December 22, 2023
Nova Scotia

Colchester wind farm gets greenlight despite opposition

Aaron Beswick · Reporter | Posted: Dec. 21, 2023 | saltwire.com

A controversial proposed wind farm in Colchester County has gotten the thumbs up from the provincial Department of Environment and Climate Change.

On Thursday, Minister Timothy Halman approved the Kmtnuk Wind Power Project’s environmental assessment with conditions.

Kmtnuk, jointly owned by Membertou First Nation and EverWind Fuels, plans to start construction this coming year on its 16-turbine wind farm on Nuttby Mountain between the communities of Earltown, McCallum Settlement and North River. The project will have a capacity of 98 megawatts, which will be fed through the Nova Scotia Power grid to feed EverWind’s proposed green hydrogen/ammonia production and export facility at Point Tupper in Cape Breton.

The project faced significant local opposition from groups such as Sustainable Northern Nova Scotia and Protect Wentworth Valley.

In their written submissions to the environmental assessment process, the groups argued that land clearing for the wind farm would displace vulnerable species and require the clearing of forest.

They also argued that because power generated by the wind farms will ultimately go to create green energy that is exported to Europe (EverWind has an offtake agreement with German Utility E.On), it won’t help Nova Scotia green its own grid.

“There are multiple projects proposed for the area,” reads the submission from Protect Wentworth Valley. “How do we know what the effect will be on both biodiversity, water quality, and human health?

“Many experts acknowledge the cheapest and easiest way to combat climate change is to protect more land, such as the remarkable forests and wetlands located throughout this project area. All sequester large amounts of carbon. EverWind will need to clear huge amounts of carbon-sequestering forests, many of which are old growth or mature forests.”

In response to opposition to the proposed project, the Municipality of the County of Colchester considered an amendment to its wind bylaw which would have paused large-scale wind developments.

At the November council meeting where Colchester County Council voted down the amendment, deputy mayor Geoff Stewart reported having received threatening phone calls from people opposed to the projects. A glass door on the front of the Municipal building was smashed during the evening of the vote.

There were also letters in support of the project, which argued that it would contribute to the local economy and help fight climate change by producing green energy destined for the world economy.

EverWind has teamed up with Potlotek and Paq’tnkek First Nations as equity partners in a much larger 340-megawatt wind farm it proposes to build near the Kmtnuk farm.

The 58-turbine, billion-dollar Windy Ridge project would, according to the proponent, “be primarily located on an industrially logged private land” and would feed EverWind’s proposed Point Tupper plant via the Nova Scotia Power grid.

According to the proponent, the project would pay $300,000 per year in “proximity payments” to neighbouring homeowners, $3.6 million in municipal taxes, $100,000 annually to a community vibrancy fund and $50,000 annually in bursaries.

According to the proponent, the project will be registered for an environmental assessment early in 2024.