Nova Scotia greenlights construction of new power lines to New Brunswick

Nova Scotia has granted environmental approval to the construction of new transmission lines to New Brunswick to increase grid capacity and help the two provinces transition from coal.

Nova Scotia Power intends to build a new 345-kilovolt transmission line from Onslow, N.S., to the New Brunswick border, and to upgrade the power substation in Onslow.

The new line will have its own steel towers, running in parallel to an existing 96-kilometre line with the same capacity.

Nova Scotia Power submitted a plan for environmental approval in October. Tim Halman, the minister of environment and climate change, signed off on the project this week.

The approval comes with conditions, including requirements to conduct surveys of moose and birds living in the construction area, and a plan for mitigating effects on wildlife. 

Nova Scotia Power has said it wants to start the project as soon as next fall to get the new line operating by the end of 2027. 

Construction of the new lines is supposed to help both Nova Scotia and New Brunswick phase out coal and create a green energy grid by the end of the decade. It's a pared-back version of the abandoned Atlantic Loop that would have connected the Maritimes with Quebec to share renewable energy.

Now, instead, Nova Scotia is looking to ramp up wind and solar energy production to decarbonize the grid.

The province generates 60 per cent of its electricity from fossil fuels, mostly coal.

New Brunswick Power will have to build 65 kilometres of new line on its side of the border, plus an extension to a nuclear generator at Point Lepreau, to complete the interconnected project.

The utility has not yet registered its plans with the New Brunswick government for environmental approval, but states on its website it will do so this fall.