Good afternoon, it’s great to be here today as we take another step towards a cleaner and greener environment in Nova Scotia.

Mr. Bennett, (Rob) it’s good to see you again. Mr. Toole, (Robert) welcome to Nova Scotia. It’s good to welcome Earthfirst back to our province for another exciting project.

Mr. Demond, (Charles) - Atlantic Wind Power continues to be leaders in renewable energy in our province. It’s good to see you here today.

Last fall, in the speech from the throne, we told Nova Scotians about my government’s five priorities. One of them was protecting the environment.

As part of that, we have made a commitment to renewable energy. Our target is to obtain nearly 20 percent of Nova Scotia's total electricity needs from renewable sources by 2013. That’s about 100 thousand homes running on renewable energy.

Today’s announcement is another step in that direction. With partners like Nova Scotia Power, Earthfirst and Atlantic Wind Energy, I’m confident we will meet our goals.

We are very fortunate in Nova Scotia--for a number of reasons--but one of them has to be the fact we have a great resource blowing across the hills, lakes and forests. We have some of the best wind conditions in the country for producing power. I for one, am very excited that we are taking advantage of this situation.

Wind energy offers many advantages - it is emission-free, renewable, and affordable. That explains why it is the fastest growing energy source in the world.

When we talk about clean energy and protecting the environment, we must also talk about the green economy. Gone are the days when protecting the environment has to come as the expense of the economy. In fact, the opposite is true.

Projects such as this create a lot of jobs. Whether it be in road construction, site preparation in the form of foundation work, or the delivery of goods and services, Nova Scotians will benefit immediately from this project in the form of jobs. And they will benefit in the long term in the form of clean energy. It truly is a win, win situation.

Thank you for inviting me here today to be part of this announcement. I look forward to visiting the site during construction and again when the project is completed and providing power for the people of Nova Scotia.

Thank you.