p.m. in the Hants County War Memorial Community Centre.