Proposed Nova Scotia wind farms on track, says company, not affected by NSP issues

Halifax-based Natural Forces Developments will find out next month if it gets conditional environmental approval for two wind farms it wants to build in Nova Scotia.

Last August, the independent power company — in partnership with the province's 13 Mi'kmaw communities — was one of the winning applicants in the province's largest ever program to buy electricity generated by wind.

Its proposal for a wind farm at Benjamins Mill, about 13 kilometres outside of Windsor, N.S., was selected by an independent administrator overseeing the competition. The site would generate up to 150 megawatts of electricity.

"The project is on track, is on schedule, it's on budget. We are due to be online, fully commissioned and commercially operating by [the first quarter] of 2024," said Austen Hughes, vice-president of project finance.

On Jan. 6, Natural Forces added updated information to its environmental assessment [EA] application for a 28-turbine wind farm at Benjamins Mill. Phase 1 involves eight turbines at the site.

On Dec. 22, the company filed an updated EA for another proposed 12-turbine wind farm at Westchester, 17 kilometres outside Oxford in Colchester County. This project is not part of the province's wind procurement award.

Benjamins Mill is one of five winning projects that are expected to generate 372 megawatts or 1,373 gigawatt hours per year of electricity — approximately 12 per cent of Nova Scotia's total energy consumption.

The environmental submissions triggered a regulatory countdown.

In late February, the minister of Environment and Climate Change will decide if the projects get conditional environmental approval.

"We're continuing to work with the rate-based procurement administrator and Nova Scotia Power and from this point forward is just focusing on finalizing the power purchase agreement with the utility and that's the agreement that really allows the project to sell power to NSP," Hughes said.

Wskijnu'k Mtmo'taqnuow Agency Ltd., a corporate body owned by the province's 13 Mi'kmaw communities, is Natural Forces' partner.

WMA's president, Crystal Nicholas, says the goal is to have a power purchase agreement for the Benjamins Mill project this year.

"This is a win-win by providing green energy to Nova Scotia, at a competitive price, while also bringing economic and other benefits to all 13 Mi'kmaw communities in Nova Scotia. We look forward to seeing this project through," Nicholas told CBC News in an emailed statement.

Not affected by NSP pause

Nova Scotia Power's decision to step back from its own renewable energy project does not affect Natural Forces and the other successful proponents.

The utility pressed pause when the provincial government imposed a two-year rate, spending and profit cap on the company.

"We are re-evaluating our investments in renewable energy projects like wind and batteries. These types of projects along with transmission expansion with New Brunswick were part of the Eastern Clean Energy Initiative and are currently on pause," said Nova Scotia Power spokesperson Jacqueline Foster in an emailed response to CBC News.

"This decision has no impact on third-party wind projects like what Natural Forces are developing."

Buying electricity generated from wind turbines is part of the province's effort to have 80 per cent of its power supplied by renewable sources by 2030.

Foster said Nova Scotia Power has seen a significant increase in the number of requests from power generators to connect to its transmission lines as part of the provincial wind procurement process.

"We are actively working through them. It does take time to work through them sequentially to fully understand the system impacts and design configurations, however we are proceeding as planned in terms of schedule," she said.

As for Natural Forces, Hughes said the company is working collaboratively with the utility.

"We don't see any issues moving forward. From our perspective, nothing has changed," he said.

"We still have the 80 per cent commitment for renewables in Nova Scotia by 2030 and our projects, along with the other proponents, will work to make that happen. It's a really exciting time."