News release

Changes to Regulations for Wind Energy

Environment and Labour (Oct. 2000 - March 2008)

The public will have more opportunities to comment on wind energy proposals in Nova Scotia, following changes to Environment and Labour regulations.

The amendments are designed to support the province's Energy Strategy by encouraging the development of clean, renewable energy. They include revisions that require more wind projects to complete an environmental assessment. Any project greater than two megawatts will now need approval, down from the previous 10 megawatts.

"Even wind projects as small as two megawatts can have a significant impact on the environment, including bird collisions, aesthetics, and land-use issues. So it's important that they're assessed and that the community has a chance to comment," said Environment and Labour Minister Ron Russell.

The changes also mean reduced costs for environmental assessments on larger wind-related projects. All wind energy projects will now go through a Class 1 assessment, which has registration costs of about $8,400, instead of a Class 2 assessment, which has registration costs of about $13,000. Previously, proposals for projects greater than 10 megawatts had to go through the longer and more expensive assessment process.

The revisions were made to the province's environmental assessment regulations, and are effective immediately.

There are currently two wind energy projects in Nova Scotia, in Grand Etang and Digby. Each of the Nova Scotia Power Inc. projects produces 0.6 megawatts of power.