The provincial government announced its Green Choice Program will add more clean energy to the grid, bring more green jobs and investments to Nova Scotia, help stabilize power rates and decrease greenhouse gas emissions.
A release from the province states the plan includes initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, switch to clean energy, create a clean economy, make homes and buildings energy efficient and able to stand up to the impacts of climate change, and help Nova Scotians adapt to the changing climate.
Richmond MLA and Energy Minister Trevor Boudreau
Richmond MLA and Energy Minister Trevor Boudreau stated the Green Choice Program is the single largest addition of clean electricity and the single largest reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in Nova Scotia’s history. The program is open to Nova Scotia Power customers that pay the utility directly, not through a landlord, and had an average energy load of 10,000 megawatt hours per year over the past three years.
Participating in the program are 11 large-scale electricity customers, including all Nova Scotia Community College campuses, WalMart Canada, and Michelin, with most getting all of their electricity through it.
Six wind farms, including Yellow Birch and Sugar Maple in Pictou County, Eigg Mountain in Antigonish County, and Rhodena in Inverness County, were also selected
Each wind farm is co-owned by a private developer and one or more Mi’kmaw community in Nova Scotia. The developers are investing about $73.5 million in social and economic benefits for communities where the wind farms are located. Benefits include training, skill development, capacity building grants and scholarships. There will be about 700 construction jobs and 30 full-time jobs to operate the wind farms.