February 11, 2015
Nova Scotia

South Canoe faces $550,000 suit from subcontractor

JOANN ALBERSTAT, BUSINESS EDITOR | The Chronicle Herald | February 10, 2015 | thechronicleherald.ca

A subcontractor on the $200-million South Canoe wind farm has launched a lawsuit against the project, saying it is owed $550,000 because of delays installing rebar for turbine foundations.

Acadia Rebar Ltd. of Saint-Leolin, N.B., filed the claim in Nova Scotia Supreme Court last week.

Among those named in the suit are project majority partners Minas Basin Pulp & Power Co. Ltd. and Oxford Frozen Foods Ltd., and minority partner Nova Scotia Power Inc. The action also includes other contractors, the turbine supplier and landowners of the leased site in Lunenburg County.

According to court documents, Acadia Rebar was hired by another subcontractor, Olympic Metals Ltd., of Caraquet, N.B.

“While there was an original contract with Olympic Metals Ltd. in place that set out the original agreed upon scope of work and costs, the defendants orally modified the contract by expanding and changing the scope of the work,” the claim says.

Acadia alleges that installation plans and scheduling had to be changed because of work performed by other contractors. That resulted in slower production and extra costs, including manpower and equipment, the rebar installer said.

“The plaintiff further states that additional costs were incurred as a result of the access road being unavailable on site, the steel supplier failing to deliver steel directly on site and other contractors failing to have the windmill bases prepared for rebar installation as per schedule.”

Acadia said its bill for extra services totalled $556,219, as of Oct. 22. The New Brunswick company has also filed a lien against the properties leased by the project.

South Canoe, which will become the province’s largest wind farm, is slated to be fully operational by April. The 34-turbine project missed a Jan. 1 deadline for supplying electricity to Nova Scotia Power.

The start of construction was delayed by a residents group appeal to the Utility and Review Board of a municipal development agreement for the 102-megawatt venture.

There are 27 turbines on site, including 11 that are fully erected, according to a recent update on the South Canoe website.