Wind farm plan criticized

Critics say ratepayers will be on hook for cost overruns at Colchester County site

By JUDY MYRDEN Business Reporter
Thu. Nov 5 - 4:46 AM

Government regulators should reject Nova Scotia Power’s proposal to construct a $120-million wind farm in Colchester County, according to evidence filed with the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board.

Electricity customers could face higher power bills if the project runs into cost overruns or the 22 wind turbines at Nuttby Mountain don’t produce enough power, warns Nova Scotia’s consumer advocate on electricity in a brief filed Tuesday with the board.

"The risk of the investment is on the shoulders of the ratepayers," John Merrick states. "If it turns out that the Nuttby project is inefficient or expensive to maintain, it is the ratepayers who will pay through rates.

"The board cannot depend on NSPI to make decisions beneficial to ratepayers in this matter," he says in the brief.

In September, NSP asked its regulator to approve by Dec. 1 the utility’s application to construct and develop the Nuttby Mountain wind farm.

Located about 20 kilometres north of Truro, the project would include purchasing and erecting the turbines and constructing a new substation and transmission lines.

Before the board makes a decision on the wind farm application, it requested written questions, comments and evidence from interested parties. The deadline for evidence was Tuesday.

Mr. Merrick said before the board makes a decision it must be satisfied this is a "prudent" investment for NSP’s residential customers.

"It is not the role of the board to micromanage or second-guess management of NSP, but ratepayers need to have assurance that they are required to pay for those expenses and investments that do meet a prudence standard."

A group of Nova Scotia businesses say there are "too many unknowns" at this stage for the board to give the green light to this project.

"NSPI is seeking the board’s sanction for it to speculate presumably on behalf of and at the risk of its customers by investing in wind generation," wrote the group’s lawyer, Nancy Rubin.

Ms. Rubin says the Avon Group is concerned about the financial risks to customers if Nuttby Mountain does not produce as much electricity as proposed.

A renewable energy company is recommending the board reject NSP’s application.

Cape Breton Explorations Ltd. president Luciano Lisi argues if NSP is certain about its forecasts, then it should ask its shareholders to take the risk of developing the wind project.

"The numbers NSPI uses in their estimates are simply not acceptable as they are unreliably optimistic, and shift all risks onto the ratepayers. If NSPI is certain of their numbers, then they can have the project built by their mother company Emera Inc. at complete risk to their shareholders," wrote Mr. Lisi.

Mr. Lisi is also president of Strait Bio-Gen, which tried unsuccessfully to convince government regulators three months ago to approve a request by NSP to buy $60-million worth of biomass generated electricity from a partnership between NewPage Port Hawkesbury and Strait Bio-Gen.

NSP says it needs to go ahead with the wind project to meet tough new environmental regulations to reduce pollution. Last April, NSP bought the Nuttby Mountain wind farm from its struggling developer, EarthFirst Canada Inc., in an attempt to move the project forward.

And the Nova Scotia government is urging the board to grant NSP’s request for the wind project. Energy Department lawyer Stephen McGrath wrote in a brief that "all feasible projects should be permitted to proceed as quickly as possible."

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1151261.html

Pictou County wind farm powers up this month

By JUDY MYRDEN Business Reporter
Tue. Nov 3 - 4:45 AM

A 34-turbine wind farm in Pictou County will begin selling electricity this month to Nova Scotia Power.

After months of hard work and major setbacks, RMSenergy of Westville has installed the wind turbines in the Cobequid Range, just 25 kilometres west of New Glasgow, and is busy commissioning and wiring the huge turbines for energy production.

For RMSenergy president Reuben Burge it will be an important milestone when the turbines start creating electricity.

"We’re still hopeful for the end of November. Still a good push to get it done yet, but it’s coming close," said Mr. Burge on Monday.

Last year, RMSenergy was one of six groups that signed long-term power agreements with NSP, all scheduled to come on stream in late 2009.

However, RMSenergy is the largest and the only one on schedule, while the five other wind developers have had their projects delayed by the global credit crisis.

"It’s very difficult, a big job and involves a lot of help from people in the industry. It’s a $100-million project and there’s a reason why, because there is a lot of work to it," said Mr. Burge.

These wind developments are critical to moving Nova Scotia beyond its heavy reliance on dirty, coal-fired electrical generation.

The 51 megawatts of power generated from the turbines will provide enough energy to power 18,000 homes annually, Mr. Burge said.

All 34 turbines are standing and work crews are completing the wiring and commissioning.

"Each machine gets tested for a day to make sure it is functioning normally and putting out the right power for the wind speed," said Mr. Burge.

Developing and constructing this large wind farm has employed over 100 people for the past six months and has had some problems, he said.

"We’ve had some major setbacks but we’re getting over them."

He said there were complications in delivering the towers and delays in trucking and permitting.

Currently, the project is experiencing delays with installing its $1-million transformer that weighs 68 tonnes and is five metres high, he said.

"It took a year to manufacturer; it’s just a big, huge piece of equipment that’s awkward to move," he said. "It’s a challenge just to locate onto the site."

It is the last major step to connecting the wind turbines to the power grid. Last year, NSP contracted for 247 megawatts of power, enough power for 87,000 homes. When added to its existing wind farm system, this would account for 10 per cent of the province’s electricity by 2013.

NSP executives have admitted they contracted nearly twice the wind power they needed to meet tough new environmental regulations. In April, NSP took over a proposed wind project in Colchester County in the hopes of bringing another 22 wind turbines on stream by 2011.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1150859.html

Quebec expected to pay $5b for control of NB Power

Dexter, Williams concerned about what deal will mean for Atlantic region By KEVIN BISSETT The Canadian Press Thu. Oct 29 - 4:46 AM FREDERICTON — Quebec could buy a majority stake of the assets of New Brunswick’s power utility in a tentative deal worth almost $10 billion to be announced by premiers Jean Charest and Shawn Graham, The Canadian Press has learned. A Quebec government source confirmed that after months of talks and public speculation, a deal on the sale will finally be announced at a news conference today in Fredericton. However, a source in the New Brunswick government said that a memorandum of understanding, and not a final deal, will be announced. The source said the MOU, if agreed to, would see Hydro-Quebec shell out just under $5 billion in cash — an amount equal to NB Power’s debt — while a lower rate structure for electricity would see savings for New Brunswickers of approximately $5 billion. The memorandum of understanding would serve as the basis for public debate before formal negotiations on a final sale. The Quebec source said the debt is not part of the deal, but the New Brunswick source said the debt would be addressed through the cash transfer. According to the New Brunswick source, a deal would see Hydro-Quebec establish a New Brunswick-based company and assume ownership of NB Power offices, trucks, power lines and most power plants, including the Point Lepreau nuclear power plant. The source said the deal would close by the end of March and the province would not transfer the ownership of Lepreau until the ongoing $1.4-billion refurbishment is complete. That refit of the reactor was supposed to be completed last month, but is running 18 months behind schedule. Sources say that under the provisions of the memorandum of understanding, NB Power would continue to exist as a utility with ownership of five fossil-fuel powered plants — although only the ones at Dalhousie, Belledune and Coleson Cove are now in use. The power from those plants would be sold back to Quebec. The New Brunswick source said the province’s Energy and Utility Board would remain in place and regulate power rates. The New Brunswick government has come under pressure in recent days to reveal details of discussions over the future of NB Power amid fears that the province could relinquish control of the Crown corporation. Graham has said any deal would have to address a number of key demands, such as lowering power rates for New Brunswickers, eliminating the utility’s debt, and promoting his government’s vision of making New Brunswick a conduit for neighbouring provinces to export their energy to the northeastern United States. He refused to release details but said there would be ample opportunity for debate. Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter said he was advised about the pending deal in a phone call Wednesday with Graham. Dexter refused to release details, but expressed concerns about an agreement that could set back the interests of the Atlantic region. "I have over the last number of months been looking to promote Maritime interests," Dexter said. "There’s a difference between promoting Maritime interests and selling Maritime interests." Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams turned up the volume on his opposition to such a deal. "I have great fears and reservations about the stranglehold that Hydro-Quebec could put in place over the Atlantic region and I hope that you share this concern given your extensive statements on your desire to see your province as an energy hub," Williams wrote in a letter to Graham. Williams said he’s disappointed that his province was not made aware of the extent of New Brunswick’s negotiations with Quebec. Williams has accused Hydro-Quebec of trying to block his plans to develop the Lower Churchill hydroelectric project and sell the energy from that development to the U.S., and of taking an unfair share of profits from the 1969 contract to develop the Churchill Falls project in Labrador. "Our province feels compelled to look into the potential of anti-competitive behaviour on the part of Hydro-Quebec given the potential monopoly that could exist as the result of an agreement between them and NB Power," Williams wrote. Graham has issued assurances that Newfoundland and Labrador would have access to transmission lines in New Brunswick for routing any of its hydroelectric power to the U.S. http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/1150012.html

NSPI urges UARB to approve Nuttby project promptly

NSP: Approve project by Dec. 1

Company plans to build wind farm

By JUDY MYRDEN Business Reporter

Nova Scotia Power Inc. has told government regulators it must soon break ground on its proposed $120-million wind farm in Colchester County or customers will face higher costs.

The power company is asking the Utility and Review Board to approve by Dec. 1 its application to build a 22-turbine wind farm at Nuttby Mountain, about 20 kilometres north of Truro.

"Delayed approval may increase the cost of the project," Nova Scotia Power states in a filing with the board.

The company wants to begin construction next year so the wind turbines could be producing electricity by March 31, 2011, and qualify for federal wind-power incentives.

Ottawa has funding available through the ecoEnergy program, which represents $14 million over the first decade of production at Nuttby Mountain.

"Were construction to be necessary after that time, additional costs and also safety issues must be managed," Nova Scotia Power says.

The utility filed its application to the review board last month.

Before the board makes a decision on the 45-megawatt wind farm, it is allowing interested parties to ask questions about the project. On Friday, Nova Scotia Power responded to hundreds of queries.

It admitted it plans to proceed with the wind-power project even if the federal funding doesn’t come through.

"NSPI will proceed with the project if ecoEnergy incentive funding is not available," the utility says.

The project is to include buying and erecting 22 turbines rated at 2.05 megawatts each, construction of a new substation and transmission lines at Nuttby Mountain.

The power company has already received approval from the review board to buy the turbines and begin construction, but at the risk of shareholders.

Nova Scotia Power bought the development rights to Nuttby Mountain in April from financially troubled EarthFirst Canada Inc. of Calgary.

The power company said its design for the wind farm would generate electricity for more than 10 per cent less cost than what customers would have paid through the contract with EarthFirst.

The turbines would produce enough energy to power about 15,000 homes. The project has the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 100,000 tonnes annually.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1149685.html

Anaerobic Digesters Provide Green Energy

Comment from the UK

By Charlie Brooks, Daily Telegraph 2/10/09
Oct 3, 2009 - 11:39:09 AM

I keep having nightmares about Ed Miliband, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. It's been going on since he told us that "it is socially unacceptable to be against wind turbines in your area". It isn't.

The idea that onshore wind farms, which are defacing our countryside in increasing numbers, are the be-all and end-all of renewable, green electricity has been a very successful con and the idea that you are irresponsible if you object to them is environmental blackmail. Because there are alternatives which are much more environmentally friendly.

If Mr Miliband were to announce, for example, that "it is a criminal offence to be against an anaerobic digester in your area", I would carry him around the country on my shoulders. As listeners to The Archers know, thanks to a controversy over whether to install one on Home Farm in Ambridge, an anaerobic digester works a bit like your stomach: it uses bacteria to break down organic material, while giving off a vast amount of methane which is converted into electricity. In Britain, they are relatively few and far between, but our European cousins have got their act together. The Germans, for example, have 4,000 digesters, generating 10.9 per cent of their renewable energy. In India, there are 300,000.

The advantages of digesters are clear. They produce electricity 24 hours a day, whereas wind farms produce electricity when the wind blows. Because the grid cannot rely on the wind blowing during periods of peak demand, power stations are needed to back up the turbines. Not so with digesters, which also produce heat and organic fertiliser and consume waste.

This latter point is particularly important. Sainsbury's alone produces 56,000 tons of food waste a year. By the end of this year, all of it will end up in digesters, rather than landfill sites. Yet the country as a whole generates between 20 and 30 million tons of food waste, which could become a valuable resource rather than a toxic liability if we developed a network of digesters on the German scale.

Although we are well off the pace as a nation, we do have some innovative pioneers who have seen the light. Owen Yeatman, a farmer in Dorset, is now converting silage and cattle slurry into electricity. In Bedfordshire, Biogen Greenfinch have adapted and improved German technology. Initially, the variety of the waste they processed was corroding their digester and causing it to behave in a rather volatile manner (if you think about what would happen if you scoffed a box of figs and a chicken tikka, you'll get the drift).

The heat generated by digesters is harder to distribute than the electricity, but not impossible. Insulated pipes are becoming more efficient. In Copenhagen, for instance, there is now an 80-mile grid distributing hot air. But it is the fertiliser produced that completes the virtuous circle, returning to the soil the nutrients that grew the food in the first place.

So given that anaerobic digesters kill three birds with one stone - as opposed to wind farms, which only kill one (or rather, wound it) - you would expect government incentives to match those given to the vandals slapping up wind farms. But you would be wrong. After a consultation period which is set to end on October 15, the Government proposes to set a feed-in tariff (the guaranteed price of electricity generated) of nine pence per kilowatt for a farm-based digester. If, however, a farmer were to erect an 80ft wind turbine, he would get double that, even though it would deliver one third of the amount of electricity, and that unreliably.

This is clearly insane. Flatulence, not wind, is the way to go.

http://www.ocnus.net/artman2/publish/Research_11/Anaerobic-Digesters-Provide-Green-Energy.shtml

Lawyer questions NSP wind plan

Consumer advocate wants to know how project cost will affect ratepayers
By JUDY MYRDEN Business Reporter
Wed. Oct 21 - 4:46 AM

Nova Scotia’s electricity consumer advocate is questioning Nova Scotia Power’s proposal to spend $120 million on a wind farm.

"Is it a good deal?" asks Halifax lawyer John Merrick. "Because ultimately it has to be paid for by ratepayers."

The power company has applied to government regulators for permission to build and develop a 22-turbine wind farm at Nuttby Mountain, Colchester County.

Before the Utility and Review Board makes a decision on the wind farm application, it is requesting written questions and comments from interested parties.

Mr. Merrick wants answers to a lot of tough questions about the economics of the project and how it will impact NSP customers’ power bills.

"It should certainly be power that’s produced at a competitive cost for ratepayers. We’re looking at it with care and skepticism. One should always have a healthy degree of skepticism," Mr. Merrick said Tuesday.

The deadline is Friday for NSP to respond to the hundreds of questions filed by the consumer advocate and Nova Scotia businesses and government departments.

Besides concerns about whether the project is a good deal for NSP’s 470,000 customers, Mr. Merrick questions whether the power monopoly should be getting involved in the renewable energy business.

Provincial legislation introduced in January 2007 ordered the power company to increase generation from independent producers to five per cent by 2010 or face a fine of $500,000 a day.

"This renewable energy initiative was going to open the doors for third parties to come in with various proposals. Now we discover that the camel coming through the front door was the camel we thought we weren’t going to see coming in through that door," said Mr. Merrick.

NSP stated in its application the wind farm would provide a net present value of $7.3 million that would benefit customers. Mr. Merrick is requesting the firm’s analysis to prove this statement.

"We’re taking a very focused look at this proposal," he said.

Three months ago, government regulators rejected a request by NSP to buy $60-million worth of biomass-generated electricity from a partnership of NewPage Port Hawkesbury and Strait Bio-Gen.

"We just went through the biomass application, which has a lot of questions as to whether it was good for ratepayers, and it didn’t go anywhere. It may be alive somewhere in the backwoods," said Mr. Merrick.

Located about 20 kilometres north of Truro, the project would include purchasing and erecting the turbines and constructing a new substation and transmission lines.

Last April, NSP bought the Nuttby Mountain wind farm from its struggling developer EarthFirst Canada Inc. in an attempt to move the project forward and help the utility meet its environmental targets of reducing pollution.

NSP is seeking approval of the project by Dec. 1. In the meantime, the board has given permission for the power company to order the turbines and begin construction.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1148581.html

Wind producers sigh with relief

By BILL POWER Business Reporter

SOME independent energy producers in Nova Scotia were cheering Friday after the Dexter government announced a delay of the province’s green energy plan that threatened them and Nova Scotia Power with potential fines.

"I think it is safe to say the people involved in our industry are breathing easier today," said Larry Leblanc, president and CEO of Renewable Energy Services Ltd., which has a $55-million wind energy farm planned for Point Tupper.

"Our project is moving ahead nicely, but we are still awaiting federal environmental approval and this reflects how tight the deadline was for us and for others," Mr. Leblanc said in an interview.

The province announced a change in its 2007 renewable electricity regulation on Friday. The change adds a year to the deadline that required Nova Scotia Power to obtain five per cent of its electricity from renewable sources by Dec. 31, 2010. The utility now has until Dec. 31, 2011, to meet that target.

The change is part of the government’s plan to obtain 25 per cent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2015.

The renewable energy regulation threatens Nova Scotia Power with fines if green targets are missed. There were concerns among some independent energy producers that they would be held liable for portions of the fines due to missed contract obligations.

"This move gives the independents more time to bring projects to completion that encountered delays, mostly because of the downturn of the economy," said Jennifer Parker, a spokeswoman for Nova Scotia Power.

"Our plan remains the same and this is to comply with the regulation as it previously stood and bring more renewable energy sources to Nova Scotia as soon as possible."

Energy Minister Bill Estabrooks said a number of exciting green energy projects faced possible cancellation if the deadline was not extended.

"The change reflects the reality on the ground," the energy minister said in a news release. "The year-long, global credit crisis has delayed wind power projects."

A plan to increase green energy sources by another five per cent by 2013 remains in place and the environment minister said that by then a minimum of 18.5 per cent of the province’s energy will come from renewable sources.

However, the Ecology Action Centre suggested the one year delay reflects the sad state of the province’s renewable energy plan.

"Even before the financial crisis there was a 50 per cent failure rate for renewable energy proposals from independents because of a flawed competitive bidding process," said Cheryl Ratchford, energy co-ordinator with the centre.

She said the government must devise a strategy that encourages independents to come forward with proposals and allows them to secure contracts to connect to the energy grid before they proceed to seek financing.

Problems with financing have threatened the Shear Wind Inc. project near New Glasgow (30 turbines), the Acciona Wind Energy Canada project near Amherst (20 turbines) and the Scotian WindFields project near Digby Neck (20 turbines).

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1146991.html