Glen Dhu wind project gets boost of $22m

By Our Staff
Sat. Jun 26 - 4:53 AM

Spanish-owned Genera Avante Holdings Canada Inc. is putting $21,968,890 into Shear Wind Inc.’s Glen Dhu wind power project that straddles Antigonish and Pictou counties, the companies announced Friday.

Earlier this month, the Bedford renewable energy company and Genera Avante announced they had formed a limited partnership to push ahead with the $170- million, 60-megawatt wind power project. But they didn’t put a price tag on the deal until Friday.

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP valued the assets of the project at $22,865,580.

Genera Avante will get 49 per cent of the wind farm and Shear Wind will hold 51 per cent.

The consultant also determined the deal "is fair, from a financial point of view, to the shareholders of Shear Wind, excluding Genera Avante," says a release from the two companies involved.

The transaction is slated to close on June 30.

Genera Avante Holdings Canada is a division of Inveravante, a privately held Spanish utility conglomerate that bought a 62 per cent stake in Shear Wind for $27 million last year.

Last month, Shear Wind signed a contract with Enercon Canada Ltd. for wind turbines and a 20-year operational and maintenance agreement for an estimated $100 million.

After delivery, installation of the state-of-the-art turbines will begin this fall.

Electricity from the wind farm will be sold to Nova Scotia Power under an agreement signed in 2008 with the utility for 20 megawatts of energy.

Glen Dhu was supposed to be operating by now, but Shear Wind was not able to secure financing until late last year. The company had to forfeit a $500,000 performance deposit to Nova Scotia Power after it failed to deliver electricity to the utility by the end of last year.

The publicly traded company was formed in 2004.

Shear Wind shares traded Friday at 24 cents on the TSX Venture Exchange.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1189118.html

Welcome mat ready

Firm deal with Daewoo just weeks away, says development boss
By MARY ELLEN MacINTYRE Truro Bureau
Sat. Jun 26 - 4:53 AM

If Gerald Gabriel has his way, a deal will be signed, sealed and delivered this summer and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering will begin construction of wind turbine parts in Pictou County.

"That’s the way it’s going to be and we’re going to do everything we can to facilitate and accommodate," the executive director of Pictou Regional Development Commission said in a recent interview.

Gabriel said DSME Trenton Ltd.’s plan to build wind turbine components at the former TrentonWorks plant will mean much-needed jobs for this community.

"They have to go through legal due diligence, but it will be just a few more weeks before it’s a done deal," he said.

"Their (human resources) people are doing interviews and by the end of October or November, there will be 100 people working there."

Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, a multinational corporation based in South Korea, intends to use this facility as a launching pad into the wind power business. It is supposed to employ 120 people in the first year making turbine towers and blades. Up to 400 jobs are expected to be created within three years.

A spokesman for the province’s Economic and Rural Development Department said a number of things have to happen before the deal is officially signed off.

"It’s like buying a house," said Toby Kaufman. "There are many loose ends to tie up.

"There is a geotechnical study we’re awaiting on the property where the heavy turbines will be stored to determine if the area is suitable."

The area he referred to is land owned by Nova Scotia Power Inc., which is next door to the former TrentonWorks railcar plant.

Fly ash emitted from Nova Scotia Power’s nearby Trenton power generating plant is stored there.

"The report will determine the stability of the fly ash to see if it will support the weight of the components," said Kaufman.

As part of the multimillion-dollar deal to bring the business to this area, Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency has promised a $5-million contribution to ensure the property is usable.

Aside from the $20 million invested in the project by DSME Trenton, provincial government funding includes $19.6 million for a 49 per cent interest in the company and a $30-million loan for equipment.

As well, the province has provided $6 million in working capital and a $4-million forgivable loan for land and buildings.

Kaufman said the study should be in government’s hands by the end of next week.

Meanwhile, Gabriel said the community is doing everything to make sure the company feels welcome in the area.

"We’ve met with company officials just to make sure there are no issues that could be a problem," he said.

"Even to the extent that we are trying to make sure there are Korean foodstuffs available in local grocery stores and to make sure we’ll have suitable housing to meet their needs."

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1189153.html

Irving opts out of tidal project

N.S. still committed
By KEVIN BISSETT The Canadian Press
Fri. Jun 25 - 4:54 AM

FREDERICTON — Irving Oil has decided to stop its involvement in tidal power research in the Bay of Fundy over concerns about the viability of the technology.

Irving Oil officials weren’t willing to be interviewed on Thursday but in an email company spokeswoman Lesley MacLeod said: "I can confirm that due to policy concerns and uncertainty around the true viability of tidal technologies, we have decided to conclude our work on our tidal project."

New Brunswick Energy Minister Jack Keir said he was informed by the company last week but Irving officials didn’t give specifics about why they weren’t going forward.

"I suspect part of the problem is there isn’t a technology yet — certainly commercialized technology for tidal power — that’s going to allow for commercialization of generation of electricity," Keir said.

Two years ago, Irving signed a lease with the province for sites along the bay where research could be conducted in partnership with the Huntsman Marine Science Centre in St. Andrews, N.B.

Keir said until there is technology that will allow for commercialized production of power from the tides, it will be difficult to get large companies involved.

Meanwhile, Nova Scotia’s energy minister said the Irving decision would have no impact on the province’s commitment to develop test projects in the bay’s Minas Passage.

Bill Estabrooks said the province remained committed to harnessing tidal power as an alternate source of energy.

"We have an obligation, a duty and a responsibility to respond because Nova Scotians have said tidal power is something they are interested in pursuing and we are going to continue to do that," said Estabrooks.

The government has contributed money toward a test project run by Nova Scotia Power and Irish-based OpenHydro.

The project hit a major snag earlier this month after currents broke off two blades from a massive 400-tonne turbine.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1188985.html

Biomass project means big risks

RACHEL BRIGHTON JUST BUSINESS
Sun. Jun 20 - 4:53 AM

The biomass power project slated for Port Hawkesbury is working out to be another example of why politics and monopolies make bad bedfellows.

The political pressure to meet aggressive renewable energy targets, coupled with the business opportunity at hand, have combined to produce a deal characterized as risky in a report commissioned by staff of the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board.

Written by John Antonuk of The Liberty Consulting Group of Pennsylvania, ahead of hearings into the project next month, the report highlights the "uncertain nature" and "frail economic condition" of NewPage Port Hawkesbury Ltd.’s line of business.

It also questions the quality of the almost 30-year-old boiler that Nova Scotia Power wants to buy from NewPage as part of a power deal worth close to $209 million. There are also risks from the potentially escalating price of biomass.

Under the deal, the paper mill will sell its aging boiler and other assets to the utility, but it will operate those assets and sell the power back to the utility.

NewPage will also get to use the steam from a new generator to make its paper.

The Liberty report asserts that "NSPI has not laid a convincing basis for assuming that the boiler can last another 40 years."

Nova Scotia Power maintains the boiler is "in acceptable condition" for the long haul and that its agreement with NewPage gives adequate protection against rising fuel costs, plant repairs and even failure.

But such confidence is "easier to express when it is customers who bear the risks if confidence proves to have been misplaced," counters the report.

It also suggests the utility might be more risk-averse if it was betting "its money rather than customer money on its optimistic views of the project."

Nova Scotia Power argues the deal is the best and fastest way to generate power to meet the provincial government’s renewable energy deadlines and balance the intermittent supply provided by wind-generated power.

To get a better handle on the reasonableness of the costs and the risks of the biomass project, the utility issued a request for third-party proposals for alternative projects.

But the results will only become available just before the hearings, leaving a slim window for evaluating them or changing plans.

As well, the report suggests the process for soliciting alternative projects may have been distorted by "the wording" in the request for proposals, which may have "encouraged responders to make offerings whose costs are higher than" the actual project requirements.

To avoid any perception that the process may have "negatively influenced" the alternative bids, the report suggests an independent evaluator should review the whole process as well as the bids themselves.

But despite these significant risks and questions raised about the process, the biomass project will likely go ahead for lack of better alternatives.

Nova Scotians would have been better served by having all the evidence placed on the table before the power company and the government snuggled up to close the deal.

Rachel Brighton is the publisher of the regional magazine Coastlands and a former business editor and journalist.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1188227.html

Shear Wind signs on with new partner

By JUDY MYRDEN Business Reporter
Sat. Jun 19 - 4:54 AM

Shear Wind Inc. has formed a limited partnership with Genera Avante Holdings Canada Inc. to push ahead with its $170-million Glen Dhu wind power project that straddles Antigonish and Pictou counties, the company announced Friday.

The Bedford renewable energy company intends to transfer all of the assets in the 60-mega- watt project to the Glen Dhu Wind Energy Limited Partnership.

Genera Avante Holdings Canada is a division of Inveravante, a privately held Spanish utility conglomerate that bought a 62 per cent stake in Shear Wind for $27 million last year.

Details of the purchase price will be disclosed after the terms of the definitive asset purchase agreement are determined, according to a news release issued by Shear Wind.

Shear Wind will retain control of the Glen Dhu North Project.

Shear Wind anticipates finalizing the terms and conditions of the required debt financing for the project within the next several weeks and to close such a financing by the end of July, according to the release.

Shear Wind executives were unavailable for comment Friday.

Last month, the Bedford renewable energy company signed a contract with Enercon Canada Ltd. for wind turbines and a 20-year operational and maintenance agreement for an estimated $100 million.

After delivery, installation of the state-of-the-art turbines will begin this fall.

Electricity from the wind farm will be sold to Nova Scotia Power under an agreement signed in 2008 with the utility for 20 megawatts of energy.

Glen Dhu was supposed to be operating by now, but Shear Wind was not able to secure financing until late last year. The company had to forfeit a $500,000 performance deposit to Nova Scotia Power after it failed to deliver electricity to the utility by the end of last year.

Shear Wind, a publicly traded company formed in 2004, has a number of wind farm projects in various stages of development.

Shares in the company traded Friday at 22 cents per share on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1188073.html

Biomass plan under fire

U.S. expert: Not enough information to rush into decision
By JUDY MYRDEN Business Reporter
Thu. Jun 17 - 4:54 AM

A U.S. power utility expert is criticizing Nova Scotia Power’s proposal to spend $200 million to generate power in Cape Breton by burning waste wood.

Paul Chernick, president of Resource Insight Inc. of Arlington, Mass., says the power company has rushed to put the biomass project before government regulators, failed to provide critical information about the project and did not consider wind-generated power as an option.

"The company has once again put the (review) board into an awkward situation, proposing a project on a tight time schedule without having done the work necessary to allow the board to make an informed decision," Chernick wrote in pre-filed evidence filed with the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board on Wednesday.

Chernick was hired by John Merrick, Nova Scotia’s consumer advocate, to review the biomass project.

Nova Scotia Power has said it needs the biomass energy project in order to meet the provincial government’s new regulations to curb pollution. The utility wants a quick decision on its biomass proposal so it can purchase key equipment for the project and to ensure it meets the in-service date of late 2012.

It wants board approval to purchase land, a boiler and other related assets from NewPage Port Hawkesbury Ltd. and permission to install a steam generator and other equipment at the paper giant’s site in the Strait.

The cost of the project is estimated to be $208.6 million.

Chernick said cost of the biomass fuel, which will be supplied by Newpage, was "not well defined" in the utility’s proposal nor were other costs associated with the project including property taxes, which Nova Scotia Power assumes to be zero, and sustaining capital expenses.

The new plant will require 650,000 tonnes of biomass a year. Half of that will come from wood waste generated from the paper company’s paper making and sawmilling operations. The other half will be harvested and half of that, about 170,000 tonnes, will be harvested from Crown land as outlined in a 25-year deal reached between the Dexter government and NewPage. The power company has said the project will generate enough electricity to power 50,000 homes annually.

Chernick also said the power company made a "major omission" by failing to solicit wind energy projects in order to meet the government’s 2013 target of using more renewable energy.

The regulator has scheduled a hearing, starting on July 26, into the project at the board’s offices in downtown Halifax.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1187628.html

Landlord turns to wind

Killam Properties installs two turbines in trailer park
By JUDY MYRDEN Business Reporter
Wed. Jun 16 - 4:53 AM

KILLAM Properties Inc. of Halifax has installed two wind turbines at its 300-home trailer park in Lake Echo to generate electricity for the community’s street lighting, water supply and water treatment facilities.

The company expects to save between $12,000 and $15,000 a year on its power bill, company president Philip Fraser said at a news conference Tuesday.

The conference was held at Mountainview Estates in Lake Echo, where winds were blowing 25 to 30 kilometres an hour.

"The electricity generated through the wind turbines at Mountainview Estates is net metered against Killam’s electricity usage at the community, allowing a perfect hedge against rising electricity costs," he said.

Longtime resident Dennis Mansfield watched the activities from the balcony of his mobile home, which overlooked the two turbines that are set about 300 to 400 metres from his home.

He accepts wind turbines as part of the new energy landscape but said the noise from the smaller of the two turbines bothered him.

"I don’t mind what they look like it’s just the noise," Mansfield said.

This is Killam’s first wind energy project, but it already uses solar panels to heat water at five other locations and is set to use solar energy system on its Parker Street apartments in Dartmouth.

As one of the largest landlords in the region, Killam wants to be able to install more and larger turbines at its properties around the province. But for that to happen, the provincial government would have to change the rules and regulations governing electrical transmission in the province, which is currently the monopoly of Nova Scotia Power.

Currently, private firms are only allowed to produce a maximum of 100 kilowatts of power that can be used to offset their power bills. Killam would like that figure to be higher.

Killam has its eye on installing wind turbines at two or three other locations in Nova Scotia and also in Ontario to get the benefits of renewable energy, Fraser said.

Killam purchased the two Lake Echo turbines at a cost of $50,000 for a small, six-kilowatt turbine and $300,000 for a 50-kilowatt turbine. Scotian WindFields Inc. of Halifax installed the turbines and has a 20-year maintenance contract.

"One of the strong, strong benefits of renewable energy is flat lining energy costs and for a company like Killam it’s all about trying to preserve costs, preserve lower rents for their clients and it’s all about the environment," said Barry Zwicker of Scotian WindFields.

Zwicker said companies such as Killam, Loblaws and Sobeys are realizing the economic benefits of using more renewable energy sources, but the Nova Scotia government isn’t. As proof, he said the province only has one building using a solar water system and that has been in use for 20 years at the old Lunenburg hospital.

"We do not have strong leadership," said Zwicker after the news conference.

"Leadership has two things to it, you can write all the legislation, you can sell the targets, (but) you’ve got to be walking the walk."

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1187462.html

Green light on wind farm

NSP cleared to invest $27.8 million
By JUDY MYRDEN Business Reporter
Tue. Jun 15 - 4:53 AM

Nova Scotia Power can invest $27.8 million in a wind farm in the Strait area, government regulators ruled Monday.

The Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board gave approval to the utility’s plan to take a 49 per cent stake in the Point Tupper wind farm, which is majority-owned by Renewable Energy Services Ltd. of Lower Sackville.

"It’s really about Nova Scotia Power wanting to change its fuel mix for its customer’s desires and the government’s desires," Robin McAdam, a Nova Scotia Power vice-president, said Monday.

This is the third wind project Nova Scotia Power has invested in to ensure it meets new renewable energy targets set out by the provincial government, he said. It’s also invested in the $120-million Nuttby Mountain project, located about 20 kilometres north of Truro, and a wind farm in Digby. Both will be operational later this year.

The board did attach some conditions to its decision Monday.

While there was no opposition to the approval of the Point Tupper wind project, there were several interveners who raised issues, the board noted.11

The board has ordered revenues from the wind turbine project should be included in the fuel adjustment mechanism to "provide a clear picture of the expenses and cost."

Any further investments in Renewable Energy Services or any changes to the power purchase agreement with the renewable energy company will require prior board approval, the regulator stated.

The board also wants Nova Scotia Power to file a list by July 15 of projects and purchases of renewable energy from others through which the utility proposes to meet provincial renewable energy goals in 2013, 2015 and 2020.

McAdam said the utility plans to purchase wind power from smaller independent developers and is seeking regulatory approval for a biomass project with paper giant NewPage Port Hawkesbury Ltd. That hearing is scheduled to go before the board July 26 in Halifax.

The Point Tupper wind farm ran into financial difficulties in 2008 and the project stalled.

The $55-million project will produce 22 megawatts of electricity from 11 turbines, enough power for 7,500 homes. The wind farm is scheduled to be fully operational by July.

Last week three of the turbines purchased by Renewable Energy Services started producing power, McAdam said.

The project was originally to have been in service and providing electricity to Nova Scotia Power by the end of 2009.

Renewable Energy Services will manage, operate and maintain the facility over the next 20 years, according to an agreement signed between the two companies.

The provincial government ordered Nova Scotia Power to have five per cent of its total electricity purchases generated by independent power producers from renewable energy sources by the end of 2011. The legislation was supposed to encourage competition in the marketplace and allow independent power producers to gain a toehold in the province.

Renewable Energy Services owns and operates turbines across Nova Scotia in Brookfield, Goodwood, Digby, Marshville and Richmond County and has two wind farms under development in Alberta.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1187354.html

Blades break off underwater turbine prototype

NSP, Irish partner forced to pull up 400-tonne unit a year early
By JUDY MYRDEN Business Reporter
Sat. Jun 12 - 4:53 AM

Nova Scotia Power has suffered another setback in its $8.5-million experiment to try and generate electricity from the powerful Bay of Fundy tides.

Two large blades have broken off an underwater turbine, forcing the power company and its Irish partner, OpenHydro, to pull the 400-tonne prototype up from the bottom of the ocean floor a year early, Mark Savoury, a Nova Scotia Power vice-president, said Friday.

"The images are indicating we have a loss of two blades," Peter Corcoran, OpenHydro’s chief financial officer, told reporters at a news conference Friday in Halifax. "The Bay of Fundy is one of the world’s best tidal sites and I guess the world’s best tidal sites don’t come easy."

The companies can’t explain how the reinforced plastic rotors were damaged and want to pull the turbine out of the water later this summer or early fall so engineers can closely examine it.

The damaged turbine was discovered recently when a video camera was lowered 15 metres into the murky waters of the Bay of Fundy to film the turbine.

The video was taken back to Dublin for analysis by OpenHydro engineers, who quickly found images of the missing rotors. The company would not release footage to the media.

"I think at this stage, trying to determine timing and determine cause is incredibly difficult to do. Only until we have extracted the turbine will our engineers be able to really get inside that system," said Corcoran.

This latest news comes after The Chronicle Herald first reported in March that the company had lost contact with sensors on the turbine only seven days after it was lowered to the ocean floor last November in the Minas Passage. An acoustic modem failed to trigger sensors attached to the turbine to collect critical data about potential electrical production.

The turbid waters and strong currents in the Bay of Fundy prevent the company from sending divers to the site to fix the problem and it is difficult to take video footage.

Savoury said he hopes the turbine, located about 10 kilometres west of Parrsboro, will be repaired and can be put back into the water for further testing.

"This will involve no additional costs for Nova Scotia Power customers," said Savoury.

OpenHydro, a renewable energy company, will pick up the tab for the removal, repair and redeployment of the turbine back into the water. But Corcoran said it’s too early to say how much the repairs will cost.

Despite the setbacks, Nova Scotia Power and OpenHydro are committed to trying to tap this huge energy resource.

"It has one of the strongest resources known in the world and that is exactly why OpenHydro and NSP (are) deploying turbines here, and any lessons that we learn along this journey will only make the turbines stronger, and (the) likelihood of commercial tidal (power) possible," said Corcoran.

The massive steel turbine sitting on the seafloor is not connected to the power grid.

There are two other groups hoping to launch their tidal prototypes in the Bay of Fundy next year: Minas Basin Pulp and Power Company Ltd. of Hantsport and Clean Current Power Systems Inc. of British Columbia.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/1186929.html

Trading barbs over wind farm

Thu. Jun 10 - 4:54 AM

The deputy energy minister rejected criticism levelled Wednesday about the cost of unveiling the province’s renewable energy plan.

About $42,000 was spent on the producing and announcing of the plan at an April news conference at a Dalhousie Mountain, Pictou County, wind farm.

Cecil Clarke, the Tories’ energy critic, said that kind of money would fund a community energy co-op. He also said the energy plan lacked specifics.

"The premier went to the mountain," Clarke said at the public accounts committee meeting at the legislature. "When he came down, did he have any tablets with dollar figures inscribed on them?"

The premier chose that location because MS Energy is one of the first companies in the province to develop a wind farm connected to the power grid, said Murray Coolican, the deputy energy minister.

"It happens that the best wind is on the mountain and that’s why the wind farm is located there."

Coolican also disagreed that the plan lacked specifics. It includes targets for the amount of electricity to be generated by 2015 through renewable sources, he said.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotia/1186548.html

Hit energy target and NSP customers will save, MLAs told

Cutting emissions will drop rates, eventually
By JOHN McPHEE Staff Reporter
Thu. Jun 10 - 4:54 AM

The province’s plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will end up saving Nova Scotia Power ratepayers money, the deputy energy minister told MLAs on Wednesday.

That’s despite the fact power rates are expected to increase up to two per cent every year to help pay for renewable energy projects.

Murray Coolican was responding to questions from opposition MLAs on Wednesday. He and outgoing deputy environment minister Nancy Vanstone spoke to the standing committee on public accounts about greenhouse gas reduction.

"The least expensive way to produce electricity is to save it, not use it," Coolican said. "As the price of electricity goes up and you’re using less, your overall bill may go down, even though the price of electricity is going up."

The province recently unveiled a plan that would quadruple by 2020 the amount of renewable energy produced from wind, tides, biomass and imported sources.

The amount of electricity generated from renewable sources would increase to 40 per cent from the current amount of 10 to 12 per cent.

Liberal MLA Keith Colwell noted that power users are also paying more on their power bills to help create Efficiency Nova Scotia Corp., which will manage energy efficiency and conservation programs. The new levy will raise $43 million annually to operate the new agency to replace Conserve Nova Scotia.

The new agency was supposed to be in place by this spring, but it has yet to be established.

Colwell expressed skepticism about the targets the province has set on reducing greenhouse gases.

The plan would cut the emissions by at least five megatonnes by 2020, roughly equivalent to taking one million cars off the highway, Colwell said.

"I’ll believe it when I see it, and I hope you exceed it."

After the meeting, Vanstone noted that Nova Scotia Power has already reduced emissions over the past five years.

According to the utility’s website, it produced about 9.7 megatonnes of greenhouse gases in 2008, down from about 10.5 megatonnes in 2004.

Nova Scotia Power will face fines of up to $500,000 if it exceeds the provincial emissions caps, she said.

The transition from coal-fired power to renewable sources comes with a cost, so ratepayers will see their power bills go up at the outset, Vanstone said.

"What would be the impact on price if we kept going without making these changes, without doing more on energy efficiency?"

http://thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotia/1186563.html

Valley may be ripe for turbines

Kings, Annapolis counties considering sites for wind power
By GORDON DELANEYValley Bureau
Fri. Jun 4 - 6:14 AM

KENTVILLE — With growing pressure to find alternative sources of energy, some rural municipalities are struggling to set guidelines for the location of large-scale wind turbines.

"It seems there is a lot of resentment to them . . . . People say they are unsightly and noisy. But we’ve got to do something. We can’t keep depending on fossil fuels," Kings County Warden Fred Whalen said Thursday.

The NDP government has set a goal of 40 per cent of the province’s electricity coming from renewable resources by 2020.

While some municipalities have bylaws governing the placement of wind turbines, allowing for several wind farms to be developed in the province, others, such as Kings County, are trying to catch up.

"It has taken us awhile to get it together because we wanted to do it right, so I know we’re not as far ahead as some of the other municipalities," the warden said. "We’re trying to come up with a comprehensive policy. . . . We’d want to put them as far away from residential areas as possible.

"Whatever we do with it, we will certainly do it through a public process so residents have an opportunity to have input."

Studies show many good sites in Kings County, especially on North Mountain, and county staff have been studying the issue for some time.

"Now that we’ve gotten this far on it, we will be looking at companies that want to come in and build them," the warden said.

"Once they make their applications, we would have to go through the process of (locating) them."

Annapolis County is also struggling to get a policy.

It passed an interim bylaw in March that would allow development in a sparsely populated area on the South Mountain.

Warden Peter Newton said the bylaw allows small residential windmills and is not intended to shut out large-scale development, but will give council time to get its policy right.

But proponents, who want the economic benefits, say developers are more interested in the North Mountain.

Kings County has scheduled two meetings to get input. They will be held at the Aylesford firehall on June 23 and the Canning firehall on June 24. Both begin at 7 p.m. and will be preceded by a 5 p.m. open house.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotia/1185602.html

Public comments on new strategy until July 23rd

Anyone interested in the government’s new renewable energy strategy has until July 23 to comment on new draft regulations.

Copies of the renewable electricity plan and the draft regulations are available online on the Energy Department website at www.gov.ns.ca/energy, or by calling 424-8802.

Submissions can be made by email to renewableregs@gov.ns.ca, or in writing to The Department of Energy, Renewable Regulations, 400-5151 George St., P.O. Box 2664, Halifax, B3J 3P7.

The regulations establish eligibility for community-based projects and a process for determining how they get paid, along with a special process to support the next stage of tidal development. They also establish a new renewable electricity administrator to manage bids for larger projects from independent power producers.

"Earlier this spring, government introduced its plan to achieve 25 per cent renewable electricity by 2015 and set a goal of 40 per cent renewable electricity by 2020. Legislation supporting the plan was passed earlier this month," said Energy Minister Bill Estabrooks in a news release Monday.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1185194.html

Wind turbines on way

Project machinery to start arriving in July
By JUDY MYRDEN Business Reporter
Tue. Jun 1 - 4:53 AM

For Shear Wind’s Mike Magnus, the heavy lifting is about to begin.

The Bedford renewable energy company signed a contract Friday with Enercon Canada Ltd. for wind turbines and a 20-year operational and maintenance agreement for an estimated $100 million. (Enercon Canada Ltd. is a subsidiary of German-based Enercon GmbH.)

"This is the biggest commitment you have to make as a developer," said the president of Shear Wind Monday. "It’s a big commitment into the renewable energy business (in) Nova Scotia."

The company is developing the $170-million Glen Dhu wind power project that straddles Antigonish and Pictou counties. It is scheduled to start generating electricity later this year.

Magnus said the company will take delivery of between 26 and 28 Enercon E-82 turbines, starting in July and August. The turbine parts are manufactured in Germany and Canada, he said.

The turbines, which generate 2.3 megawatts, have been described as a "gearless turbine" that emits no mechanical sounds.

"We spent a lot of time looking at different options. We’re certainly happy with the decision. It’s more than just making a one-off decision. We analyzed about half a dozen different options and Enercon kept scoring well," Magnus said.

After delivery, installation of the state-of-the-art turbines will begin this fall, he said.

Electricity from the wind farm will be sold to Nova Scotia Power under an agreement signed in 2008 with the utility for 20 megawatts of energy. If the company does not meet the in-service deadline, it faces a $1-million security performance penalty.

Glen Dhu was supposed to be operating by now, but Shear Wind was not able to secure financing until late last year when Inveravante, a privately held Spanish utility conglomerate, bought a 62 per cent stake in Shear Wind for $27 million.

The company had to forfeit a $500,000 performance deposit to Nova Scotia Power after it failed to deliver electricity to the power company by the end of last year.

A strong Canadian dollar and Enercon’s Halifax maintenance office were key factors in the company winning the major contract, said Magnus.

Enercon’s local office provides servicing and supplies to its wind turbines operating in Canada. There are 14 turbines operating in Nova Scotia, 40 in Ontario and 28 in Alberta, according to the company’s website.

"That was a big part of our consideration, the suitability of the site to operate on an ongoing basis and we don’t really want to see our turbines down at all," said Magnus.

Construction at the Glen Dhu site has seen roads cleared and turbine sites completed.

Shear Wind, a publicly traded company formed in 2004, has a number of wind farm projects in various stages of development in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Alberta.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1185194.html