Three of six projects expected to produce power by end of year; credit crunch affects others
Half of Nova Scotia’s six wind projects will be producing power by the end of this year, despite the collapse in the world credit markets, according to interviews conducted by The Chronicle Herald.
Two others will not meet this year’s deadline — one is in bankruptcy, the other has pushed its startup back to 2010. A third company with North American headquarters in Chicago remains uncertain.
The wind developments are critical to moving Nova Scotia beyond its heavy reliance on dirty, coal-fired electrical generation.
"It’s a nervous time and anything can happen but we are working our hardest to meet the 2009 deadline," said Reuben Burge, president of RMSenergy of Westville.
RMSenergy plans to install 34 wind turbines in the Cobequid Range, just 25 kilometres west of New Glasgow, and is the largest of the six wind projects.
Work has already begun on the site of this ambitious wind project with foundation holes being dug during the winter, and cement poured for turbine foundations, beginning April 1, said Mr. Burge.
RMSenergy will take delivery of the GE turbines this summer and then begin commissioning the turbines in August and September with plans to produce electricity by the end of December, he said.
Mr. Burge said his company purchased the turbines and raised the necessary capital before the credit crunch.
"It still has drastically affected our project with higher borrowing costs," said Mr. Burge.
RMSenergy was one of the six groups that signed long-term power agreements with Nova Scotia Power last year, all scheduled to come on stream in late 2009.
Last year, NSP contracted for 247 megawatts of power — enough power for 87,000 homes. When added to its existing wind farms this would account for 10 per cent of the province’s electricity by 2013.
The utility is required by provincial legislation to provide half that amount of power from renewable sources by 2010 as part of the province’s efforts to reduce pollution.
NSP executives have admitted they contracted nearly twice the wind power they needed to meet that deadline.
RMSenergy, along with Scotian Windfields and its partner SkyPower, and Renewable Energy Services Ltd. (RESL) confirmed they are on schedule to start producing green energy by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, EarthFirst Canada Inc. of Victoria, B.C., announced last November its wind energy project in Colchester County is in doubt after the struggling developer sought creditor protection and is restructuring the company.
To date, EarthFirst has submitted the Nuttby project for a federal environmental assessment. But last week the company filed court papers indicating funding for its wind projects, other than its one B.C. project, "will be discontinued and only minimal and critical payments will be made."
Shear Wind Inc. has pushed back the in-service date to 2010 of its $143-million to $160-million wind turbine park.
The Halifax company still has to secure financing for the Glen Dhu wind farm near New Glasgow and expects to have a deal within two months. It is also still awaiting regulatory approval for the wind park and to purchase 30 wind turbines.
Acciona Energy of Spain was not commenting on whether it will meet the 2009 deadline for its 20-turbine wind farm near Amherst.
"Well, it’s moving along," said Eric Schneider, Acciona spokesman, in a telephone interview from Chicago. "At this stage of the development we’re trying to secure permits and trying to meet the in-service date of 2009."
Meanwhile, RESL continues to proceed with its 12-turbine wind farm in Cape Breton.
"We’re working hard to make it," said Larry LeBlanc, a former oilman turned wind power entrepreneur. RESL has received all its necessary government permits and plans on starting construction in late spring and has contracted with German manufacturer Enercon for the turbines.
Scotian Windfields CEO Barry Zwicker remains confident the project will proceed and meet its contract by the end of 2009.
"We’re targeting for that date," said Mr. Zwicker.
Scotian Windfields and its partner, SkyPower, have purchased their turbines and expect
delivery this summer.
The group expects to file its environmental assessment paperwork this month.
9 comments:
This story highlights the inability of regulatory agencies to act within reasonable timeframes. All these projects will be approved, everyone knows that but it could take a while. Anti-environmental groups know this and play the approval process like a game of cricket- as slowly as possible. When working within a 2 year timeline, delaying tactics from opponents can end projects.
In Ontario, Minister Smitherman has taken a swipe at needless delays. Jurisdiction for wind farms is to be moved from municipalitie to the provincial government. This is a welcome development: the millions spent by planning departments doing exactly the same thing
in hundreds of municipalities will now have to be done once only. Anti wind activist in Nova Scotia and PEI have been demanding such a system. Hopefully they will get their way: thngs would speed up and we would get more green power.
The Advertising Standards Association in Britain has become a forum in the wind power debate. Both sides have had complaints heard. One was dismissed because as a politcal pamphlet(for a referandum) the ASA had no jurisdiction. Imagine, political messages do not have to be truthful. A British wind industry group changed their estimates of CO2 reduction to reflect an overall electric industry cleanup. The decision, arrived through a three sided concensus forced the anti wind forces to admit that wind farms do indeed lower carbon admissions. Another anti green group had to withdraw literature asserting detrimental health, environmental and financial effects. They could not show any proof of these alegations. During this farce, an ex Maggie Thatcher spin doctor, now flacking for a Nuclear lobby got up on his hind lega and loudly brayed that anti-wind crusaders had no connections with the nuclear industry.
AT Point Lepreau, we see further proof that Homer really does work at the nuclear plant. Lepreau is another 50-80 m (or is it b?) over budget. Apparently, the Simpsons is a documentry.
In Tennessee, a dam broke and coal ash from an generating plant flooded a valley. Nice stuff to: arsenic, cyanide and heavy metals. I bet coal powers intermittancy is causing the essential backup generating plants to kick in.
John McManus
The meeting in Tignish PEI last Thursday has been strangely unreported.
All I can find is a single item on CBC. Support for wind development does not seem to be as newsworthy as opposition. This answers a lot of questions bout the apparent strength of anti wind.
The 400 who attended this meeting showed that support for wind is strong and getting stronger. Only 400, out of a population of 4 million, showed up to a NIMBY meeting in Toronto. On PEI 400, out of a population of 134,000, showed up in support of wind power generation.
While groups such as SOUL ( save our sorry asses ? ) lament the spoilation of the countryside, wiser head comment that ther were 90,000 windmills working in 17th century England. Most Britons can see the light ( CF bulbs? ): 80% support wind generation and 66% welcome it in their backyard.
Last weekend I heard that nuclear power is like the Atkins diet; you know its bad for you but its still tempting.
AS part of the ani envionmental campaign that includes climate change denial and anti wind flack, the Canadian Nuclear Association has shoveled millions into a Toronto ad agency to get us to vote against our own best interests. Ontario Power Generation, panting for nukes has upped its PR spending by a factor of 10.
John McManus
You got 2 choices when we run out of oil if you want your children to be able to sit freezing at their computers and spew out the bullshit like Mr.McManus
...and that is nuclear
or
...adapt and use less
...cause the wind don't blow all the time!
and all the other green things don't fill the gap we've ALL become accustomed to.
(?-maybe you could follow Mr.McManus around and collect his bullshit and use it for fuel.)
Correct! A digester will produce methane that will power a generator from bullshit.
One of the problems is that everyone recognises is the nedd to use less electricity, but demand keeps going up worldwide.
Winds don't blow all the time, but how much intermittancy is there at Point Lepreau, Darlinton, Three Mile Island, Chernoble? Coal as well operates only about 70% of the time and has to be BACKSTOPPED by building one coal fired backup plant for every two plants built.
My rough calculation is that an wholistic approach could make a difference. In Nova Scotia the following contribuions could be possible:
wind 20%
photovoltaics 15%
tidal generation 20%
biomass generation 5%
concervation 25%
total 85%
Good news from Glen Dhu: provincial approval is done. Now on to municipal and federal approvals. They thank public support in the process. We are now seeing all the public support that's out there for wind power.
John McManus
What a great retort John, to the Tom Foolery of the folk that referred to BS.
I am so glad to be able to come on this site and see that comments are now so far and few between. Because that means that support for this movement is waining and thank goodness for that, because we really could use a good wind farm to drown out Anne Murray's greatest hits CD that keeps playing around Pugwash and surrounding area!
A guest on Maritime Noon said today that nuclear power now has operating costs of 10.5 cents per kilowatt hour. There ignors the cost of construction, overruns and rebuild inevitable with nukes. Wind energy now costs less than nuclear .
Remember when young Ronnie Regan , flacking for GE, said that nuclear power would be too cheap to meter.
Well, he was lying just as bad as when he said deregulation would lead to economic growth. Hello subprime.
John McManus
If people would turn there brains on and adapt to using less electricity then we wouldn't need as much.
Tidal generation is unproven -unpredictable at this time(not to mention the effect of electromagnetic fields on marine life) and requires many units and a long extension cord with its losses to feed Halifax.
It takes as much oil to build/transport/install a photovoltaic cell as it produces over its 25 year lifespan.
Where you gonna get the oil to build these in 50 years?
They come no-where close to providing the needs we are presently consuming and they only produce full output on perfectly clear cloudless days!
Wind only blows intermittantly and and most of the time inconvient to our hi-demand hours.It is also a long term environmental hazard to those living within in range(what ever that may be??) There are technical problems with bringing these in and out of the "grid"to provide smooth transitions.
No matter how you look at it it's going to cost big dollars to support all the Mc Manasses churning out the BS in the future so the sooner you learn to do with less the easier its going to be for your children to adapt!
jumpstart to year 2040.... the wind isn't blowing where i am now and the sun isn't out and i'm burning the biomass to keep warm and some rocks or submerged debris or ice took out most of the tidal generators so all i've got to power my computer is concervation according to Mr.McManus's holistic views!
Curbing energy consumption/demand is perhaps one of the most important endeavours that should be undertaken over the next 10-20 years. The science is correct in its estimations that millions of tonnes of carbon will not be released if people would simply not turn on the switches.
However you can't conserve to zero. We are not going back to pre-edison days. We have already set society up to consume a base of energy that will only be eliminated through severe calamity. That being said, as has always been said on this blog and many other arenas where this is discussed, a combination of renewable energy production projects mixed with conservation and fossil fuel consumption is what is needed. Those that ask for us to conserve to zero are missing the point and are only thinking of their own self-interests and not society's. Those that think all renewable are also far off the mark. A common balance can be found here and if we spend these critical years arguing and not doing, than the planet will decide for us.
Bruce in Halifax
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