Proposed wind farm could become Nova Scotia's largest

A proposed wind farm in Hants County, N.S., stands to become the largest wind energy generator in the province and give a boost toward the provincial government's renewable energy targets.

Natural Forces, a Halifax-born power company, submitted its plans for the Benjamins Mills wind project to Nova Scotia's Department of Environment this week. The company is seeking approval to build up to 28 turbines about 13 kilometres southwest of the town of Windsor.

The wind farm could generate up to 150 megawatts, or, by the company's estimate, enough power for as many as 50,000 homes.

Nova Scotia is already dotted with hundreds of wind turbines, but few existing farms are on the same scale as the one Natural Forces wants to build. 

The South Canoe Wind Project in Lunenburg County currently holds the title of Nova Scotia's largest, with 34 turbines and a generation capacity of 102 megawatts.

The Benjamins Mills project would have fewer turbines than South Canoe, but they would be taller, at 200 metres from ground to blade tip (that's equivalent to a 60-storey building), and generate more energy. 

"Technology has come a long way with wind turbines in the last while," said Meg Morris, development manager for Natural Forces.

According to the documents filed with the province, 24 of the turbines would be installed on leased private land and four on leased Crown land — all areas that were previously forested but clear cut by industry.

In its proposal, the company suggests installing a wind farm at the chosen site would be a good use of land that's already been altered by human activity. 

The area has the added benefit of elevation that would allow the turbines to capture high wind speeds, logging roads for access, nearby transmission lines for connecting to the electric grid and setbacks of at least one kilometre from any homes.

If all goes according to plan, Natural Forces wants to start construction toward the end of 2022, with the aim of having turbine blades spinning by 2024. The whole project, however, is contingent on a few things.

One factor is government approval. The project requires development permits from the West Hants Regional Municipality and environmental approval from the province. 

West Hants Mayor Abraham Zebian said the company has already been consulting with the community and he was not aware of any opposition to the project.

With the environmental approval documents filed with the province, the public can now submit comments to the Environment Department until Feb. 17. The minister has a deadline of March 9 to make a decision about the proposal.