Sunday, February 16, 2025

New wind farm to pump $1.3 million annually into MODG coffers

  • January 15 2025
  • By Alec Bruce, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter    

GUYSBOROUGH — The Municipality of the District of Guysborough (MODG) is set to gain more than $1.3 million annually in tax revenue over the next 30 years, following last week’s approval of Port Hawkesbury Wind’s Goose Harbour Lake Wind Farm near Mulgrave.

“It’s the first real indication, among all the economic development projects [planned in the municipality], of something that’s [actually] being built,” MODG Director of Economic and Community Development Sean O’Connor told council at its committee of the whole (COTW) meeting on Jan. 8

“With a 168-megawatt nameplate capacity,” he said, “the project should generate $8,500 per megawatt in taxes for the MODG or $1.3-million-ish per year starting out, if it’s built in 2026.” Moreover, he said, that rate will “escalate” at a rate of one per cent per year over the 30-year lifespan of the project, producing even more revenue. “These are significant impacts in terms of taxation.”

Nova Scotia’s Wind Turbine Facilities Municipal Taxation Act guarantees that, while such installations are exempt from traditional property taxes based on assessment values, they are subject to a special levy based on their nameplate capacity (the maximum output a generator can produce under specific conditions).

After the first full municipal taxation year, the rate increases by one per cent each year, compounded annually. Wind turbine facility owners are also responsible for paying the tax, regardless of whether they own the land on which their operation is situated.

Supported by a $224-million loan from the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB), PHPW authorized the official launch of its Goose Harbour Lake facility – with the final cost expected to reach nearly $450 million – on Jan. 6. Construction of 24 Nordex cold-climate turbines on a 43-hectare plot of provincial Crown land in the municipality is expected to begin as soon as early next year, with commercial operations slated to commence in the fall of 2026.

“In the coming spring into the summer this year, we’re going to see the [facility] roads get gravelled,” O’Connor told the COTW meeting last week. “And then, we’ll see the concrete and the rebar start going in for the turbine cases. That’s a huge step forward for the project [and] a great [local] economy stimulator with 150 jobs during construction.”

According to a project backgrounder, the wind farm will support both Nova Scotia’s largest industrial electricity user – Port Hawkesbury Paper – and the provincial energy grid. It is expected to reduce emissions by more than 350,000 tonnes annually. This will “help the province’s energy transition, moving from coal to renewables,” the backgrounder stated.

In addition to new municipal taxes, the MODG also stands to gain from a community benefits program “with the local community surrounding the project,” PHPW’s director of sustainability and economic development Geoff Clarke told The Journal last week.

Specific details of that package are not yet available, but Clarke noted that the combined investments and benefits will be considerable.