Acciona to build 20 turbines on marsh, will sell electricity to NSP
AMHERST — One of the world’s leading developers of green energy announced Thursday that it will invest $55 million in construction of a 20-turbine wind farm on a marsh just outside Amherst.
"We will be using turbines manufactured by our own company that will generate 30 megawatts of power, enough to provide electricity to 10,000 homes annually," Daniel DuBois, vice-president of Acciona Energy North America Corp., said during a news conference.
The electricity generated by the wind farm will be sold to Nova Scotia Power through a 25-year power purchase agreement. Details of the agreement were not released.
The 80-metre turbines, with 37-metre blades, will be built just west of the Trans-Canada Highway on land that Acciona and its partner, Wind Dynamics of Saint John, have rented from the Amherst Sod Co.
Nova Scotia Power and several firms have announced several wind projects for the province this spring. With Thursday’s news, the power company has entered into purchase agreements that will see a total of 214 megawatts of power being generated in the province by 2010 — enough to power about 80,000 homes annually.
Rob Bennett, NSP vice-president, said the latest deal will help the power company meet its goal of producing cleaner, greener energy.
The renewable energy projects signed in recent weeks will help stabilize electricity prices in the province over the next two years, Mr. Bennett said.
Amherst Mayor Jerry Hallee welcomed the news.
"When I first came to power in 1997, this was the first project we began working on," he said. "It’s great to see it coming to fruition."
Mr. Hallee said he believes the wind farm’s proximity to the highway will make it a tourist attraction that will help make Cumberland County a destination area.
"We now need to get an interpretation centre created, one that will tell the tourists how important renewable energy projects like this are," he said.
The project will generate about $200,000 in property taxes for the Municipality of Cumberland.
"However, the taxes we get is not what is important," Warden Keith Hunter said. "The fact that we will be taking carbon dioxide out of the air is what is important, not only for Cumberland County, but the province, the country and the world."
Before construction can go ahead next spring, the project will have to pass an environmental review.
