GUYSBOROUGH — Heeding public concerns and “leveraging advancements in technology,” one of Guysborough County’s largest wind farm developers may cut the number of massive turbines it plans to build in the area by as much as 30 per cent, The Journal has learned.
EverWind Fuels was expected to erect up to 84 industrial wind turbines, each up to 120 metres tall with blade lengths of approximately 85 metres, on its Wind Farm #1 in the Municipality of the District of Guysborough (MODG) near the communities of St. Francis Harbour, Boylston, Guysborough and Lincolnville.
The project is one of three proposed wind farms in the county – encompassing approximately 400 turbines over roughly 64,000 hectares of provincial Crown land, pending government approvals – that would generate approximately 2,000 megawatts of renewable energy to power the company’s green hydrogen production facility in Point Tupper, which is scheduled to become operational sometime in 2026-27.
Feedback influencing plans
According to MODG Director of Economic and Community Development Sean O’Connor, the plans for Wind Farm #1 – including the layout, footprint and number of turbines – are changing due, in part, to feedback the developer has received from its recently appointed community liaison committee (CLC).
“The final layout hasn’t come out yet, but we’re expecting [the number of turbines] to be somewhere in the fifties for Wind Farm #1,” said O’Connor, who is also a member of the CLC, during a MODG council meeting March 5. “One interesting thing that’s happening is to see the developer [EverWind] engaging with certain community members ... Through all their engagement and engagement with the CLC, we’re going to see that number [of turbines] drop significantly.”
In an interview with The Journal, O’Connor added, “Originally, everyone was looking at a [certain megawatt] turbine, and now it’s likely that, as technology changes, you’re going to see that [turbine capacity] get larger. So, although there’s going to be fewer turbines ... they’re optimizing their designs so that the capacity factor is maximized.”
EverWind response
In an email to The Journal, EverWind’s Director of Engagement Mark Stewart confirmed that the company is “exploring the reduction in the total number of wind turbines by leveraging advancements in technology. Initially, we planned to use 5-to-6-megawatt turbines, but as we continue working with wind turbine manufacturers, we’re now considering 7-to-8-megawatt turbines, allowing us to generate a similar amount of energy with fewer turbines.”
Though he declined to specify exactly how many turbines might be cut, he said, “We expect to have a detailed site layout ready to share with the community in the coming months. Having the community liaison committee involved early in the process has been invaluable, and we remain committed to actively listening and responding to public feedback.”
Opposition remains strong
That feedback has been, at times, intense.
At a community meeting in St. Francis Harbour last September, citizen groups Protect Guysborough and Green Nova Scotia First (GNSF) criticized EverWind’s plans, arguing that turbine density in Wind Farm #1 was out of scale for the area.
“The first thing that has concerned us is the number of turbines,” said Protect Guysborough co-founder Lesley Hartt. “These are not providing power for the Nova Scotia grid; it’s for production of hydrogen and ammonia ... This is in rural areas, by the way. They don’t do this in the cities.”
Hadleyville resident Steven Henley voiced similar concerns in an address last month to MODG council, urging councillors to reconsider turbine setbacks and noise restrictions.
“I don’t imagine when this was first discussed, you thought they’d be this tall or that there’d be so many,” he said. He also criticized the approval process, likening it to “asking the fox to watch the chicken coop,” arguing that municipal oversight may be undermined by provincial and federal interests.
Community liaison committee
To address concerns and ensure ongoing dialogue, EverWind formed its CLC for Wind Farm #1 in November, which includes 11 representatives from various districts within MODG. In addition to O’Connor, CLC members include MODG councillors Mary Desmond and Neil Decoff, and residents from communities near the proposed turbines, including Tori Evans of Manassette Lake, a member of Protect Guysborough, who had previously criticized the project.
In an email to The Journal last week, she called the turbine reduction plan at Wind Farm #1 a “work in progress,” adding: “At the last two CLC meetings, EverWind did state that wind turbine numbers will be reduced for Wind Farm #1. When EverWind has finalized the specific details (layout, turbine count), it will be presented to the CLC for feedback.”
O’Connor noted that community feedback has already influenced turbine placement.
“One example is a privately owned airstrip to the east of Wind Farm #1,” he said. “[EverWind] met with the owners of that and, because of that, I believe they’re removing several turbine locations so that [these] don’t conflict with the operation of that private airstrip.”
Financial impact, government regulations
Stewart emphasized that any reduction in the number of turbines will not affect EverWind’s financial commitments to MODG.
“Payments to the province for Crown land use remain unchanged, as they are based on total power generation capacity, not the number of turbines,” he said.
Last April, the company agreed to pay the MODG approximately $2 million annually for a community benefits fund. The three wind farms are also expected to generate eight to $14 million in annual tax revenues for both the MODG and the Municipality of the District of St. Mary’s.
Meanwhile, last week, the provincial government announced plans to change the minimum planning requirements for wind turbine setbacks in Nova Scotia municipalities.
“Under the amended regulations, the setback for wind turbines cannot be more than four times the turbine height, unless a greater distance is required to ensure that sound levels do not exceed 40 decibels at the exterior of a dwelling and that shadow flicker on nearby residential dwellings does not exceed limits identified in the amendments,” according to a government news release.
“The amendments also remove the ability for a municipality to influence wind turbine placement based on visual impact on the landscape.”
