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Wind Power News: Nova Scotia
These news and opinion items are gathered by National Wind Watch in its noncommercial educational effort to help keep readers informed about developments related to industrial wind energy. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of National Wind Watch. They are the products of and owned by the organizations or individuals noted and are shared here according to “fair use” and “fair dealing” provisions of copyright law.
Amendment to pause wind turbine development rejected by Colchester council
Protesters gathered outside the Municipality of Colchester offices on Queen Street on Nov. 16. Their signs read “Stop the turbines” and “Don’t destroy our forests.” Inside, council heard remarks from proponents for and against an amendment which would have seen wind turbine development halted until December 2024, when the county would’ve had their municipal planning strategy and land-use bylaw in place. When it came to a vote during the second reading, only four voted affirmatively: Marie Benoit, Laurie Sandeson, Victoria . . . Complete story »
‘I’m not anti-hydrogen, I’m anti-bullshit’: Why ‘green’ hydrogen is hyped by the oil and gas industry
In a July 27 interview on CBC Halifax Mainstreet, Canada’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Jonathan Wilkinson, said he had been meeting with EverWind Fuels while he was in Halifax. Wilkinson told host Jeff Douglas that the 2023 federal budget was providing “very generous” investment tax credits for companies like EverWind, which will generate electricity and use the electricity to produce hydrogen. “For the scale of the project the companies like EverWind and others are developing, [the investment tax . . . Complete story »
‘Not smart for Nova Scotia’: looking under the hood of the hydrogen hype
This week, EverWind Fuels will host public information sessions about two large wind farms it is proposing in Nova Scotia, moving ahead quickly with its ever-shifting plans to find green energy to power its proposed “green hydrogen and ammonia” project in Point Tupper on the Canso Strait. This will be the first time the public will get a look at the scale of two of the wind farms, Bear Lake and Kmtnuk, that EverWind has planned for the province. Two . . . Complete story »
German business magazine casts doubt on EverWind’s ‘green hydrogen’ claims
Germany’s largest business magazine has published a feature story delving into EverWind Fuels’ “green hydrogen” project in Point Tupper, Nova Scotia. The article, written by Karin Finkenzeller after a month-long trip to Canada that took her from Montreal to Cape Breton, including to Point Tupper to see for herself the status of the project, appeared in the June 18 edition of Wirtschafts Woche (meaning “Business Week”). As the Halifax Examiner did last September, Finkenzeller found the green hydrogen claims confusing . . . Complete story »
N.S. approves wind farm, but federal officials worry project would kill at-risk birds
A 13-turbine wind farm recently approved by the Nova Scotia government is worrying federal officials, who say there isn’t enough information about what impact the project will have on the endangered roseate tern and other birds. Nova Scotia’s Environment Department approved the Wedgeport Wind Farm, on the province’s southwest coast, on May 4. Also on that day, an environment assessment by Environment Canada and the Canadian Wildlife Service became public. The federal agencies note in their report that 75 per . . . Complete story »
Proposed N.S. wind farm could have deadly toll on migrating birds, expert says
Environmental researcher John Kearney says the whirring blades of a proposed 13-turbine wind farm in Nova Scotia may cut greenhouse gases, but the risks they pose to migrating birds are too high. The 74-year-old former consultant to the wind industry has in recent years set up acoustic monitoring in southwestern Nova Scotia, documenting species ranging from black-capped chickadees to spotted sandpipers as they call out during autumn flights. “I’m speaking from the perspective of a person who supports both the . . . Complete story »
Public comments open on controversial Wentworth wind farm
[Protect Wentworth Valley is urging the provincial government to declare the Wentworth Valley area of Cumberland and Colchester counties as a wilderness area to protect the Mainland moose and to stop proposed industrial wind farm development.] The proponents behind a large wind farm planned for the Wentworth area have registered their environmental assessment. The move kicks off an opportunity for public comment that runs until April 14, with a ministerial decision on whether to grant a conditional environmental approval by . . . Complete story »
Nova Scotia wind farm gets environmental approval
A proposed wind farm in Guysborough County got approval from Environment and Climate Change Minister Timothy Halman on Monday. The Port Hawkesbury Paper Wind Partnership applied for an environmental assessment of the project in January. Plans calls for the construction of 29 turbines, which would collectively produce 130.5 megawatts to diversify the energy mix that powers the Port Hawkesbury paper facility. The turbines will be up to 195 metres tall and individually produce up to 4.5 MW. The project centre is . . . Complete story »
Wentworth Valley residents gather to express concerns about wind turbine development
About 50 residents of the Wentworth Valley gathered at a local recreation centre on Saturday to express concerns to Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables Tory Rushton about proposed wind turbines for the area. Rushton is also the area’s MLA. Six months ago, Nova Scotia announced five wind projects to be completed by 2025. They are expected to generate 372 megawatts per year of electricity, which is approximately 12 per cent of the province’s total energy consumption. One of them . . . Complete story »
Group raises concerns about potential wind farm in Wentworth Valley area
The Protect Wentworth Valley group supports wind energy projects, but not at the expense of species at risk and biodiversity. That is the concern they raise following the province’s announcement last month of five potential renewable wind energy projects, determined through a request for proposals (RFP) process, which included Higgins Mountain Wind Farm, a site near Wentworth and the Colchester-Cumberland counties boundary. “Our concern is it is located in prime endangered species territory; in both its habitat area and through . . . Complete story »
