N.S. strikes deals with six wind farms to meet energy needs of big consumers

The Nova Scotia government says six new wind farms will add 625 megawatts of renewable energy to the grid by 2028 and be a major stride toward meeting the goal of sourcing 80 per cent of electricity from renewables by 2030.

"We're putting wind to work as a made-in-Nova Scotia solution for clean electricity," said provincial Energy Minister Trevor Boudreau at a news conference in Halifax.

Boudreau's department announced Monday it has selected six projects from three separate companies through a procurement program called Green Choice.

The projects are meant to meet the energy needs for some of the province's biggest consumers, including the provincial government itself, which expects wind energy to supply 95 per cent of the electricity for its buildings once these six projects come online.

Government, corporate customers

This is the complete list of customers:

• Province of Nova Scotia, including government-owned buildings, most hospitals and health centres, the IWK Health Centre and the Nova Scotia Provincial Housing Agency.
• The Government of Canada, including its departments and agencies and Canada Post's Crown facilities.
• A collective of universities that includes Dalhousie, Acadia, CBU, MSVU, Saint Mary's, University of King's College, Universite Sainte-Anne and NSCAD.
• All Nova Scotia Community College campuses.
• Halifax Regional Municipality.
• Halifax Water.
• Cape Breton Regional Municipality.
• Halifax International Airport Authority.
• Walmart.
• Michelin.
• PSA Canada Ventures Ltd.

The companies will not pay the federal carbon tax on their electricity, but they will have to pay an administrative fee of up to $1 per megawatt hour, with a maximum of $100,000 a year per participant.

Mi'kmaw participation

All of the projects are collaborations between renewable energy companies and Mi'kmaw communities. Environment Minister Tim Halman said First Nations participation was a requirement.

"[The Mi'kmaq] are helping us to define a new energy era in Nova Scotia, one that is sustainable, green and will advance reconciliation," Halman told reporters.

Glooscap First Nation Chief Sidney Peters said his community owns 51 per cent of three of the projects. 

"The economic benefits from these projects will further support the growth and the well-being of Glooscap First Nation, making this initiative an important part of our future," said Peters, who joined government officials at the news conference.

This is the complete list of wind farms:

• Yellow Birch in Pictou County – SWEB and Glooscap First Nation.
• Melvin Lake in Hants and Halifax counties – ABO Energy Canada and Eskasoni, Potlotek, We'koqma'q L'nue'kati and Wagmatcook First Nations.
• Rhodena in Inverness County – ABO Energy Canada and Eskasoni, We'koqma'q L'nue'kati and Wagmatcook First Nations.
• Blueberry Acres in Cumberland County – SWEB and Glooscap First Nation.
• Sugar Maple in Pictou County – SWEB and Glooscap First Nation.
• Eigg Mountain in Antigonish County – Renewable Energy Systems Canada and Paqtnkek and Pictou Landing First Nations.

Two of the projects — Melvin Lake and Rhodena — have been approved through provincial environmental assessment. The others have yet to submit applications.

They have a deadline of 2028 to complete their projects.

Supply chain challenges

This is the second major green energy procurement program the Progressive Conservative government has initiated. All the projects in the first program, called Rate Based Procurement, missed their 2024 deadline.

Peter Craig, director of clean electricity with the Department of Energy, said the companies invoked a clause in their agreement releasing them from contractual obligations to meet the deadline because of global supply chain issues.

Jason Parisé, director of wind development at SWEB, said those challenges are ongoing, largely because demand for wind energy has grown quickly. 

"There's a lot more demand for turbines than there was 10 years ago, there's a lot of projects being built, so we're seeing supply chain challenges across the board," he told reporters following the government announcement.

But he said developers are adapting and should be able to meet the deadline the province has set.

'Conflating' wind with resource extraction 

Halman, the environment minister, said he was excited about the Green Choice projects because they will lead to "the single-largest [greenhouse gas] reduction in our province's history." 

But he also said Nova Scotia needs to "build faster" if it is "serious about climate change."

"And to do that we need to get our natural resources out of the ground faster and more efficiently," said Halman, echoing a message that Premier Tim Houston first introduced to the public last week about becoming more friendly to resource development.

Halman pointed to the role of critical minerals in wind energy, solar panels and electric vehicles.

NDP MLA Susan Leblanc said she's not convinced that pursuing critical mineral mining in Nova Scotia will serve the province's climate change goals.

She said the government is "conflating" the pursuits of renewable energy and resource extraction. 

"I'm really concerned that the government is trying to pull a fast one on Nova Scotians," she said.