PICTOU – A local wind farm developer is hoping to successfully win another contract from Nova Scotia Power that would double the size of his farm. Reuben Burge, head of RMSEnergy Dalhousie Mountain, made a presentation to county council Monday to inform it about his plans to expand operations into both Pictou and Colchester counties. RMSEnergy currently operates 34 turbines, each rated for a nameplate capacity of 1.5 megawatts at its wind farm on Mount Thom. They give out a total output of 51 mw of renewable power. He told councillors that phase two of his wind farm will be known as the Clydesdale Ridge Wind Project with between 20 and 30 turbines erected in both counties. The turbines in phase two will be identical to the existing machines at the Dalhousie Mountain facility, but they will be rated for 1.6 mw instead of 1.5 mw. This addition will add enough energy to the grid to power an additional 20,000 homes annually. About 20 of the turbines would be in Pictou County and another 10 across the line in Colchester. He said his plans hinge on whether he wins a contract with Nova Scotia Power. He added that his existing farm is doing its job of supplying NSP with energy to offset coal consumption, but the wind energy market has gotten much more competitive since his last project. He said there are about 30 companies bidding on the current contract which is why he is going to the community, council and business associates for support. "I really need the support on this one because it is more competitive," Burge said. Burge said experience has taught him that being prepared is key to winning contracts, so has conducted many studies on wind farms, including noise, visual and environmental impacts. He said his company tries to work with local communities, making his setback from residences 1,500 metres, whereas the municipality bylaw states wind turbines must be at least 600 feet from homes. He told council he hasn't had one negative complaint from the public, local landowners or government stakeholders in relation to the Dalhousie Mountain wind farm since they were built in 2009. "It's a good project that will employ local people," he said, adding that if approved he will have about 18 people working for him. In addition to the Clydesdale Ridge Project, Burge is also working with the Nova Scotia SPCA to help them gain a sustainable income through the COMfit program. He is currently bidding on eight COMfit projects, three of which could be in Pictou County. Burge said he is also trying to work with DSTN in Trenton in regard to towers, but admits it is difficult to get established companies like General Electric to put trust in new manufacturing plants. He suggested it would better for DSTN to have a large order of 35 or 45 towers because the price of steel would be much more reasonable. He said it's impossible to compete with China on steel prices when the order is only for five towers even though he would be saving hundred of thousands of dollars on travel costs if the towers were built locally. County council agreed to write a letter of support for Burge's green energy initiatives but couldn't support his company during its bidding process because of a possible conflict of interest.
Wind farm developer plans to double operation’s size
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Comments
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- Gully Lake
- - February 6, 2012 at 09:11:33
By all accounts this proposed new wind farm will be close to the borders of the Gully Lake Wilderness area. We don't just establish wilderness areas for people but also for wildlife. The effects of wind turbines near protected areas needs to be studied. Department of the Environment protected areas division should be taking a very close look. There was also news of a mature Bald Eagle being killed at the Dalhousie Mountain site last year.. collateral damage? Wildlife moving into or out of wilderness areas must also have a high degree of protection.
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- johnny smoke
- - February 5, 2012 at 09:10:52
Just to be sure that I am not a one off complainer, here is another horror story, I hope all of the provincial M.L.A's and Utility Review Board members are reading this, talk about down right incompetence booby prizes all around, if they are regulating N.S.P they are also strangulating the rest of the rate payers.I wonder what the kick back is for those who o.k. these concessions ? "I am very concerned about the way my power bill has increased. Last year, Nova Scotia Power automatically withdrew $259 a month to cover the cost of heat and light. This worked well and at the end of the year, I enjoyed a credit of $5! That was the good news, but they told me that they would be increasing my monthly withdrawals by $40, an increase of 15 per cent. To be fair, we should put this 15 per cent increase into some perspective: The increase in the Canadian consumer price index last year was 2.9 per cent; the Bank of Canada rate was 1.25 per cent; the current average yield on a five-year GIC is 1.87 per cent; the TSX fell by about nine per cent. We clearly live in difficult times, but not Emera apparently. Its return on equity last year was 11.3 per cent; its dividend yielded 4.2 per cent; and its CEO earned over $3 million. Of course, NSP blames the increase on the price of oil (8.2 per cent), but this only represents a relatively small fraction of its costs. Maybe it is time to ask questions about the real cause. Is the Utility and Review Board doing its job? Does our consumer advocate accommodate rate increase requests too easily? Why does Emera continue to prosper in these difficult times? Has the time come to seriously consider returning NSP to Nova Scotians?" John Haysom, Hammonds Plains
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- Johnny Smoke
- - February 3, 2012 at 08:59:41
Did you get your new power bill yet? If not you are in for a surprise, not a nice one but a real nasty one at that. I was, I say again was on at budget plan, N.S.P. raided my chequing account for $62.00 every month for the last number of years,sometimes i owed them some times they owed me, but in the end it balanced out. Come January 1, 2012, rate increase, my plan went from $62.00 to get this $88.00 a $25.00 increase or approximately 40%. The rate increase was for 9.6%. I contacted N.S.P. customer service, their reply was that in anticipation of increased consumption on my part they thought it would be prudent to increase my monthly payment. I replied that according to their usage graphs and my own calculations that my usage decreased almost 7% over the past year, with further reductions in process.They informed me that thanks to the massive give away to the pulp mills and the increasing cost of "Green" energy-i.e. windmills-I can expect to see regular increases, on a regular basis. Wonderful news-looking for a cave to move into.
