Nova Scotia looks to small wind projects

subscribe

The Nova Scotia government has unveiled a plan to get small wind turbines feeding the province's power grid.

The plan revolves around a community-based feed-in tariff system. This guarantees that small projects get paid a price based on their cost to produce energy, not a market price set by Nova Scotia Power.

Renewable energy companies are hailing the tariff as a world first.

"This guarantees that a machine will be able to get a price that will pay for itself," Dan Roscoe, chief operating officer of Scotian WindFields, told CBC News.

"That means every community in Nova Scotia will be able to participate in this program. If you have 20 houses and a grocery store you will be able to put up a wind turbine and take advantage of this program."

Jonathan Barry, president of Seaforth Energy, said his overseas partners are applauding the move.

"On a conference call this morning... I was told it's good to see Canada being Canadian again," he said.

The Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board will set two community tariff rates: one for projects under 50 kilowatts and another for projects over that. The board will hold hearings in the spring.

Fifty kilowatts is enough to power 20 homes.

Community-based projects are expected to produce about 100 megawatts of electricity.

Premier Darrell Dexter said these projects will help to create good jobs, stabilize electricity prices and improve the environment.

"This is breaking with the status quo. It's about allowing renewable energy to take its place in the market," he said.

Robin McAdam, an executive with Nova Scotia Power, said there is room on the grid for the new electricity, but not everywhere.

"There will always be frustration as someone wants to do a project where the system can't accommodate it," said McAdam. "But there is lots of capacity on the system for many distribution-connected projects."

The province has set a target of having 25 per cent renewable electricity by 2015.

Related News

powerlines

Kyiv warns of 'difficult' winter after deadly strikes

KYIV - Ukraine has warned that difficult winter months lay ahead after a massive Russian missile barrage targeted civilian infrastructure, killing three in the south and wounding many across the country.

Russia launched the strikes as Ukraine prepares for a third winter during Moscow's 19-month long invasion and as President Volodymyr Zelensky made his second wartime trip to Washington.

"Most of the missiles were shot down. But only the majority. Not all," Zelensky said, calling for the West to provide Kyiv with more anti-missile systems.

The fresh attack came as Poland said it would honour pre-existing commitments of weapons supplies to Kyiv, a…

READ MORE
alberta-proposes-electricity-market-changes

Alberta Proposes Electricity Market Changes

READ MORE

brain scan

Zapping elderly brains with electricity improves short-term memory — for almost an hour

READ MORE

Opp Leader calls for electricity market overhaul to favor consumers over generators

READ MORE

powerlines

ERCOT Issues RFP to Procure Capacity to Alleviate Winter Concerns

READ MORE