South Shore buildings to become more energy efficient

ecoNova Scotia grants drive municipal energy efficiency across Lunenburg, Mahone Bay, Shelburne, and Lockeport, funding audits, insulation, efficient lighting, heating upgrades, and solar panels to cut greenhouse gas emissions, reduce air pollutants, and lower costs.

Six South Shore environment projects are in the works thanks to $85,000 in government funding.

Fittingly, Environment Minister Sterling Belliveau's announcement was made in Lunenburg's 118-year-old town hall and courthouse, which will be one of the major benefactors of the announcement.

"While they were built solid and strong in those days they didn't stay quite as tight after all the hurricanes that have blown through here in the last century," Mayor Laurence Mawhinney said. "They do need that kind of retrofitting to make them tighter and more efficient."

The Town of Lunenburg received $40,834 in grants for the energy-saving projects, primarily for the town hall and courthouse and the Lunenburg auditorium.

The money will be used to help reduce energy consumption in seven town buildings through improvements in energy-efficient lighting, insulation and heating-system operations.

"The Town of Lunenburg is committed to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants through improvements to infrastructure," Mr. Mawhinney said. "We believe the energy and cost savings realized through this project will be of great benefit to the town."

Lunenburg isn't the only South Shore beneficiary of the announcement.

The Dayspring fire hall received $8,694 to be fitted with solar panels. Mahone Bay received $10,000; Shelburne municipality, $9,487; the Town of Shelburne, $9,930; and Lockeport $4,160. Each received funding to conduct an energy inventory and audit of municipal infrastructure.

Mr. Belliveau, who was flanked by local MLA Pam Birdsall, said this announcement is the first of several totaling $900,000 that will be made over the next several days to help reduce greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions through Western Climate Initiative support and other measures.

"We want Nova Scotia to be one of the cleanest and greenest places in the world," he said. "The projects announced today will each play a part in helping us achieve that goal."

The money is drawn from the ecoNova Scotia for Clean Air and Climate Change fund, which is supported by a $42.5 million federal grant for projects aimed at reducing air emissions such as carbon capture and storage where applicable.

The funding is all part of ecoNova Scotia's ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 10 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020, and nationally, clean-power dollars for Saskatchewan signal complementary federal priorities.

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