Pictou County wind farm produces more power than expected

Shear Wind’s Glen Dhu wind farm has better-than-expected turbine performance

October 26, 2011 - 8:04pm BRETT BUNDALE Business Reporter

The president and CEO of Shear Wind Inc. is optimistic about expanding the Glen Dhu wind farm after better-than-expected turbine performance in its first six months of operation.

Mike Magnus said the 62-megawatt Pictou County wind farm, in operation since the end of March, has surpassed earlier expectations and is producing more power than expected.

“We’re pleasantly surprised and pleased on the performance of the turbines themselves and, more importantly, their ability to capture the energy of the wind,” he said in an interview from Shear Wind’s Dartmouth office.

“It’s pretty early to tell, but we’ve been experiencing upward of 10 per cent better performance than what we had looked at. In this business, 10 per cent is a big number.”

While Magnus declined to put a dollar figure on the stellar performance, he said “it helps us pay down our debt 10 per cent quicker.”

The Glen Dhu wind farm is made up of 27 giant turbines on about 10,000 acres of windswept hills east of New Glasgow.

The wind farm, which has a 20-year power purchase agreement with Nova Scotia Power Inc., produces enough energy to power 18,000 homes.

However, the site has the potential to produce 230 megawatts — about three times its present capacity.

“Phase 2 of the Glen Dhu site looks very, very promising,” Magnus said. “We know the wind regime there and we’ve got very significant infrastructure that we’ve already invested in, so we’re very optimistic about extending the current site.”

Unlike Cape Breton wind farms that have been hobbled by traffic jams on the grid coming out of the Strait of Canso, transmission lines with extra space transect the Glen Dhu site.

Shear Wind is also eyeing another site in the Parrsboro area of Cumberland County that has features similar to the Pictou County site.

The energy company has been measuring winds in Parrsboro since June and early results “indicate it’s going to be a very good site,” he said.

The province’s renewable energy administrator is expected to issue a request for proposals for renewable energy projects this December, with proposals due by March. John Dalton, the independent administrator for the province, is expected to approve the next round of wind projects by late spring.

Projects will be evaluated and scored on a range of costs and other factors, such as nearby transmission capacity.

While Magnus said Shear Wind’s projects have a strong business case, he noted that there is increasing competition in the wind energy market.

“We feel pretty good about where we sit right now, but there has been more competition. There are a number of outside interests being expressed, but at the end of the day, I think localized entities such as Shear Wind that have made a lot of investment in this province to develop sites to an advanced stage are at an advantage.”

The better-than-expected performance of the Glen Dhu wind farm is proof of the tremendous renewable resource in Nova Scotia and the need for continued investments in areas such as transmission capacity, he said.

“There is a very rich resource here in Nova Scotia. We’ve got a tremendous resource, and like any other resource like oil and gas, there has got to be continued investment in getting that source of energy to market.”

Jean-Francois Nolet with the Canadian Wind Energy Association said given that Atlantic Canada has some of the best wind resources in the country, he is not surprised to hear the Glen Dhu farm is performing better than predicted.

But he said the performance of wind farms needs to be examined over a longer period of time before making assumptions.

“This is good news, but wind resources can fluctuate from year to year, so we need to cautious before jumping to any conclusions.”

Shear Wind owns 51 per cent of Glen Dhu wind farm and Inveravante Inversiones Universales, S.L., through Genera Avante Holdings Canada Inc., owns 49 per cent.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/27307-pictou-county-wind-farm-produces-more-power-expected

Group seeks wind farm bonds

Developers would show ‘integrity’
By GORDON DELANEY Valley Bureau
Wed, Oct 12 - 4:53 AM

A group in Annapolis County wants to ensure potential wind farm developers — and not taxpayers — are on the hook for the costs of decommissioning turbines.

"Any company coming here, if they are serious . . . should have the integrity to put a bond in place to protect the landowner and the County of Annapolis," Steve Lewis, spokesman for Friends for Responsibility for the Economy and Energy, said recently.

The municipality’s draft wind turbine bylaw, expected to come before council for second reading on Tuesday, does not require a bond or have any protection for taxpayers, he said. As a result, it could leave them paying the decommissioning costs for wind farms in 20 years, the average life span of a turbine.

"So we’re just saying (to council), ‘Slow down, let’s look at this a bit longer,’ " Lewis said.

He stressed that he’s not opposed to wind farm development.

"We want economic development but only if it will not put landowners and taxpayers at financial risk and is of economic benefit to the majority of county citizens," Lewis wrote in a letter to Annapolis County Warden Reg Ritchie.

Lewis also said landowners who allow large-scale wind turbine developments on their land may not be aware of their financial obligations. The cost of decommissioning one large-scale wind turbine could be as much as $100,000, he said.

The county has been working on a wind turbine bylaw for more than a year, as companies seek to develop wind farms in the region, including a large one on North Mountain, near Bridgetown. Lewis wants the county to send the bylaw back to the planning advisory committee for more study.

Under the Municipal Government Act, the county can seek a security or performance bond through a development agreement or through "conditional use" zoning, said Peter McInroy, a Musquodoboit Harbour lawyer hired by Lewis’s group.

But municipalities are reluctant to make that requirement for fear that developers will walk away, said Lewis.

Gregory Heming, a citizen member of the county’s planning advisory committee that studied the issue, is encouraging the county to slow down and get its bylaw right.

"The provincial government set these energy targets and then turned it loose on municipal governments to figure out how that’s going to work, without any guidelines," said Heming, who has a doctorate in ecology, specializing in community development.

Warden Reg Ritchie could not be reached for comment by deadline Tuesday.

Proposed areas for wind-resource zones in the county include Parker Mountain Road, Victoria Beach and Hampton Hills on North Mountain and Spectacle Lake on South Mountain.

A $60-million, 12-turbine wind farm by Sprott Power Corp. of Toronto is proposed for Hampton Hills, about four kilometres north of Bridgetown.

Sprott is renewing building permits it held for properties in Arlington, Arlington West and Hampton. In April, the company asked Nova Scotia Supreme Court to overrule a municipal decision denying the renewal.

Annapolis County announced recently it was changing its planning strategy to allow Sprott to proceed with most of the turbines.

The county’s draft bylaw may be viewed on the municipality’s website at www.annapoliscounty.ns.ca.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotia/1267996.html

Ontario wind power bringing down property values

By John Nicol and Dave Seglins, CBC News

Posted: Oct 1, 2011 6:56 AM ET

Ontario's rapid expansion in wind power projects has provoked a backlash from rural residents living near industrial wind turbines who say their property values are plummeting and they are unable to sell their homes, a CBC News investigation has found.

The government and the wind energy industry have long maintained turbines have no adverse effects on property values, health or the environment.

The CBC has documented scores of families who've discovered their property values are not only going downward, but also some who are unable to sell and have even abandoned their homes because of concerns nearby turbines are affecting their health.

"I have to tell you not a soul has come to look at it," says Stephana Johnston, 81, of Clear Creek, a hamlet on the north shore of Lake Erie about 60 kilometres southeast of London.

Johnston, a retired Toronto teacher, moved here six years ago to build what she thought would be her dream home. But in 2008, 18 industrial wind turbines sprung up near her property and she put the one-floor, wheelchair-accessible home up for sale.

"My hunch is that people look at them and say: 'As nice as the property is going south, looking at the lake, we don't want to be surrounded by those turbines.' Can't say that I blame them."

Johnston says she has suffered so many ill health effects, including an inability to sleep — which she believes stem from the noise and vibration of the turbines— that she now sleeps on a couch in her son's trailer, 12 kilometres away, and only returns to her house to eat breakfast and dinner and use the internet.

Industry rejects claims of lower land values

Meanwhile, the industry rejects claims of lower land values.

"Multiple studies, and particularly some very comprehensive ones from the United States have consistently shown the presence of wind turbines does not have any statistically significant impact on property values," says Robert Hornung of the Ottawa-based Canadian Wind Energy Association (CANWEA).

While acknowledging a lack of peer-reviewed studies in Ontario, Hornung says CANWEA commissioned a study of the Chatham-Kent area, where new wind turbines are appearing, and found no evidence of any impact on property values.

"In fact," says Hornung, "we've recently seen evidence coming from Re/Max indicating that we're seeing farm values throughout Ontario, including the Chatham-Kent area, increasing significantly this year as wind energy is being developed in the area at the same time."

However, Ron VandenBussche, a Re/Max agent along the Lake Erie shore, said the reality is that the wind turbines reduce the pool of interested buyers, and ultimately the price of properties.

"It's going to make my life more difficult," says VandenBussche, who has been a realtor for 38 years. "There's going to be people that would love to buy this particular place, but because the turbines are there, it's going to make it more difficult, no doubt."

Kay Armstrong is one example. She put her two-acre, waterfront property up for sale before the turbines appeared in Clear Creek, for what three agents said was a reasonable price of $270,000.

Two years after the turbines appeared, she took $175,000, and she felt lucky to do that — the property went to someone who only wanted to grow marijuana there for legal uses.

"I had to get out," said Armstrong. "It was getting so, so bad. And I had to disclose the health issues I had. I was told by two prominent lawyers that I would be sued if the ensuing purchasers were to develop health problems."

Realtor association finds 20 to 40 per cent drops in value

Armstrong's experience is backed up in a study by Brampton-based realtor Chris Luxemburger. The president of the Brampton Real Estate Board examined real estate listings and sales figures for the Melancthon-Amaranth area, home to 133 turbines in what is Ontario's first and largest industrial wind farm.

"Homes inside the windmill zones were selling for less and taking longer to sell than the homes outside the windmill zones," said Luxemburger.

On average, from 2007 to 2010, he says properties adjacent to turbines sold for between 20 and 40 per cent less than comparable properties that were out of sight from the windmills.

Power company sells at a loss

Land registry documents obtained by CBC News show that some property owners who complained about noise and health issues and threatened legal action did well if they convinced the turbine companies to buy them out.

Canadian Hydro Developers bought out four different owners for $500,000, $350,000, $305,000 and $302,670. The company then resold each property, respectively, for $288,400, $175,000, $278,000 and $215,000.

In total, Canadian Hydro absorbed just over half a million dollars in losses on those four properties.

The new buyers were required to sign agreements acknowledging that the wind turbine facilities may affect the buyer's "living environment" and that the power company will not be responsible for or liable from any of the buyer's "complaints, claims, demands, suits, actions or causes of action of every kind known or unknown which may arise directly or indirectly from the Transferee's wind turbine facilities."

The energy company admits the impacts may include "heat, sound, vibration, shadow flickering of light, noise (including grey noise) or any other adverse effect or combination thereof resulting directly or indirectly from the operation."

TransAlta, the company that took over for Canadian Hydro, refused to discuss the specific properties it bought and then resold at a loss in Melancthon. But in an email to CBC, spokesman Glen Whelan cited the recession and other "business considerations" that "influence the cost at which we buy or sell properties, and to attribute purchase or sale prices to any one factor would be impossible."

Province says no change to tax base

Ontario's ministers of Energy, Municipal Affairs and Finance, all in the midst of an election campaign, declined requests for an interview.

A spokesperson for Municipal Affairs says his ministry has no studies or information about the potential impact wind turbines are having on rural property values.

However, last February, before an environmental review tribunal in Chatham, Environment Ministry lawyer Frederika Rotter said: "We will see in the course of this hearing that lots of people are worried about windmills. They may not like the noise, they may think the noise makes them sick, but really what makes them sick is just the windmills being on the land because it does impact their property values.

"That's what makes them sick is that, you know, they'll get less money for their properties, and that's what's causing all this annoyance and frustration and all of that."

When Energy Minister Brad Duguid declined comment, his staff referred CBC News to the Ministry of Finance, which oversees MPAC (the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation), which sets values on land for taxation purposes. They indicated that MPAC has no evidence wind turbines are driving down assessed values.

However, CBC found one household in Melancthon was awarded a 50-per-cent reduction in property tax because the house sat next to a transformer station for the turbines.

Losing the rural life

Almost all the people interviewed by the CBC rue the division between neighbours for and against the turbines, and said what they have lost is a sense of home and the idyllic life of living in the countryside.

Tracy Whitworth, who has a historic home in Clear Creek, refuses to sell it and instead has become a nomad, renting from place to place with her son, to avoid the ill effects of the turbines.

"My house sits empty — it's been vandalized," says Whitworth, a Clear Creek resident who teaches high school in Delhi. "I've had a couple of 'Stop the wind turbine' signs knocked down, mailbox broken off.

"I lived out there for a reason. It was out in the country. School's very busy. When I come home, I like peace and quiet. Now, we have the turbines and the noise. Absolutely no wildlife. I used to go out in the morning, tend to my dogs, let my dogs run, and I'd hear the geese go over.

"And ugh! Now there's no deer, no geese, no wild turkeys. Nothing."

For the octogenarian Johnston, the fight is all more than she bargained for. She sank all her life savings, about $500,000, into the house, and she says she does not have the money to be able to hire a lawyer to fight for a buyout. But she is coming to the conclusion she must get a mortgage to try the legal route.

"I love being near the water and I thought, what a way to spend the rest of my days — every view is precious," she said, as tears filled her eyes. "And I would not have that any more.

"And that is hard to reconcile and accept."

Getting a mortgage on her house might not be that easy. CBC News has learned that already one bank in the Melancthon area is not allowing lines of credit to be secured by houses situated near wind turbines. In a letter to one family situated close to the turbines, the bank wrote, "we find your property a high risk and its future marketability may be jeopardized."

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2011/09/30/ontario-wind-power-property-values.html#.TobyvN2TMUM.mailto

Prentice pushes Muskrat Falls power project

By JOANN ALBERSTAT Business Reporter
Thu, Sep 29 - 7:20 AM

The Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project should go ahead even though an environmental assessment has raised questions about the need for it, says a former federal environment minister.

Jim Prentice, who appointed the review panel that says the proposed $6.2-billion project should be studied further, told a Halifax business audience Wednesday that the federal and Newfoundland and Labrador governments should continue to support the development.

"It is a transformational project for Atlantic Canada that will take the region and our country to a new level of industrial development," said Prentice, now senior executive vice-president of CIBC.

The Calgary lawyer, who left federal politics in November 2010, said he respects the regulatory process, but he added that the final decision on such megaprojects rests with politicians.

"In my opinion, the federal government has done the right thing in supporting the development of the remaining hydropower potential of the Churchill River.

"And in the days ahead, the voters in Newfoundland and Labrador will have the opportunity to voice their opinion as well."

The former Tory cabinet minister said after his speech he wasn’t trying to sway voters in Newfoundland and Labrador’s Oct. 11 provincial election.

"I’m here speaking on behalf of our bank and we are supportive of the project," he told reporters. "The voters in that province will make their choice in the days ahead."

Prentice said a study commissioned by Nalcor Energy, Newfoundland and Labrador’s Crown energy corporation, after the review panel report has helped answer questions about the project’s benefits.

The development includes sending some of the power generated in Labrador to Newfoundland, then on to Nova Scotia by a subsea cable.

Nalcor is partnered on the project with Emera Inc., the private energy firm that owns Nova Scotia Power.

Emera would spend $1.2 billion to build a 180-kilometre subsea link between Cape Ray, N.L., and Lingan.

Nalcor president Ed Martin, who was in the audience at the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council event, said Newfoundland and Labrador’s Board of Commissioners of Public Utilities is also reviewing the project at the province’s request.

"Any type of report or information that we receive, and any questions, we welcome them," Martin told reporters.

"We’ve been very clear about that. We take them in and work with that."

The board’s report is expected by the end of this year or early in 2012, he said.

Meanwhile, preliminary engineering and other work on the project continues, Martin said.

"We’re continuing to do a job. We’re confident in the information we’ve presented. We’re confident in the project."

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/1265688.html

N.S. feels pressure to develop marine energy industry

By ROGER TAYLOR
Chronicle Herald Sports Columnist
Wed, Sep 28 - 4:55 AM

The Nova Scotia government is assuming development of "marine renewable energy" is going to be big, but just how big?

Considering there isn’t even a policy framework established for development of marine energy — tidal, wave and offshore wind — and there isn’t even a reliable technology available to harness the tides of the Bay of Fundy, the government could be accused of jumping the gun.

And yet the Energy Department has a lengthy study that attempts to assess communities that would benefit most from the development of marine energy in Nova Scotia, which was the message the government wanted when consultants were hired in March.

Even if marine energy eventually becomes a major industry, at this point, nobody really knows how the technology will develop, what it will look like and who will benefit. In fact, the consultants recommend the province conduct another infrastructure assessment in about four or five years.

"We know what we have; we’re not yet at the ‘tipping point’ — you might have noticed those words in there — so it’s hard to predict exactly what the industry is going to require as technology changes in the future," admits Energy Minister Charlie Parker.

But he told me the government is feeling the pressure to become a leader in this industry or lose out to competitors in other parts of the world.

In a phone conversation Tuesday, Parker said the main focus of the infrastructure study was to provide an inventory of ports around tidal energy projects in the Bay of Fundy. He said it puts a particular emphasis on communities close to the Fundy Ocean Research Centre for Energy tidal power demonstration project near Parrsboro.

"It will help communities to identify what they have and perhaps what they may need, as time goes by, to become a major port in the renewable energy sector."

There aren’t any plans at the moment for development of wind farms or wave energy technology off the Nova Scotia coast, Parker said, but there are offshore wind and wave projects in other parts of the world, which means there is the potential it could be developed here.

Although there are experts who advise the government to be cautious as it tries to develop new energy opportunities offshore, Parker said things are happening quickly in the renewable energy business, which offers an opportunity to create a lot of employment in Nova Scotia.

"Within the next few months, we’ll have our tidal strategy fully completed and moving towards legislation probably by next spring. So, it is a step-by-step process to develop our industry.

"We have a lot of potential to produce energy from within the Bay of Fundy and from these other sources, but we also have the potential to develop an industry here — engineering, technology, supply and service industry, it all goes together."

The study concludes that some tidal power developers, particularly those using base structures designed to float, will likely plan to conduct some operations from ports such as Hantsport or Parrsboro, which are dry at low tide. Ramps or floating dry docks can be constructed to allow marine energy structures to be put floated in the same way boats are launched.

If future demand for offshore wind power generation is to be met, the consultants suggest that "significant production, assembly and deployment facilities will be required." And since it is difficult to transport large offshore foundations, manufacturing facilities would need to be created near "major coastal locations."

Parker said the private sector will develop the marine energy industry but government has a role to play.

"Our job is to be the regulator, to set up the framework that allows this technology to move forward."

He expects the federal and provincial governments to work together to establish one offshore regulator to oversee the development of this new industry.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1265512.html

Battle of the blades

Dozens of humongous wind turbine parts begin journey to Amherst power project
By BILL POWER Business Reporter
Wed, Sep 28 - 4:55 AM

IT LOOKED LIKE AN outtake from one of the Transformer’s films as dozens of monster components for the $61-million Amherst wind project were readied Tuesday at the Port of Halifax for transport to the assembly site.

"This is exciting for us, as it is the first location that the new Suzlon model S97 turbines have been installed as a group in North America," said Derek Lim Soo, vice-president of sales and marketing for Suzlon Wind Energy Corp. in North America.

Each of the 48-metre-long turbine blades — three for each turbine for a total of 36 blades — will be mounted on custom-configured flatbeds to be moved out of the city beginning after midnight Thursday.

The 15 connecting hubs (which hold the blades) and also the nacelles (which include the gears and generators) of the units will also occupy an impressive bit of road during transport.

"All the components for one turbine will arrive each working day and we allow about four days for installation for each unit, weather permitting," said Lim Soo, affiliated with the international company’s Toronto office.

With the exception of the towers that are being made by DSTN Trenton Ltd., the assorted blades, hubs and peripherals to be transported to Amherst over the next couple of weeks will have the capacity to power about 10,000 homes when commissioned in about six months.

The erection of the turbines at the site about five kilometres outside Amherst will make for an impressive vista for motorists approaching the province from New Brunswick, said Jeff Jenner, chief executive officer of Sprott Power Corp., a Toronto partner in the project.

"As people enter the province, they will be able to see them for miles around," Jenner said.

The completed wind farm will be worth about $150,000 in annual tax revenue for the Municipality of County of Cumberland and will create the equivalent of five direct and indirect jobs for maintenance and site upkeep for the life of the wind farm.

Each turbine will be assembled on the ground and hoisted into place with a giant crane.

Halifax-area residents will have limited opportunities to watch the unusual convoy of big trucks as the city requires the loads be moved — via Bedford Highway — outside of its boundaries at night, when there is minimal traffic.

Once outside the Halifax area, there should be ample opportunity to catch each convey of at least 11 trucks during the week along the route up to the assembly site.

Considering each turbine blade is about the length of a downtown Halifax city block, the shipments should be hard to miss.

Premier Darrell Dexter said the project will help the province achieve its renewable energy targets, which he described as among the most aggressive in North America.

"Over the past six years, the price of coal has risen 75 per cent," Dexter said, referring to the province’s reliance of coal for electrical generation.

"The government has established aggressive targets to help reduce the dependence of fossil fuels, a move that will make life more affordable for families by ensuring lower, more stable power rates in the long term."

Suzlon Wind Energy, the world’s fifth-largest manufacturer of wind turbines, is already in talks with other parties in Nova Scotia interested in using their technology for their projects.

"However, these negotiations are currently underway and we’re not in a position to discuss who our potential clients may be," said Lim Soo.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1265568.html

Homeowners oppose cell tower

EastLink wants to build 76-metre tower
By GORDON DELANEY Valley Bureau
Mon, Sep 26 - 4:55 AM

WEST BROOKLYN — Residents of West Brooklyn are lining up in opposition to a proposed telecommunications tower in their neighbourhood.

EastLink is proposing a 76-metre cellphone tower at 316 West Brooklyn Rd., near Avonport. It would be on a 1.6-hectare site less than 304 metres from the nearest house.

"As part of our continued investment in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, we are well underway in designing and building infrastructure that will enable a world-class wireless service seamlessly throughout the province," EastLink spokeswoman Jill Laing said in an email message.

"To date, we have about 30 telecommunications sites under construction across the province. We continue to work closely with community stakeholders to ensure that telecommunications structures satisfy Nova Scotians’ wireless needs, while minimizing impact to the local community."

But Stanley Moeller, who lives across the road from the proposed site, said people in the community are unhappy with the location and want it moved farther away.

There are about 50 houses in the area, and residents are circulating a petition opposing the location. They are citing concerns about the impact on their health, environmental issues and property valuations.

According to its application with the Municipality of the County of Kings, EastLink plans to lease the land from an absentee landowner. Because the property is less than four hectares, it is not subject to an environmental assessment.

"We’re not saying don’t put it up here," Moeller said in a recent interview. "We’re saying we want the company to talk to us, hear our concerns and move it farther back from the houses.

"Why is an alternative site not possible?"

Moeller said he moved to the area, with its picturesque views of the Annapolis Valley and Cape Blomidon in the distance, because it is a quiet rural community.

"Why would you want to live in a rural place and then have an industrial tower plunked right in your backyard?" he asked.

Residents met last week to gather ammunition to fight the development. Under the consultation process, EastLink is hosting a public meeting at the West Brooklyn community hall tonight, beginning at 7 p.m. The company plans to provide information on the proposed tower and listen to feedback from residents.

"This is our one opportunity to express our concerns," said Moeller.

Ruth Legge lives with her daughter and young granddaughter less than 304 metres from the proposed tower.

"Basic quality of life is what it comes down to," Legge said in an interview. "We live here and it’s beautiful and unspoiled. This tower is just so out of place and inappropriate. I’m sure they could site it someplace where it’s not literally in people’s backyards."

She said the tower would block the panoramic view many houses in the area have.

"We love the view that we’ve got."

Legge said the site is close to a wetland and the guide wires would block a flight path for migratory birds.

Laing said the tower is not a done deal.

"This is a proposed location," she said in an interview. "This has not been finalized. . . . That’s precisely the reason for the public meeting, to get feedback and be able to answer questions and figure out the next step."

She said EastLink plans to launch its wireless service in 2012 to bring competition to Nova Scotia.

"We are in the process of developing a wireless voice and data network capable of supporting the most advanced applications and providing the best value for Nova Scotians."

She said the company’s entry into the wireless cellphone market could save consumers millions of dollars.

"Throughout Nova Scotia, we are identifying proposed locations to either co-locate on an existing telecommunications structure, our preferred option where feasible, or build a new one."

Moeller said a large contingent of residents plan to show up at the public meeting tonight.

"Even though we were given very short notice . . . the goal is clear. Our community simply does not want that tower in our neighbourhood."

http://thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotia/1265140.html

Water power needed

Dal oceanographer endorses tidal energy projects on Bay of Fundy
By DAVID JACKSON Provincial Reporter
Thu, Sep 22 - 4:55 AM

Dalhousie University oceanographer Bob Fournier says the government needs a tidal power strategy before allowing development, but current test projects are OK.

Fournier said that’s likely the most important of the 27 recommendations he made to the province in a report released Wednesday.

He said the strategic plan for marine renewable energy should focus on tidal in-stream efforts. It should look at a five-year horizon and encompass the four areas examined in his report — planning, socioeconomic, research and regulatory issues. He said there are more than 50 issues to consider.

"All the issues that we’re addressing should be in that strategic plan, at least in a general sense, and in some cases very specifically," he said.

Fournier’s 27 recommendations also include creating a "trusted regulator" to help developers navigate various regulators, developing a business plan on the competitiveness of in-stream tidal power, and researching the potential impact of future large-scale use of the Bay of Fundy.

Four groups are planning to test turbines in the bay next year in hopes of harnessing the powerful tides to generate electricity.

Nova Scotia Power and partner OpenHydro of Ireland put a $10-million turbine in the Bay of Fundy in November 2009 but the tides made short work of it. Damaged blades meant the 10-metre-tall turbine had to be removed two years earlier than planned.

Fournier said he has no problem with the demonstration projects.

"I think that’s quite suitable as a preliminary step," he said.

"When you go from demonstration to commercial, I would say that that would be the departure that would concern me the most, I would think. But I think the strategic plan will be in place by then."

Energy Minister Charlie Parker said he expects the strategy to be ready this fall, with legislation to follow in the spring. He said the government accepted all of Fournier’s recommendations.

The province hired Fournier last fall to lead the consultation on marine renewable energy legislation.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotia/1264421.html

Green developers eye offshore wind

Projects could be part of N.S. renewable plan
By JOANN ALBERSTAT Business Reporter
Fri, Sep 23 - 4:55 AM

Green energy developers are interested in harnessing offshore wind power in Nova Scotia, says an industry expert.

The province announced Wednesday that it is developing a strategy on marine renewable energy. The plan is primarily aimed at tidal power, but offshore wind will be included in the plan.

"We’ve seen (offshore wind) work in Europe," Anthony Ciccone, a Toronto environmental consultant, said in an interview Wednesday.

"There’s a lot of opportunity here to do that. It’s just a question of finding the right market for it."

Ciccone, a principal at Golder Associates Ltd., was in Halifax this week for a renewable energy forum. During a panel Wednesday, he asked provincial officials about the possibility of offshore wind development in this province.

Ciccone, who is involved in a proposal to put wind turbines on Lake Ontario, said the Calgary-based consulting firm recently opened offices in Halifax and St. John’s.

An Energy Department official told the panel the province doesn’t expect a flurry of offshore turbines, although they could be allowed under upcoming legislation.

"It’s fair to say that we’re not looking for a lot of offshore wind in Nova Scotia in the near term and we’re not looking for a lot of offshore wind anywhere near the coastline," said Bruce Cameron, the department’s executive director of renewable and sustainable energy.

Cameron said offshore wind may be a hard sell with the public and not just because of concerns about the possible impact on the fishery.

"From time to time, in coastal communities, there are concerns about onshore wind that may be on their back doorstep. I’m pretty sure that . . . putting it on their front doorstep is going to be a bit of a challenge."

While a large-scale wind farm wouldn’t fly in Mahone Bay, for instance, one may be possible farther out on the Scotian Shelf, Cameron said.

A Nova Scotia Power executive told the panel that onshore turbines would likely be given preference over offshore ones.

"At this stage, there are a number of good onshore sites available," said Robin McAdam, the utility’s vice-president of sustainability.

Across Canada, some proposed offshore wind projects have stalled recently.

A British Columbia project that included up to 110 turbines hit a hurdle in March 2010 when BC Hydro dropped it from a list of green energy projects being considered, according to CBC News.

Three similar farms planned for Ontario’s Great Lakes have been in limbo since February, when the province placed a moratorium on such projects, saying more study was needed, CBC reported on its website in March.

Nova Scotia’s marine renewable energy plan will be based on a report by Dalhousie University oceanographer Bob Fournier. Energy Minister Charlie Parker said Wednesday he accepted Fournier’s 27 recommendations.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1264569.html

At odds over renewable energy

NDP, Tories play blame game over energy costs
By DAVID JACKSON Provincial Reporter
Fri, Sep 23 - 4:55 AM

Premier Darrell Dexter and Tory Leader Jamie Baillie traded offers of blackboard lessons Thursday as they debated the cost of renewable energy to power consumers.

The Tories have for weeks chided the Dexter government about its renewable energy targets driving up costs.

A Tory news release Wednesday said it appeared about 25 per cent of the proposed electricity rate hike was attributable to government policies, but a caucus spokeswoman said Thursday the power costs are so intertwined that a definite figure is unknown.

Dexter accused the third-place party of advocating a fossil fuel policy that led to a 35 per cent increase in electricity costs from 2002 to 2009. He also said the price of coal, Nova Scotia Power’s main fuel, is up 75 per cent in the last six years.

"Maybe the next time I try to explain it, maybe I should use a blackboard because it’s a choice between having a graph line that continues to go up, and one that allows you to create a stable energy price or a flat line," Dexter said.

"I’m not sure why they have so much difficulty trying to grasp the simple concept that, you know, the faster you can get to stable energy prices, the better off the public is."

Baillie said renewable energy sources are the way to go, but at a pace Nova Scotians can afford.

"If we’re going to get a blackboard out, I would like to teach him Economics 101, that raising the HST and forcing power prices up costs jobs and it hurts families."

The provincial Utility and Review Board is considering an agreement between Nova Scotia Power and most of its customer groups for an average increase of a little more than five per cent in 2012. It would add about a $6 a month to the average household power bill.

The Dexter government wants 25 per cent of the province’s electricity to be generated from renewable energy, such as wind, biomass and tidal energy, by 2015, and 40 per cent by 2020.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotia/1264642.html

Nova Scotia Power may have finally heeded its wakeup call

By ROGER TAYLOR Business Columnist
Tue, Sep 20 - 4:54 AM

Could it be that Nova Scotia Power Inc. is starting to clue in to the consequences of higher power rates?

The provincial power monopoly announced Monday that it had reached an agreement with advocates who act on behalf of consumers and industry on its latest rate application.

Not surprisingly, the negotiated rate increase is less than its initial application in May.

If the deal is ultimately approved by the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board, it would mean that residential customers will see their power rates increased by an average of about five per cent next year, which someone has calculated would mean $6 added to the average monthly residential bill.

The revised increase is down from the 7.2 per cent the utility had originally asked for in its rate application to the review board.

The agreement would also defer until its next rate application the power company’s recovery of any fixed costs that may come about as a result of the indefinite closure of the NewPage Port Hawkesbury Ltd. paper mill in Cape Breton.

Ratepayers couldn’t be blamed for being fed up with what seem to be yearly power rate increases and had been bracing themselves for another boost this fall.

Nova Scotia Power is a monopoly and one of Nova Scotia’s largest employers, so it isn’t a stretch to suggest that what’s good for Nova Scotia is probably good for Nova Scotia Power. Vice versa isn’t necessarily true.

Even though the utility is regularly put through a wringer by the regulator to justify the increase it requests, ordinary ratepayers see the company’s return on equity, which is its profit margin, and they automatically think that number is too high.

In the past, that criticism was brushed aside with a number of explanations, such as the Nova Scotia Power rate is similar to what other utilities were making or the regulator set the rate of return and the power company has little authority to change it.

In the agreement announced Monday, the increase in the rate of return Nova Scotia Power will be seeking has been reduced to 9.2 per cent instead of a range of 9.35 to 9.6 per cent in the initial application.

When NewPage, one of Nova Scotia Power’s largest customers, sought protection from creditors recently, citing the high cost of electricity as one of the biggest reasons, it was a wakeup call for the power company and, frankly, everyone in the province.

Perhaps the management at Nova Scotia Power realized it wasn’t prudent business practice to continually ask the regulator to increase rates, even though those increases could be justified in some way, because it forced people to use less power.

Higher rates may appear to pay off for the power company’s bottom line, but it doesn’t make sense if it means Nova Scotia Power could be forcing many of its customers out of business or to seek lower energy prices in other provinces.

If Nova Scotia Power had not been part of a regulated industry in its home province, it could be argued the power company would be less likely to jack up power rates simply because it felt the need to provide a certain rate of return. In that case, the utility would have to be conscious of the potential for competitors to swoop in and take away market share by offering a more competitive price for electricity.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1264189.html

NSP offers reduced rate hike

Proposal would increase residential customers’ bills by $6 a month in 2012
By BRUCE ERSKINE Business Reporter
Tue, Sep 20 - 4:54 AM

Residential customers will pay about $6 more a month for electricity in 2012 under a rate settlement deal tabled Monday with the Utility and Review Board.

The agreement, subject to board approval, will increase power rates by an average of about five per cent next year, down from the 7.2 per cent Nova Scotia Power Inc. asked for in a filing with the board in May.

"I think it’s a very good settlement for ratepayers, obviously," said provincially appointed consumer advocate John Merrick after the agreement was announced at the start of a scheduled hearing on the rate increase application.

"It’s brought down the request for revenue increases by about $24 (million) or $25 million — we’re still working the calculation of the fine numbers — the executive bonuses are gone, the rate of return that they were seeking to increase from 9.35 (per cent) to 9.6 is down to 9.2," Merrick said.

"We think they moved considerably; they moved to where we wanted them to be and we’re quite comfortable with the outcome."

The agreement reduces Nova Scotia Power’s revenue requirements for 2012 to $66.5 million from $94.4 million.

Merrick, a Halifax lawyer, said the return on equity concession was particularly important, since it governs the amount of money Nova Scotia Power is allowed to put in its own pocket.

"That’s been something that’s troubled us for some time. We started out wanting to see that reduced and it got reduced."

Return on equity is fixed at 9.2 per cent for 2012, with an allowed range of 9.1 per cent to 9.5 per cent.

The agreement includes a deferral mechanism that will allow Nova Scotia Power to recover about $30 million in fixed costs for 2012 associated with this month’s shutdown of the NewPage Port Hawkesbury paper mill, the utility’s largest customer.

"The differential for the load retention of NewPage is still a cost that consumers are going to have to pick up," Merrick said. "All we’ve managed to do is to defer it for one year."

The consumer advocate said his office will push Nova Scotia Power to minimize the impact of the NewPage closure, which he said could increase consumer rates by another two to three percentage points.

Rob Bennett, Nova Scotia Power’s president and CEO, said he was happy with the agreement, which maintains tree-clearing and storm repair budgets for 2012 at current levels.

"We’re trying to create a new energy future here in Nova Scotia and this open, transparent dialogue with customers is an important part of that," he said Monday.

Bennett said the agreement reflects the utility’s efforts to move away from its dependency on fossil fuels such as coal toward more renewable energy sources.

"Fossil fuels are a huge part of the driving force behind rate increases and they have been for years. We’re trying to change that."

Government-mandated conservation charges could add another two percentage points to consumer rates, but Bennett said conservation will ultimately save customers money.

"While rates may be impacted slightly by conservation programs, we have to remember that that allows the average customer to save money on their power bill."

Premier Darrell Dexter said he’s looking forward to the review board’s reaction to the agreement.

"Anything that’s less than what was anticipated will be welcome, but the reality is that it’s still tougher, when the cost of electricity goes up, for people to make ends meet," Dexter said Monday.

He said the rate increase underlines the need to reduce the reliance on fossil fuels to generate electricity.

"What people have to understand is that the price of coal over the last six years has gone up by 75 per cent. The only way that we can stop the price of power from going up is to stop buying coal.

"So we need to have a program that gets us off of those kinds of fossil fuels into renewables."

Progressive Conservative Leader Jamie Baillie applauded the agreement’s return on equity and executive bonus concessions, which mirror legislation his party plans to table in the next sitting of the legislature.

"There’s a lot government can do to moderate power rates," he said.

Utility spokesman David

Rodenhiser said 2012 executive compensation incentives aren’t being cut but the 50 per cent portion that previously came from rates will come from shareholders.

Power company representatives will answer questions about the proposal from review board members and interveners on Wednesday.

Nova Scotia Power stock was trading for $27.50 a share on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Monday afternoon, down 13 cents from its previous close.

With files from David Jackson

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/1264042.html

Cape Breton Tidal energy project proposal on the way

Mon, Sep 19 - 4:54 AM

SYDNEY — The group behind a tidal energy venture in central Cape Breton is expected to submit its proposal to the province today.

Central Cape Breton Community Ventures wants to develop a multimillion-dollar marine research centre in Iona in partnership with Fundy Tidal Inc.

The project would be powered by the strong currents in the Barra Strait on the Bras d’Or Lakes.

The proposed marine science centre would focus on research of the lake’s marine ecosystem.

Randy Pointkoski, a spokesman for Central Cape Breton Community Ventures, said the research facility and power station could cost between $30 million and $33 million.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotia/1263832.html

Hear about Glen Dhu expansion today

Mon, Sep 19 - 4:54 AM

The company that built a set of wind turbines east of New Glasgow is holding a public meeting today to inform citizens of a proposed expansion.

Shear Wind Inc. of Halifax is moving through the environmental assessment stages to develop a 50-megawatt wind farm at Glen Dhu.

Known as Glen Dhu South, it would be a continuation of Glen Dhu North, which opened last May, chief operating officer Ian Tillard said in a news release.

The proposal is in response to a planned request for bids from Nova Scotia’s renewable electricity administrator, Power Advisory LLC, Tillard said.

Two public sessions will be held today at Kenzieville & District Community Centre. The first is from 1 to 3 p.m. and the second is from 5 to 7 p.m.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotia/1263964.html

Amherst Turbine parts set to be assembled

By CHRIS LAMBIE Business Editor
Tue, Sep 13 - 4:54 AM

Like a giant toy set, Sprott Power Corp. is assembling the parts for its $61-million Amherst wind project.

Thirty-six 48-metre-long turbine blades, manufactured in Spain by L&M Fibreglass Inc., are now sitting at the Ocean Terminals in Halifax, with another nine scheduled to arrive at the end of this week. Starting the middle of next month, they will be trucked to the wind farm located on a sod farm near the Tantramar Marshes.

The hubs that contain the gearboxes, generators and other electronic equipment, manufactured in India for Suzlon Energy Ltd., are slated to arrive by ship in the Port of Halifax this weekend. Towers made at the former TrentonWorks railcar plant now known as DSTN Trenton Ltd. will also be part of the project.

"It’s like one big giant Lego set," Jeff Jenner, president and chief executive officer of Sprott Power Corp. of Toronto, said Monday.

Now the weather just has to co-operate for a timeline that aims to see construction completed late this year or in early 2012.

"You’re always subject to construction risk," Jenner said. "Hopefully Nova Scotia has its summer now. It didn’t have a summer in the last two months. Hopefully it’s nice and hot and dry for the next couple of months. It makes for easier construction."

The project is slated to include 15 turbines that will, all told, have a capacity of 31.5 megawatts, enough to power 10,000 homes.

They are expected to first produce power in the first quarter of 2012.

"It’s still looking good," Jenner said of that agenda.

Sprott could face penalties if it doesn’t fulfil its contract with Nova Scotia Power by August.

"So we have a fairly comfortable timeline," he said, noting Sprott has "offsetting contractual penalties for late delivery" arranged with Suzlon, its main contractor, and Indiana-based White Construction, Inc.

The first foundation was poured on the Amherst site last week, Jenner said.

"All the roads are done and about half of the foundations are in various process of completion. Once the foundations are done, obviously the towers and the blades will begin to roll to the project, probably within 30 days."

Moving the blades is a delicate operation. Two of them may fit on a transport trailer, but the truck driver will have to avoid sharp turns and drive slowly.

"Forty-eight metres doesn’t sound like a lot, but it’s half a football field," Jenner said. "To have something that’s somewhat fragile move without bending or breaking it takes a lot of effort. . . . The reason we’re in the Port of Halifax is it’s a reasonably straight shot to get out of Halifax and on the road to Amherst."

South Korea-based Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering and the provincial government took over the Trenton plant last year with the aim of manufacturing steel towers for wind turbines.

"The towers are beginning to roll out of DSTN," Jenner said, noting that those 80-metre-tall structures will be trucked to Amherst in sections.

"Each tower, once it’s assembled, is 25 storeys high. But they come in three or four sections."

Most of the subcontractors working on the Amherst project are local, he said.

"I expect there are roughly 50 total people at the site right now," Jenner said.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1262970.html

Renewable energy plan attracts wind farm developers

By JOANN ALBERSTAT Business Reporter
Fri, Sep 9 - 4:54 AM

It looks like there will be no shortage of wind farm developers bidding early next year to get their projects off the ground.

About 80 people, most representing wind energy companies, took part in a meeting Thursday in Halifax hosted by the province’s renewable electricity administrator.

"It’s a small pond with a lot of big fish in it," Dan Roscoe, chief operating officer of Dartmouth’s Scotian WindFields, said.

"There’s a lot of big players, a lot of international companies, and, really, we’re looking at three or four projects."

The renewable energy plan requires Nova Scotia Power to buy 300 gigawatt hours per year of electricity from independent producers as part of the province’s next round of renewable energy electricity projects. That’s equal to 100 megawatts of wind power.

The province wants to have 25 per cent of electricity come from renewable sources by 2015, and 40 per cent by 2020.

John Dalton, whose Massachusetts company is overseeing the bid process, said the preliminary plan was to have independent producers notify him of their intentions by Oct. 20.

"One party has already indicated the schedule is too aggressive; they’d like more time," the president of Power Advisory said at the start of the meeting.

While the administrator said he’ll consider making changes, others in the audience agreed with the proposed timeline, which would see projects be in service by Jan. 1, 2015.

Independent producers will have to submit their proposals in February and March. The administrator will review them and make recommendations to the Utility and Review Board.

The provincial regulator makes the final decision, with winners being announced in April.

Independent producers shared varying opinions Thursday on whether they should be able to win more than one contract.

The administrator’s initial plan includes such a restriction and also limits project capacity to 50 megawatts.

"We’re going to assess that whole situation," Mike Magnus, president and chief executive officer of Shear Wind, said during a break when asked about the one-contract restriction.

"From the question and answer (session), obviously they’ve got to reassess it as well. It’s a concern."

Shear Wind would like to expand its Glen Dhu wind farm, a 62.1-megawatt facility between Pictou and Antigonish counties, which opened earlier this year. The company has also proposed a 50-megawatt development near Parrsboro, Cumberland County.

Dalton said the feedback will be used to help develop program guidelines this fall.

"We’ve got a good group of prospective bidders in the room," he said after the session.

"We’ve had some good, frank feedback, which we can use to help us refine the proposals that we’ve put forward."

For instance, Dalton said it might be possible to allow developers to be involved in more than one winning bid as long as there are limits on their overall share.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1262333.html

Way to Windmills

Amherst Daily News

31st August 2011

AMHERST – Those who guessed a new road under construction behind Athol Forestry on Highway 2 in Fort Lawrence is related to the Sprott Power wind turbine project are correct.

“It’s a right-of-way across several parcels of land,” said Penny Henneberry, director of planning and development for the Municipality of Cumberland County.

Trucks laden with building materials for the 15-turbine project can be very long. Henneberry said the blades for the wind turbines now under construction can be up to 50 metres in length. The ROW is being built so vehicles can make the turn.

The first of the towers is being manufactured at the DSTN facility in Trenton, N.S., and company officials expect they will begin making their way to Amherst this month.

One of the pieces of land crossed is owned by the municipality.

Sprott Power has arranged to lease that crossing for $1 from the county. The wind turbine owners will be held liable for any damages that may occur, according to Henneberry, and the right-of-way is being built at their expense.

“I’m not sure of the route that they are going to take (to bring in windmill sections)”, said Henneberry. The bases for the tall structures are being built “as we speak.”

At least one local contractor is benefiting from the right of way construction.

“We’re just supplying material,” said Richard Beal, owner of Sackville-based Beal & Inch. The New Brunswick company is providing sandstone to the site. Beal declined to provide more detail.

Jeff Jenner CEO of the Sprott Power Corporation was unavailable for comment Wednesday.

The project, announced in June, is expected to cost $61 million and produce enough energy to power 10,000 homes as early as the first quarter of 2012. The turbines are expected to generate about 31.5 megawatts of power.

http://www.cumberlandnewsnow.com/News/Local/2011-08-31/article-2737290/Way-to-windmills/1

Guysborough wants windfall

County warden keen to get into renewable energy
By DAVENE JEFFREY Staff Reporter
Fri, Sep 2 - 4:54 AM

There could be dollars blowing in the wind in Guysborough County, Warden Lloyd Hines says.

The Municipality of the District of Guysborough wants to cash in on a government program that guarantees a price per megawatt hour for community-owned renewable energy projects.

"It’s a no brainer," Hines said in a telephone interview Thursday.

"The investment return on a preliminary look appears to be attractive to municipalities."

The municipality has issued a request for proposals, which closes Sept. 15.

"We are very interested . . . to get some expert advice on what the opportunities are."

A quick glance at the province’s wind atlas (nswindatlas.ca) shows that Guysborough County has some of the windiest points in the province.

Hines said the municipality has been approached several times over the years by multi-national companies interested in setting up wind farms in the area. He said gaining experience with their own small-scale operation will help give the municipality the experience necessary to deal with larger projects.

A proposed site for the turbines is at the county’s landfill.

"It would be a good fit," Hines said, explaining that the operation already uses solar energy and houses recycling facilities and an electronics depot.

Initial estimates show that the turbines would likely cost about $300,000 each. The machines should last about 20 years and would be paid off in about 10 years, Hines said.

The province’s Community Feed-in Tariff program encourages community-owned renewable energy projects by groups such as Mi’kmaq bands, co-operatives, universities, non-profit organizations, community economic development organizations and municipalities.

Groups are allowed to own up to five turbines.

The province has also agreed to extend Municipal Finance Corp. funding to such projects, which will give municipalities access to capital at low rates.

Under program rules, municipalities can have a private partner design, build and operate the project but a private partner cannot have an ownership stake

http://thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotia/1261354.html

Wind farm fined in deaths

By The Canadian Press and DAVENE JEFFREY Staff Reporter
Thu, Sep 1 - 4:55 AM

A Nova Scotia wind farm operator has been fined $95,000 in the deaths of two young people from carbon monoxide poisoning two years ago.

Rotor Mechanical Service Ltd. of Mount Thom was charged after the bodies of Kyle Elliott, 22, of Brentwood and Mandi Balagot, 18, of Hilden were found in a company maintenance shed in July 2009.

Elliott was a security guard at the site and Balagot was a visitor. They were overcome by fumes from an improperly installed electrical generator in the shed.

Judge Del Atwood said in Pictou provincial court that the $95,000 fine was the largest ever given under the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

But Balagot’s mother, Kathy Legere, wasn’t happy with the penalty.

"I get to visit her gravesite daily for something that they did and what they took away from us," a sobbing Legere told CTV News outside court.

Rotor Mechanical president Reuben Burge didn’t want to discuss the fine when reached by cellphone early Wednesday evening.

"It’s an unfortunate incident that has been resolved this way," Burge said.

"Kyle was a good friend and a great employee and that’s how I feel about it. Families have to deal with this, and I do too."

Rotor Mechanical pleaded guilty to three charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The company admitted to failing to ensure the generator was installed and operated to the manufacturer’s recommendations and failing to ensure the health and safety of the two people.

Initially, Burge, RMS Energy — another company he operates — and two other employees were all charged in the deaths, but only Rotor Mechanical was convicted.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/1261188.html

Wind farm caution urged

Advocacy group has ‘serious concerns’ about financial effect of Annapolis County draft bylaw
By GORDON DELANEY Valley Bureau
Wed, Aug 31 - 7:11 AM

A newly formed taxpayer group is urging caution in developing a policy governing wind farm development in Annapolis County.

There are serious deficiencies in the county’s draft wind turbine bylaw that could adversely affect the county’s finances and taxpayers, says Steve Lewis, spokesman for the Friends for Responsibility for the Economy and Energy.

"This issue is very important. . . . It could impact us financially," he said in an interview Tuesday.

"The major obligation of councillors is to protect their citizens. So we’re just saying slow down, it’s too important to push this through."

The county has been working on a wind turbine bylaw for more than a year and recently approved a draft bylaw as companies seek to develop wind farms in the region, including a large one on North Mountain, near Bridgetown.

The new group is not against wind farm development, said Lewis.

"We just want to work with council through research that we do . . . so they can make better choices."

He said municipalities around the province are struggling with the issue because the Nova Scotia government has not set any firm guidelines and councils don’t have sufficient expertise.

"The province has the money and the experts; they should have given guidance to all of the municipalities so they can make better decisions on this issue.

"We have some very serious concerns, but they all focus on protection for the taxpayers of Annapolis County. We’re not picking on any particular developer or project."

A developer can come to the municipality for a wind farm and not put down any financial security bond, Lewis said.

In 15 to 20 years, the average lifespan of a turbine, he said, the county’s taxpayers could get stuck with the bill for its decommissioning.

Lewis said it could cost $100,000 to remove a turbine.

"This doesn’t include costs for removal of the electrical generating station, on-site transmission lines, roads, bridges, culverts, other buildings and possibly the 1,000-tonne concrete pads for each turbine."

The group wants the bond issue addressed in the draft bylaw before it’s approved.

The possible impact on tourism and land values is also a concern.

"In Annapolis County, where the scenic beauty is so important to the economy, they should consider this when they place these wind farms," Lewis said.

"If tourism and property values are adversely impacted, it would be extremely bad for our already fragile economy for many years to come."

The group is urging county residents to express concerns to their councillors to have the bylaw delayed until protections are included like no tax exemptions for developers, submission of plans for site cleanup and restoration, and prior consultation with landowners.

The planning and advisory committee is scheduled to meet Sept. 6. If the draft bylaw is not held for revisions, the next step is a public meeting, tentatively scheduled for late September. Following that, council will meet to consider changes and vote on the bylaw.

Proposed areas for wind resource zones include Parker Mountain Road and Hampton Hills, on North Mountain, near Bridgetown. Also included are Victoria Beach on North Mountain and Spectacle Lake on South Mountain.

A $60-million 12-turbine wind farm is proposed for Hampton Hills, about four kilometres north of Bridgetown, by Toronto-based Sprott Power Corp.

Sprott is still in the process of receiving renewals for building permits it held for properties in Arlington, Arlington West and Hampton. In April, the company asked Nova Scotia Supreme Court to overrule a municipal decision denying the renewal.

Annapolis County announced recently it was changing its planning strategy to allow Sprott to proceed with most of the turbines.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotia/1260935.html

Bylaw proposal a positive first step

Darrell Cole
Amherst Daily News
17 August, 2011

AMHERST – While not the end of the debate, a member of the Gulf Shore Association believes the county’s latest effort to create rules around wind turbines is a positive step.

Lisa Betts, who helped lead the effort against a proposed wind farm on the Gulf Shore near Pugwash several years ago, attended a public meeting Tuesday in Wallace on the county’s proposed new wind rules.

“It’s certainly an improvement and the language of the new bylaw has been clarified,” Betts said. “I haven’t had an opportunity to talk to Penny (Henneberry, Cumberland County’s director of planning) or to take a close look at it, but at first glance it looks better than it did.”

Betts said the existing bylaw, developed during the fight against the Gulf Shore project, has some shortcomings, including a cookie-cutter approach to the placement of turbines.

Under the existing bylaw, the separation between a turbine and homes has to be at least 500 metres. She said the present bylaw doesn’t have zones for residential and industrial uses.

The second of three public meetings took place Wednesday with the final meeting set for Thursday at the E.D. Fullerton Municipal Building in Upper Nappan beginning at 7 p.m.

http://www.cumberlandnewsnow.com/News/Local/2011-08-17/article-2711248/Bylaw-proposal-a-positive-first-step/1

HRM says turbines must keep distance

Setback from homes to be 1,000 metres
By MICHAEL LIGHTSTONE City Hall Reporter
Wed, Aug 17 - 4:54 AM

Halifax regional council moved Tuesday to allay the fears of rural residents concerned about the future development of large wind turbines and wind farms.

Council approved a 1,000-metre setback from habitable buildings for large, industrial-style turbines. Municipal officials had been considering a shorter separation distance.

Alastair Saunders, co-chairman of the Friends of Jeddore, said his group would have preferred an even greater setback, but he is satisfied with council’s decision.

Saunders said 1,000 metres is consistent with other jurisdictions.

Council was debating turbine rules after receiving a staff report with revisions that were made after comments received during a public hearing last month.

"We’re happy with where we are," Saunders told reporters outside the council chamber. "What we’re really pleased with, also, is the fact that council has listened to the concerns of the people."

Councillors also agreed to a community consultation process prior to the installation of large-scale wind turbines proposed for Halifax Regional Municipality.

During Tuesday’s council session, Coun. Steve Streatch (Eastern Shore-Musquodoboit Valley) argued on behalf of Jeddore-area residents, saying new wind energy rules are for the entire municipality.

"We put another set of checks and balances in place, that the communities affected and the residents of HRM will have a say in how industrial projects such as this will take place in their areas," Streatch said after the turbine debate.

Coun. Bob Harvey (Lower Sackville) criticized the province for lacking a uniform set of regulations for the installation and operation of wind turbines.

In other business, council gave the green light to letters of intent linked to the municipality’s bid to become a host city for an international soccer tournament in 2015.

The letters are related to the FIFA Women’s World Cup and a companion event in 2014. There are seven candidate cities in Canada hoping to land soccer matches.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Front/1258646.html

Wind energy threatens bats

Flying near turbines makes their lungs explode
By SELENA ROSS
Wed, Aug 10 - 4:54 AM

Companies trying to get ahead in the wind power race can write brilliant business plans and hunt down the best technology but they haven’t gotten anywhere until they’ve learned about bat lungs.

Bats are the newest environmental factor that wind energy producers need to consider when they plan and propose a new project. They have taken over from birds as the animal most threatened by turbines.

But wind power companies, like they did a decade ago with birds, are adjusting by reshaping their project proposals around a changing body of environmental research. It’s costly to stay ahead of environmental assessment demands, they say, but disruptions to wind power projects elsewhere in Canada show how expensive it can be to ignore new research.

Bats are mammals, and that means their lungs are less rigid than those of birds.

They don’t need to be hit by the blades of a wind turbine to die. Simply flying near a turbine can make bats’ lungs collapse as the sudden drop in air pressure creates internal hemorrhaging, and their bodies are sometimes found with no external damage but full of burst blood vessels.

This "barotrauma" was present in 90 per cent of dead bats collected near wind turbines and autopsied by a University of Calgary team led by researcher Erin Baerwald, according to a 2008 study. Only about half the bats were found to have been killed by contact with the turbines.

The news created waves in the wind industry, and Nova Scotia was no exception.

"They were kind of ignored early on, and now I believe bats are more of an issue than birds," said Andy MacCallum, development manager for Fairmont Wind Farm, a project planned near Antigonish by global company Wind Prospect Inc.

MacCallum and his colleagues stay on top of the location of bat caves, as well as bird migration patterns and other ecological facts of Nova Scotia, with the help of consulting firms that have built up local environmental expertise specific to the needs of the wind power industry.

Planning around nature happens from the earliest stages, said MacCallum.

A company will stay away from a bat cave, and if it discovers new environmental problems in the course of its research, it will scrap the planned location or make other changes, he said.

"Early on in the process, we make sure that the sites are away from the environmentally sensitive areas," said MacCallum.

"Before we even go public, there’s a lot of work behind the scenes."

None of this is cheap, and it has changed some of the operating principles of wind power companies. Environmental assessment studies, which the province requires for each proposed wind farm, often cost upward of $100,000, with followup studies costing $10,000 to $20,000 every year for several years, said MacCallum.

The numbers stay roughly the same no matter how much revenue a farm is expected to bring in, making bigger wind farms more cost-effective.

Some companies manage to get around the entire cost of environmental assessment by installing a turbine that produces less than two megawatts of power. Once a farm hits two megawatts of production, it is legally required to do an assessment, which has made 1.9-megawatt turbines more popular, MacCallum said.

Then there’s the need to tweak technology — and revenues — mid-production, according to the latest scientific research on animals like bats.

The same University of Calgary team found that programming wind turbines to stop turning during times of low wind dramatically cut down on bat deaths, an idea that the Fairmont farm is looking at.

Sprott Power works regularly with Saint Mary’s University biologist Hugh Broders, who advised the company to put up bat-tracking devices when it first installs its turbines, said chief operating officer Don Bartlett.

He said the company benefits by "just kind of getting ahead of the curve and getting as much data as one can in order to determine if there are any potential issues."

Failing to take steps like this can lead to problems down the road. Environmental organization Nature Canada is campaigning for a major wind farm near Kingston, Ont., to stop production a couple of weeks a year during top migration season for local birds.

No Nova Scotia wind power companies have faced similar demands, according to Wayne Groszko, renewable energy co-ordinator at the Ecology Action Centre. But if Nova Scotia takes a closer look at the wind industry, it could ask companies to make such major changes, he said.

"Would it be best to shut them off for a few times each year? Would it be best to reduce their cutting speed? I don’t think that kind of research has been done yet in Nova Scotia."

People tend to ask wind power producers to live up to their reputation for green energy, Groszko said.

"Wind turbines are extremely visible to a lot of people."

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1257482.html

Politics ‘blatant’ in wind program

Scotian WindFields: New policy on turbines favours Dartmouth firm
By BRUCE ERSKINE Business Reporter
Fri, Jul 29 - 4:55 AM

Old-school politics threatens the future of wind energy in the province, says the chief executive officer of Scotian WindFields Inc.

"You can’t create this monopolistic environment and expect a successful program," Barry Zwicker said Thursday in interview.

He was reacting to government directives released this week for the community feed-in tariff program.

The program is designed to allow community-based green energy producers to sell energy profitably to Nova Scotia Power.

Scotian WindFields is involved in the development of eight community-based wind projects across the province involving 50-kilowatt turbines.

Zwicker said there are two 50-kilowatt turbines installed in Canada, the AOC version, made in Quebec, and the Endurance one, made in British Columbia.

He said the provincial directives favour the Quebec turbine, which has blades made and assembled in Nova Scotia, and would eliminate the use of a British Columbia turbine his company favours.

"The directives say the swept area of the blades can be no greater than 200 square feet," which would make the 190-square-foot AOC turbine the only acceptable 50-kilowatt option, he said.

"It eliminates 50 per cent of the choice."

The policy change was never discussed with industry representatives or during public consultations, Zwicker said.

Scotian has invested millions in projects that would use the Endurance turbine, which he said best fits Nova Scotia’s relatively low velocity but consistent wind regime, he said.

"We believe it’s a blatant effort to create a situation where there is no competition for the AOC machine."

The government knew before setting the directives that some community groups planned to use the British Columbia turbine, he said.

Zwicker wasn’t blaming Seaforth Energy of Dartmouth, which makes the AOC turbine blades, for the situation.

But he said the government has provided the company with loans and suggested the province may be in a conflict of interest.

"We want them to go back where they were and accept 50-kilowatt machines with nameplate capacity rather than setting criteria that blatantly eliminate other good turbines from being installed in Nova Scotia."

Energy Minister Charlie Parker denied that the directives were designed to give Seaforth a singular competitive advantage.

"Absolutely not," Parker said. "(They’re) designed to encourage small wind development in our communities and there’s many different machines being manufactured worldwide (to) those standards.

"Certainly, Seaforth is one of them, but it will be up to the community groups which machines they want to use."

The directives, based on international standards, will be reviewed next year, he said.

Zwicker suggested that the minister didn’t understand his own directives, since the list of 50-kilowatt turbines that community groups can choose from includes only one, the AOC version, that meets their criteria.

"All the rest are 10, 15, eight kilowatts," he said.

Zwicker also took exception to the minister’s defence of the use of international standards in establishing the directives, which he said are opposed by the Canadian Wind Energy Association.

"They’re using U.S. wind standards," Zwicker said.

He took little solace from the minister’s promise that there would be a review because the directives have a serious impact on the company’s immediate plans.

"Financing of community-owned projects is difficult."

Zwicker said Scotian won’t switch to the AOC turbine, which he called inappropriate for the company’s projects.

"We simply won’t do it. The point is we have no options."

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1255641.html

Turbine firm gets lift from N.S. grant

By SELENA ROSS
Fri, Jul 29 - 4:55 AM

Wind turbine manufacturer Seaforth Energy Inc. is scaling up production with the help of an $88,000 grant from the provincial Productivity Investment Program.

The Dartmouth company recently bought its third blade mould, which allows it to more than triple production, Seaforth vice-president John Simon said at a news conference Thursday.

The wind turbine business is booming and Seaforth can barely keep up with demand, Simon said.

Last year, the company had one blade mould, which could only produce one complete three-piece set of blades each month. Then Seaforth added a second mould.

The third mould cost $100,000, about 20 per cent of which was covered by the province through the investment program.

It will make a huge difference because it is "designed better than the first two," Simon said. "So that one’s even more productive, it’s faster, and now we can have three going at once."

Economic and Rural Development and Tourism, which administers the grants, said the money will bring Seaforth a 50 per cent increase in productivity and improve sales revenue while creating six more jobs.

Aside from a $25,500 grant for equipment purchases, Seaforth also got $62,500 from the program for employee training.

The grant was announced in the wind turbine manufacturing workshop, where young workers in overalls bent over the two older blade moulds, gluing fibreglass in place. The blade-manufacturing technicians are apprentices from community colleges, said Simon.

The company has 20 employees, seven of whom have been hired in the past nine months.

Most of the companies supplying Seaforth with the parts to build the AOC 15-50 turbines are Nova Scotian, including Advanced Precision, a machining and fabrication company based in Dartmouth.

Seaforth Energy has installed turbines off the coast of the southern U.S., the Maritimes and Scotland, said company president Jonathan Barry.

Wind power production is a capital-intensive business, Barry said. But the global market for green energy is set up to help companies like Seaforth grow quickly. Several countries, including the U.K., Greece, Italy and Israel, offer a guaranteed rate on long 15- or 20-year contracts.

After installing the turbines, wind power providers like Seaforth receive 35 to 45 cents per kilowatt hour for the remainder of the contract.

These policies, called feed-in tariffs, are meant to encourage investment in renewable energy. Nova Scotia became the third province in Canada to announce its own feed-in tariff program last month.

The province has set a target of producing 25 per cent of its energy through clean, renewable sources by 2015. The target will go up to 40 per cent by 2020.

Economic Development Minister Percy Paris said Thursday that the province learned hard lessons during the offshore oil industry boom.

"We were in a predicament where we never had the highest-skilled individuals to do the offshore," Paris said. "Then when the offshore came onshore, there we were stuck again because we had to bring in people from outside our jurisdiction to do the jobs that should be done by Nova Scotians."

In Seaforth’s case, the investment program will help ensure that it has the skilled workers it needs, he said.

Though green energy job training is a priority, the province does not give special funding preference to companies in the green energy sector, the minister said.

The Productivity Investment Program, launched in November, has approved or disbursed funding for a variety of local companies, including boatbuilders A.F. Theriault & Son Ltd. ($21,000), Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters ($46,185), Nicom IT Solutions ($9,980) and Maritime Pride Eggs ($18,188).

The program covers up to 20 percent of equipment purchases, reimbursed after the company has submitted proof of purchase, and up to 90 percent of training costs.

The province had previously given Seaforth a $200,000 loan guarantee in September 2010 from the Industrial Expansion Fund.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/Business/1255758.html

French plan to build wind farm off D-day site upsets Canadian veterans

Diana Mehta

The Canadian Press

TORONTO - A French plan to install towering wind turbines within sight of a beach where thousands of Canadians fought a bloody battle launching the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied Europe is raising the ire of some veterans.

"I think it's a disgusting affair," said Jack Martin, who was among the Canadians who stormed Juno Beach during the D-Day landings of 1944.

"I saw so many of my buddies and friends die on Juno Beach that I figure it is very hallowed grounds."

Martin was a company quartermaster-sergeant with the Queen's Own Rifles during the assault and later ran tours to the beach where 359 Canadians were killed.

The French government announced last week that it was receiving tenders for over 1,000 wind turbines off the country's northwestern coast, including at Courseulles-sur-mer, where Juno Beach is located. The entire project is eventually predicted to power more than 4.5 million homes.

The numbers don't sway 87-year-old Martin. He said the turbines might take away from the sombre historical significance of the site.

"We were the only regiment without tank support and yet we penetrated further inland than any other unit in the whole D-Day assault," he said. "It's very important that people know what the Canadians had to go through to make it a historical site."

Retired major Roy E. Eddy agrees, saying it's important for Canadians to keep the memory of Juno Beach alive.

"I'd like to forget about it, but I don't want to," said the veteran, who was 20 when he lost many friends on the beach. "None of us slept for about 72 hours, the noise and the sound was just earth shattering."

The 86-year-old said he's not against wind farms, but doesn't want to see them constructed opposite an area where so many Canadians died.

Veterans Affairs Canada says it "understands and shares" the concerns of those who fought for freedom.

"We wouldn't see it appropriate to develop on the actual site where the battle of Juno occurred," said a spokeswoman for Veterans Affairs Minister Steven Blaney.

But while voices in Canada have lashed out against the French plan, the Juno Beach Centre at the famous site itself has decided to accept the French government's proposal.

"We see absolutely no impact other than the visual one, and we're prepared to live with it," said director Don Cooper.

The centre was approached by French locals looking to oppose the project but after consultation with its board, which includes veterans, decided not to stand in way of the plan which will see turbines developed some 10 kilometres offshore.

"In a perfect world one might say we'd prefer not to have it, but I think it's something that goes with what happens in the environment today," said Cooper. "To me it's no different than a freighter going by in the channel."

Yet that visual change to the landscape is exactly what historian Rudyard Griffith points to when explaining why some might have a strong reaction against the turbine plan.

"We are changing forever the visual landscape of a globally significant Canadian site," said the co-founder of the former Dominion Institute.

"To be able to walk those beaches, and see them and imagine them as if it was 1944 is, in some ways, essential to keeping that historical memory alive, and in turn that memory shapes and forms our identity today."

Griffith points out that the historical site is not just the beach, but also the waters beyond which brought Allied troops to the shore of Nazi-occupied France. Having turbines constructed so close to where so many fought would be a jarring image at a site preserved to remind visitors of the sacrifices made.

"The coast of Normandy is vast, you'd think they could have the ability to station the windmills at other places along the coast that provide their needs for clean energy but don't mar the visual landscape of Juno beach."

The European Platform Against Windfarms is among those disapproving of the project.

"It's not offshore, it's along the coast, it's only 10 kilometres from the D-Day beach," chairman Jean-Louis Butre, said in an interview from Paris. "People are really upset about what's going on, so upset that we received comments from everywhere."

The organization — a collective of 483 groups — has recorded more that 2,300 signatures for an online petition decrying the project, which includes comments from Canadians.

Butre said in addition to being plainly visible during the day, the flashing lights of the turbines would create a "discotheque" effect around the D-Day beaches at night. Among the complaints he's received he even mentions a call from a retired Royal Air Force pilot.

"They say 'we are going to bomb those wind turbines,'" he said with a chuckle.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/french-plan-build-wind-farm-off-d-day-080006334.html

Ownership rules change for green projects

By BEVERLEY WARE South Shore Bureau
Sat, Jul 16 - 4:55 AM

CHESTER — The rules have changed for municipalities that want to get in on green energy projects.

The Community Feed-in Tariff program encourages community-owned renewable energy projects by guaranteeing a price per megawatt hour.

When announced, the program grouped municipalities in the same category as Mi’kmaq bands, co-operatives, universities, non-profits and community economic development organizations and said they must own at least 51 per cent of a project in order to qualify. The other 49 per cent could be held privately.

But that’s no longer the case.

"Right now they’re telling us we have to own 100 per cent of a project," Chester Warden Allen Webber told municipal council this week after meeting with the province’s Department of Energy.

"It’s a game changer for us."

Department spokeswoman Nancy Watson said it turns out the 51 per cent rule violates the Municipal Government Act "and the act trumps COMFIT regulations."

That means municipalities must completely own windmill, biomass or tidal energy projects.

Watson said the province has agreed to extend Municipal Finance Corp. funding to such projects, which will give municipalities "access to capital at very low rates."

Municipalities can still have a private partner design, build and operate the windmill but a private partner cannot have any ownership in the project, she said.

That was news to Rodrigo Moura of AnaiaGlobal Renewable Energies Inc., who appeared before Chester council this week. His company is a joint venture between Grupo Guascor of Spain and Membertou Corporate Division. It wants to form partnerships with municipalities across Nova Scotia to bring community-based wind energy to the province.

His company has already held public information sessions in Wedgeport and in West Jeddore, where it has proposed building wind farms.

Moura told Webber he would be going back to the Energy Department to double check the ownership rules.

"Personally, I would prefer the option of choosing whether or not we have a private-sector partner," Webber said Friday.

The municipality has done some preliminary investigation of winds in the area but has not yet decided if it will build a wind turbine.

The province has only just started accepting applications under the community feed-in tariff program.

Windmills must be operational by December 2014.

A number of wind farms have begun popping up across Nova Scotia, most recently on Nuttby Mountain in Truro, Digby Neck and Church Point.

In Digby County, the municipality is amending its land-use bylaw to allow for this new class of windmill projects.

Community-scale turbines are slightly smaller than commercial types yet larger than personal-use windmills.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotia/1253589.html