GSPA prepares to fight wind farm using Minister's conditional approval

PUGWASH, NS, March 28, 2012 /CNW/ -

After receiving more than two hundred comments from concerned Pugwash residents, Minister Sterling Belliveau has placed over thirty conditions on the approval of the Pugwash Wind Farm environmental assessment (EA) that must be met before construction could be contemplated. In addition to meeting these conditions, the Pugwash wind farm project would also need to be successful in the upcoming request for proposal (RFP) process providing 300MW renewable energy to Nova Scotia Power.

"Frankly, we are not surprised at all that the environmental assessment was approved, they always are, but we are heartened by the fact that the Minister has set these conditions. This makes the project extraordinarily difficult for the proponent to successfully develop," said Lisa Betts, Chair of the Gulf Shore Preservation Association. "The clock begins ticking today on a two year deadline to complete more than thirty tasks set out by the Minister that the proponent has not met in five years of trying."

One condition, for example, requires the proponent to keep wind turbine locations more than 30 metres from wetlands and water courses, which could eliminate more than 40% of the proponent's existing locations. Other conditions requires the proponent to conduct additional fieldwork relating to birds and bats, while avoiding specific species of flora and fauna during site selection. The proponent will also be required to create a community advisory committee, soliciting involvement of members of the general public in that process.

"Hundreds of residents expressed serious concerns during the EA comment period. These are educated, well read individuals who did their research before making their comments. None of these people is prepared to just let this happen without continued and sustained opposition. There are still a number of regulatory hurdles for the proponent to complete if, and only if, they are even able to develop a viable project with all of Minister Belliveau's conditions," added Betts.

http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/945333/gspa-prepares-to-fight-wind-farm-using-minister-s-conditional-approval

Plan for 12 turbines in Pugwash area gets environmental OK

Bill Power

Business Reporter

March 27th, 2012

An $85-million wind farm proposed for the Pugwash area received clearance from the provincial Environment Department on Tuesday.

Environmental approval of the project basically gives a green light to North Cumberland Wind Farm LP to proceed with the construction in 2013 of 12 turbines capable of generating 32 megawatts of electricity.

“I have carefully reviewed the application and I am confident there are appropriate measures in place to protect the environment and public health,” Environment Minister Stirling Belliveau said in a news release.

Opposition to the project has been intense, even drawing criticism from entertainer Anne Murray, who has a summer home near the project, which is located about two kilometres from the Cumberland County village.

A local organization, the Gulf Shore Preservation Association, has led the opposition which has “certainly been substantial and consistent right from the beginning,” association chairwoman Lisa Betts said. “We are well organized and will not take this lying down.”

Betts said few people in Pugwash will be surprised that the province approved the project and most will be interested in the stipulations placed on the developer.

“We’ll be responding more fully to the announcement very soon,” she said.

Local supporters of the project, including some land owners whose properties will host turbines, have argued the project will help the province meet its green energy objectives.

The 33-megawatt wind farm will generate enough electricity to power about 10,000 homes.

However, it must still go through a competitive biding process under the province’s renewable electricity administrator.

“Wind farms are an important part of government’s renewable energy goals and will help us reduce our reliance on coal,” Belliveau said in the release.

The developer must monitor and mitigate potential impact on wildlife and must maintain limits on noise and proximity to homes in the area. There is also a requirement to create controls for erosion and sedimentation and to conduct a monitoring program for surface water.

A community liaison committee to address community concerns must also be established. In addition, there is a requirement for the developer to complete a Mi’kmaq ecological knowledge study.

The site must also be restored to its original state when it is decommissioned.

Nova Scotia’s 2010 Renewable Electricity Plan requires a reduction of electrical generation from coal to 40 per cent by 2020. The government said electricity from coal currently accounts for 57 per cent of the province’s energy mix.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/78065-plan-12-turbines-pugwash-area-gets-environmental-ok

Catching up

Been a tad busy lately. A catch up and review of recent events should be here in the next few days.

UARB may hold full hearing on power deal

Joann Alberstat

March 22nd 2012

The Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board may change the way it handles a proposed provincial plan to get more renewable electricity from independent producers because of concerns raised by Nova Scotia Power.

The provincial regulator said Thursday it could hold a full hearing on a draft power purchase agreement, rather than make a decision based on written evidence.

“It is apparent to the board, given the comments that were received yesterday, including those of Nova Scotia Power, that an abbreviated paper process the board had put in place to review this matter may not be adequate,” Nancy McNeil, regulatory affairs officer, wrote in a letter to the electrical utility Thursday.

In a filing Wednesday, Nova Scotia Power said it would not adopt the proposed agreement unless the regulator orders it to do so. The company said it’s concerned the draft terms favour independent producers at the expense of ratepayers.

“In light of our concerns ..., N.S. Power is not prepared to execute the proposed standard form (power purchase agreement), unless directed to do so by the UARB,” says a letter signed by company lawyer Nicole Godbout.

If it’s directed to accept the proposed terms, Nova Scotia Power said it will ask the review board to confirm that procuring more renewable electricity is “prudent” and that the utility won’t be held responsible for any additional costs or problems the approved projects may encounter.

The regulator responded by saying it will decide the next steps after the province’s renewable electricity administrator makes its own filing, which is due April 4.

The administrator, Power Advisory LLC, submitted the proposed agreement to the review board last month and had expected a ruling by April 25. That would pave the way for developers to submit their bids by May.

Several wind projects are in the planning stages across the province but some developers have said they expect no more than three or four of them to be selected.

The provincially appointed administrator, a Massachusetts-based consultant, is expected to announce the winning bidders in mid-July.

The province wants to obtain an additional 300 gigawatt hours of renewable electricity from independent producers, starting Jan. 1, 2015. That is equal to about 100 megawatts of wind energy.

The last time the province issued a tender call for renewable electricity, which occurred in 2007, the power purchase agreement was developed by Nova Scotia Power.

The utility said the proposed terms this time around are “substantially changed” from those approved by the review board five years ago.

Nova Scotia Power outlined several parts of the agreement it said could result in extra costs to ratepayers and require them too shoulder additional risk if a project runs into difficulty.

Some wind farm developers also wrote the review board this week suggesting further changes to the draft agreement.

Montreal-based Renewable Energy Systems Canada Inc., which is planning a wind farm in the Wentworth area, told the regulator it participated in recent consultations by the administrator and is “generally satisfied” with the outcome.

“The proposed contract properly allocates the risks of the contemplated projects to the parties that can best manage them, providing for the best outcome to the customer,” writes Nicolas Muszynski, RES Canada’s senior development manager.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/business/76468-urb-may-hold-full-hearing-power-deal

Company backing off wind turbine proposal for Braeshore

New Glasgow News

Published on February 28, 2012

PICTOU – Residents of Braeshore opposed to the location of a wind turbine in their area can breathe a sigh of relief.

Andy MacCallum with Wind Prospects Inc. said the company will be “stepping back” on its ComFit application for the construction of one to two wind turbines in the Braeshore area. The towers would have the capacity of 1.6 megawatts and be located on a piece of property formerly owned by Hughie MacDonald.

“We will probably not pursue it,” he said during an interview with The News Tuesday. “We will be leaving the application in, but we are pulling back.”

The proposal would see the wind field developed through the ComFit program, which requires 25 people from within the county to sign up as shareholders for the project. The remaining shareholders can come from other parts of the province.

During a public meeting in early February, MacCallum outlined several reasons why the development would be positive for the community, including decreasing the use of coal at the Trenton Generating Station.

Wind Prospects Inc.’s application was met with opposition from some Braeshore residents who are concerned about noise and health problems in relation to having a wind turbine near their homes.

They had circulated a petition and gathered signatures against the development and recently presented it to Pictou West MLA Charlie Parker, who is also the province’s energy minister.

MacCallum said Wind Prospects was aware of the opposition to the development and was working with the community to find a solution. He said the project does have some support, but he acknowledged the “vocal minority” was effective in making its point.

He added there is also another company in the Pictou County area that has a ComFit proposal in for wind turbines in the Caribou area and both would be competing for the same amount of space on the grid.

MacCallum said his company has about 10 other ComFit applications in with the government it will be pursuing in the future.

Susan Moland, a Braeshore resident who helped spearhead the petition signing, said community members recently met with county council asking for a larger setback for wind turbines. The setback is currently 600 metres.

“We are really feeling like we are waiting for the other shoe to drop,” she said. “Although Wind Prospects may not be interested, there is nothing stopping another company from coming in.”

She said a larger setback would make it more difficult for companies to develop wind turnbines in the area because of the configuration of homes in the Braeshore area.

http://www.ngnews.ca/News/Local/2012-02-28/article-2910876/Company-backi

Pugwash wind farm and The Rick Mercer Report

From CBC's The Rick Mercer Report seen on CBC Tuesday February 28th, 2012

http://www.youtube.com/mercerreport#p/search/1/giOcFDDWmtI

Wind farm fight goes online

Published on March 1, 2012

PUGWASH – The fight against a proposed wind farm near the Gulf Shore has gone online.

The Gulf Shore Preservation Association has launched the website http://protectpugwash.org to makes contacting Premier Darrell Dexter, cabinet ministers and local representatives regarding the wind farm much easier.

The website shares the area’s history, articulates local residents’ concerns and allows citizens to take action by writing their own comments to government.

“We feel it is very important that members of our association and those of the community are being heard. We can’t say for certain the government is actually listening, but the more of us involved and the louder we get, the harder we will be to ignore,” association president Lisa Betts said. “There are very serious concerns with this project and we believe it is the obligation of concerned residents to take action.”

The association is calling on the province to stop the project that could see up to 12 turbines erected near the Irishtown Road.

Atlantic Wind Farms has submitted its environmental assessment to the province.

The group of residents fighting the project wants the province to throw out the assessment saying it’s full of deficiencies.

The company says it has listened to residents concerns since a previous project was abandoned several years ago. The latest project is proposing fewer turbines, farther away from the shoreline and homes and cottages.

http://www.cumberlandnewsnow.com/News/Local/2012-03-01/article-2912864/Wind-farm-fight-goes-online/