March 21, 2013
Nova Scotia

A change in the wind

by Adam Jacobs | March 20, 2013 | www.southshorenow.ca

CHESTER – A previous deal that would see a Winnipeg company bring $2 million to a beefed-up wind turbine project in the Chester district is off the table.

Chester Municipal Council announced on March 14 the deal with FWS Technologies Ltd. to build the new turbine at the Kaizer Meadow Environmental Management Centre under the provincial COMFIT program is no longer in place.

Instead, council has gone back to Enercon, a European company, with which it first discussed the project.

The municipality was approved in 2011 to develop a 2.3-megawatt wind-to-energy project. Development will be at the Kaizer Meadow site where the Minas Basin Pulp and Power Corporation has been collecting wind data for the past two years. The municipality has agreed to use Minas Basin Pulp and Power’s services to oversee the design, construction and long-term operation of the facility.

The project cost is estimated at approximately $5 million and is expected to generate a positive cash flow beginning in Year 1 of just under $270,000. Revenue is scheduled to increase annually over the 20-year life of the project to approximately $700,000 in Year 20.

The power generated at the site would be sold to Nova Scotia Power to be used on its distribution grid at the 20-year fixed rate of $131 per megawatt hour.

Initially the COMFIT program allowed for municipalities or towns to form a private partnership in creating an alternate energy source. That has since changed, meaning the municipality is on the hook for the entire $5 million.

Work is expected to begin on site preparation in the fall, weather pending. The goal is to be on-line by January 2014.

When active, the turbine is expected to provide electricity to more than 550 homes.

Nova Scotia’s Renewable Electricity Plan, established in 2010, calls for 40 per cent of the province’s electricity to be generated from renewable sources such as wind, biomass and tidal energy by 2020.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2013/03/21/a-change-in-the-wind-2/