A proposed $55-million wind project at Point Tupper is undergoing a federal environmental assessment.
The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency announced Friday on its website it was starting its review of the proposed 12-wind turbine project by Renewable Energy Services Ltd., and known as the Statia Wind Farm Project.
Company president Larry LeBlanc said the wind farm received provincial environmental approval last October and was expecting the project to undergo a screening by the federal government agency.
A federal assessment is triggered by a project’s size (over two megawatts of capacity), possible environmental effects and whether the developers are seeking federal financial assistance.
The wind farm is expected to produce more than 24 megawatts of electricity and the company is seeking federal financial assistance through an incentive under the ecoENERGY for Renewable Power Program administered by Natural Resources Canada. The incentive could be worth several millions of dollars, said Mr. LeBlanc Monday.
"It’s just a standard type thing," he said.
Mr. LeBlanc said the Halifax wind company is getting ready to clear land at the site and the wind turbines are expected to start arriving this summer from the German manufacturer Enercon.
The firm proposes to construct and operate the wind farm on two land parcels to the east of Port Malcolm Road in Point Tupper, Richmond County.
The wind project is scheduled to be in service by November and all the green electricity generated will be sold to Nova Scotia Power under a power purchase agreement signed 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 Point Tupper project was one of six contracts signed by NSP last year. The wind developments are critical to moving Nova Scotia beyond its heavy reliance on dirty, coal-fired electrical generation.
Renewable Energy Services Ltd., along with RMSenergy and Scotian WindFields, are moving ahead but two others will probably 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.
In its filing with the provincial government, Renewable Energy Services Ltd. says the wind farm will be installed in a large industrial area and its development will not substantially change the ecology of the area. The land is already zoned for heavy industrial use and is currently owned by NuStar Energy, formerly known as Statia Terminals, and Nova Scotia Business Inc.
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