HALIFAX,
NS, July 30, 2024 /CNW/ - From our homes to
our businesses to our workplaces, electricity powers our lives and
our economy. Building a clean, reliable and affordable electricity
grid is a crucial economic and environmental pursuit. The private
sector is increasingly prioritizing access to clean electricity to
stay competitive and seize new economic opportunities, including in
the emerging and growing industries of hydrogen and critical
minerals. The economy is also rapidly electrifying as consumers
adopt electric heat pumps and purchase electric vehicles and as
industry transitions to clean power on the path to net zero.
The Government of Canada is
supporting clean electricity projects that partner with Indigenous
groups to provide reliable and affordable energy, and create good
jobs while advancing Canada's
climate goals.
Today, the Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and
Natural Resources, announced investments totalling over
$192 million for six clean
electricity projects in Nova
Scotia through Natural Resources Canada's Smart Renewables
and Electrification Pathways program (SREPs) and Electricity
Predevelopment Program that will help drive down energy bills
across the province. This includes:
- $117.6 million to Nova Scotia
Power Inc. for the installation of three 50-megawatt (MW) /
200-megawatt hour (MWh) battery energy storage systems in
Bridgewater, Spider Lake and
White Rock, Nova Scotia, as well
as other grid modernization upgrades, to support the replacement of
coal with wind generation across the province. This includes
funding from the Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways
Program as well as Electricity Predevelopment Program, which
specifically supports predevelopment activities such as site
investigation work, grid integration planning and stakeholder
engagement. This funding builds on previous funding announced by
the Canada Infrastructure Bank in February
2024.
- $25 million to Benjamin Mill Wind
Limited Partnership to deploy a 33.6-MW wind energy project near
Windsor, Nova Scotia, built in
partnership with Natural Forces Developments and Wskijnu'k
Mtmo'taqnuow Agency (WMA), the corporate body wholly owned by the
13 Mi'kmaq bands in Nova
Scotia.
- $25 million to Higgins Mountain
Wind Farm Limited Partnership to deploy a 100-MW wind energy
project on Higgins Mountain, Nova
Scotia, built in partnership with Elemental Energy
Renewables Inc., Sipekne'katik First Nation and Stevens Wind.
- $25 million to Wedgeport Wind
Farm Limited Partnership to deploy an 84-MW wind energy project in
the municipality of the District of Argyle, Nova Scotia, built in partnership with
Elemental Energy Renewables Inc. and Sipekne'katik First Nation and
Stevens Wind.
These investments support federal and provincial commitments to
meet emerging energy needs and the transition to net-zero
electricity emissions, while demonstrating the Government of
Canada's commitment to supporting
clean energy technologies in partnership with Indigenous groups
that create good jobs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fight
climate change.
Today's announcement also builds on collaboration taking place
through the Canada-Nova Scotia Regional Energy and Resource Table
(Regional Table), which today released The Nova
Scotia Regional Energy and Resource Table Framework for
Collaboration on the Path to Net Zero (Collaboration
Framework). The Collaboration Framework identifies six areas of
economic opportunity to pursue in the province's net-zero future,
including clean electricity. The other five areas of opportunity
are: critical minerals, hydrogen, marine renewables, carbon
management and the forest bioeconomy.
This collaboration flows from the Joint Policy Statement on
Developing and Transmitting Clean, Reliable and Affordable Power in
Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, which was signed by the two
provinces and the federal government in October 2023. The Policy Statement commits the
parties to working actively together to ensure progress to
electricity systems that will be affordable, reliable and clean and
will meet the requirements of the forthcoming Clean Electricity
Regulation.
This federal funding will increase the supply of reliable and
affordable clean power while also expanding grid capacity to save
and store energy for future use. Investments such as these will
create good local jobs across the electricity value chain — from
installation and maintenance to operation and end-use planning.
They will also harness the enormous economic opportunity clean
energy presents for Atlantic
Canada for now and for generations to come.
Quotes
"Clean electricity provides an opportunity to drive economic
growth and create jobs while driving down energy costs for Nova
Scotians. The innovative work being done in Nova Scotia is an excellent example of how
local companies, through research and collaboration, are creating
clean, reliable and affordable energy grids that lower emissions
and strengthen the economy in communities across Canada."
The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson
Minister of Energy and Natural Resources
"Wskijinu'k Mtmo'taqnuow Agency (WMA) is proud to partner with
Natural Forces and the Government of Canada on the Benjamins Mill Wind Project in
advancing clean energy projects in Nova
Scotia. This investment not only drives economic growth and
local job creation but also contributes to a sustainable future.
The vision of WMA is to create a brighter, more sustainable future
for our communities through economic opportunities and partnerships
including significant renewable energy initiatives. Together, we
are building a cleaner, more reliable and affordable energy grid
that will benefit generations to come."
Crystal Nicholas
President and Interim General Manager Wskijinu'k Mtmo'taqnuow
Agency and Director on behalf of Benjamin Mill Wind Limited
Partnership
"The Higgins Mountain and Wedgeport Wind Farm Projects are on
track to help Nova Scotia achieve
its goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 53 percent, while
increasing renewable energy generation to represent 80 percent of
the total supply available in the province by 2030. The award of
these Smart Renewable Electricity Program grants from Natural
Resources Canada to Nova Scotia Rate Base Procurement Projects is
helping deliver new sources of renewable electricity at a lower
cost than the current average cost of electricity, resulting in an
estimated savings of $100 million
annually over a 25-year period, which will be realized by all rate
payers in the province. Elemental Energy, along with our partners,
Sipekne'katik First Nation and Stevens Wind, is proud to support
Nova Scotia's plan to aggressively
reduce greenhouse gas emissions while contributing clean,
affordable and renewable electricity for the benefit of all Nova
Scotians."
Jamie Houssian
Principal, Elemental Energy
Quick Facts
- Federal funding for these projects is provided by the
Government of Canada's Smart
Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program (SREPs). This
$4.5-billion program is designed to
significantly reduce emissions and create sustainable jobs by
continuing to support the deployment of grid modernization, energy
storage and renewables in every region of Canada.
- Since 2021, SREPs has approved funding for 71 projects,
enabling the deployment of approximately 2,700 megawatts of new
renewable energy capacity, which will displace over 3.5 megatonnes
of CO2e per year in Canada.
- Forty-three of these projects have Indigenous ownership,
representing over $826 million in
program contributions and an estimated 15,800 job-years.
- Predevelopment funding for the battery projects is provided by
NRCan's Electricity Predevelopment Program, a $250-million program that supports predevelopment
activities for clean electricity projects of regional and national
significance.
- The Regional Tables are joint partnerships between the federal
government and individual provincial and territorial governments in
collaboration with Indigenous partners — and with input from key
interested parties — to identify and accelerate shared economic
priorities for a low-carbon future in the energy and resource
sectors.
- Regional Tables are underway in 10 provinces and territories:
British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and the four Atlantic provinces
(New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince
Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador) as well as the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon.
- An alternate collaboration has been established with
Alberta; an Alberta–Canada Deputy
Minister-level Working Group. Discussions are underway with
Quebec.
Related Information
- The Smart Renewables and Electrification Pathways Program
- CIB committing $138.2 million to
Nova Scotia Energy Storage Project
- Rate Base Procurement Portfolio Announcement Feb 2024
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SOURCE Natural Resources Canada