Nova Scotia Power has been given the green light to develop a $120-million wind farm in Colchester County.
The provincial Utility and Review Board approved the 22-turbine project on Nuttby Mountain in a decision released Monday.
"The board . . . is satisfied that the project is in the best interest of the ratepayers and should proceed," the board wrote in a 23-page decision.
Nova Scotia Power customers will pay for the project through power bills.
However, government regulators rejected the company’s request to be able to sell 51 per cent interest in the wind farm.
Nova Scotia Power had hoped to get advance approval for the sale, which would allow the wind-generated electricity to be counted toward the 2011 independent green energy target. (The utility has to buy five per cent of its electricity from independent energy sources by that date.)
The review board argued that it is up to the courts to decide on the interpretation of provincial legislation, and a ruling now would be "simply premature."
Nova Scotia Power originally selected the 45-megawatt wind project as part of its request for proposals in 2007 for renewable energy from independent power producers.
Financial troubles drove the developer — EarthFirst Canada Inc. of Calgary — into bankruptcy and Nova Scotia Power picked up the development rights in April.
The utility filed an application with the board in September, asking for a decision by today to get the project back on schedule and allow the wind farm to qualify for federal government incentives.
To qualify, the project must be under construction this year and be completed by March 31, 2011.
Nova Scotia Power filed a letter on Nov. 20 saying the federal government has agreed that the Nuttby Mountain project qualifies for $14 million in incentives.
The power company filed evidence that it could produce electricity cheaper than the wind farm’s original proponent could, and power customers would save $7.3 million over the 23-year lifespan of the project.
The wind farm project will include buying and erecting the turbines about 20 kilometres north of Truro and building a new substation and transmission lines.
Also on Monday, Nova Scotia Power’s parent company, Emera Inc. of Halifax, officially took a stake in another troubled wind farm in Digby.
Emera made an undisclosed offer to buy a 50 per cent interest in the project held by SkyPower Corp., a partner to Scotian WindFields. SkyPower Corp. entered into creditor protection when owner Lehman Brothers went bankrupt.
The deal was finalized Monday in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice and shows that a numbered company owned by Emera put in the offer for the assets.
Dan Roscoe, Scotian WindFields’ chief operating officer, said the project can now move forward.
"It’s certainly nice to have this stabilized and we are anxious to get going on the work," he said.
Emera spokeswoman Sasha Irving has stated it was easier for Emera to make the purchase than Nova Scotia Power, which would have had to seek regulatory approval.
Construction is expected to begin in January with electricity generated by next November. The 30-megawatt wind project has a power-purchase provision with Nova Scotia Power, signed in May 2008.
Thirty megawatts of electricity can power 10,000 homes.
The Digby wind park is key for the utility to meet government’s renewable energy target of producing 25 per cent of its electricity from green sources by 2015.
