NewPage partners on Canadian power plant

NOVA SCOTIA - A branch of NewPage Corp. has agreed to be part of a new $93 million biomass power plant project.

Nova Scotia Canadabased NewPage Port Hawkesbury Corp. — an indirect, whollyowned subsidiary of Miami Township, Ohiobased NewPage — announced it was teaming up with Nova Scotia Power Inc. to develop a facility in Nova Scotia, Canada.

The development entails investment of $200 million by Nova Scotia Power, which includes $93 million in construction costs for new facilities, $80 million to purchase assets from NewPage and other related costs. NewPage will be responsible for the construction and operation of the cogeneration facility and be completely responsible for fuel supply.

The project remains subject to regulatory approval from the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board and is slated to be in service date in late 2012.

Officials said the biomass fueled cogeneration facility could supply Nova Scotians with about 3 percent of the provinceÂ’s total electricity requirement. It is expected to create an estimated 150 new jobs in northern Nova Scotia.

In March, NewPage Corp. tentatively agreed to sell five hydroelectric power plants it owns in Wisconsin to Great Lakes Utilities, a municipal electric company.

NewPage is the largest coated paper manufacturer in North America. It owns paper mills in Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Nova Scotia, Canada with annual capacity to produce 4.4 million tons of paper. The company operates the former Stora Enso North America paper mills in Wisconsin.

Nova Scotia Power Inc. is the largest whollyowned subsidiary of Emera Inc., a diversified energy and services company. Nova Scotia Power provides more than 95 percent of the generation, transmission and distribution of electrical power to 486,000 customers in the province.