Natural Resources Minister Christian Paradis announced Sunday that the Harper Government is investing almost $63.8 million in clean-energy initiatives from its ecoENERGY for Renewable Power program, $9.2 million (~14%) of which is headed to Nova Scotia.
The money is slated to be released over a ten year time period, in support of a wind farm near Digby, NS, known as the Digby Neck Wind Farm. The projects are all designed to reduce emission of greenhouse gasses, and generate jobs
Discussing this announcement, Greg Kerr, MP of West Nova stated, “Investing in clean energy technologies stimulates the growth of a domestic clean energy industry, creating high-quality jobs for Canadians”.
The facility will use state-of-the-art technology, consisting of 20 turbines, capable of producing up to 30 megawatts, enough to power 10,000 homes a year. Although only producing ~3.8% of the power output of the world’s largest wind farm (the Roscoe Wind Farm in Roscoe, TX), it will only cost <1% of the price.
Commenting on the ecoENERGY investment, Robin McAdam, Executive Vice-President of Sustainability for Nova Scotia Power stated that, “New wind farms are generating clean electricity and providing economic opportunities in Nova Scotia,” and “Nova Scotia Power is committed to replacing fossil fuel generation with renewable sources; ecoENERGY is helping to lower the cost of that change to customers.”
Presumably, this is part of the Harper Government’s goal of reducing greenhouse emissions 17% below 2005 levels by 2020. Do you think the government is succeeding in this endeavor, or are the initiatives not enough?