SHOULD an international company operating in eight countries qualify as a "small, community-based" producer of wind power?
That’s one question the government will need to answer when it releases its renewable energy strategy in the spring.
In January, Nova Scotia Power awarded six contracts to "small, community-based" enterprises. But one of the six went to Wind Prospect Inc., which has an office in Halifax, but is 90-per-cent owned by Wind Prospect Group Ltd. of England.
In what sense is a project like this a community project? Jennifer Parker, of Nova Scotia Power, replied to that question in an email this week.
"In terms of your larger question about these projects, we referred to them in the recent media release as ‘small, community-based’ projects, which is probably different than ‘community-owned.’ "
Parker said "we were also looking for projects that would have a positive economic impact on the local economy of the communities where they are built."
The utility wouldn’t confirm the other five companies were majority-owned by Nova Scotians.
But the publicly listed directors are almost all provincial residents.
When the Nova Scotia government releases its renewable energy strategy in the spring, the definition of a community energy project and its purpose need to be clearly defined.
Nancy Watson, a spokeswoman for the Energy Department, said in an email this week the government would establish a new class of "community" renewable energy projects.
"How best to provide the support necessary to get these projects built is still in discussion," Watson said,
Michelle Adams and David Wheeler of Dalhousie University argue in their recent report that subsidizing community producers of renewable energy, such as municipalities and First Nations, is the best way to spread the economic benefits of a new renewable energy regime in Nova Scotia.
They suggest this should be done through a system of feed-in tariffs, which set a fixed rate to allow for the cost of producing electricity and a reasonable return for investors.
Last week, New Brunswick adopted this kind of tariff system to support community energy projects of up to 15 megawatts.
To be eligible for the fixed rate of 10 cents per kilowatt hour, community enterprises must be majority-owned by First Nations, municipalities, co-operatives, associations or not-for-profit organizations in the province.
After five years, the price will be indexed to inflation.
A spokesman for the Energy Department in New Brunswick, Keith Melvin, said the policy was still being refined, but contracts for wind projects could be set for 20 to 25 years and hyrdo contracts might be longer.
The New Brunswick policy has been criticized as being a political gloss on the pending sale of key NB Power assets to Hydro-Quebec and for setting the tariff too low. Yet there seems to be agreement that community-generated renewable energy should play a key part in rural development.
As Nova Scotia moves to support rural jobs and investment by supporting community energy projects, it needs to make the case for how they will truly "encourage community investment and development," to borrow the words of Nova Scotia Power.
Government also needs to make clear in what sense these projects will be "community-owned" and how community consent will be gained.
Rachel Brighton publishes the regional magazine Coastlands and is a former business editor and journalist.
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