Green Choice Program Greening the Grid, Creating Jobs, Improving Energy Independence
The Province’s Green Choice Program has 11 large-scale electricity customers and is supported by six wind farms. (Communications Nova Scotia / File)
NOTE: Full lists of Green Choice Program customers and new wind farms to support the program are at the end of this release.
The 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.
“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,” said Energy Minister Trevor Boudreau. “Our province has incredible onshore and offshore wind speeds. Now is the time to use it to our advantage.”
Eleven large-scale electricity customers are participating in the program. Most will get all their electricity through it. These customers include public institutions and some large industrial and commercial businesses.
Six wind farms were chosen through a competitive independent procurement to support the program. They will start generating more than 2,000 gigawatt hours of clean electricity per year by the end of 2028. They will increase the clean electricity to the grid for program customers by more than 12 per cent and by nearly seven per cent for all Nova Scotia ratepayers.
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.
The Green Choice Program is a commitment in Our Climate, Our Future: Nova Scotia’s Climate Change Plan for Clean Growth. The plan aims to create a cleaner, healthier and more sustainable future for all Nova Scotians. It 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.
Quotes:
“Through Glooscap First Nation’s majority ownership with SWEB for Yellow Birch, Blueberry Acres, and Sugar Maple, we are committed to meaningful action that balances economic reconciliation with environmental stewardship. We aim to build meaningful partnerships that protect the well-being of our community while addressing the need for cleaner, more sustainable energy sources that also reduce energy costs. By advancing clean energy in Nova Scotia, we are protecting the land, water and ecosystems that sustain us and ensuring a healthier, more sustainable future for generations to come. Glooscap First Nation looks forward to building strong local partnerships and fostering strong community connections.”
— Chief Sidney Peters, Glooscap First Nation
“The Canadian Renewable Energy Association congratulates its members and Indigenous partners for their successful bids in the Nova Scotia Green Choice Program procurement. All Nova Scotians will benefit from these new projects which will supply 625 MW of affordable, clean and reliable energy to the provincial grid starting by the end of 2028. Our members are ready to support the energy transition and help grow Nova Scotia’s new green economy.”
— Jean Habel, Senior Director for Quebec and Atlantic Canada, Canadian Renewable Energy Association
“As a global leader in sustainable mobility and a responsible company, Michelin is taking concrete actions to combat climate change. The Green Choice Program is a significant step to helping us, and other Nova Scotian companies, access renewable energy.”
— Andrew Mutch, President, Michelin North America (Canada)
“Through the Green Choice Program, the Canada Infrastructure Bank’s innovative financing is enabling non-emitting, reliable and affordable new energy infrastructure across Nova Scotia. Our loans will reduce ratepayer impacts as well as provide equity to participating First Nations, supporting meaningful ownership opportunities in the recently awarded energy projects.”
— Ehren Cory, CEO, Canada Infrastructure Bank
Quick Facts:
- the Green Choice 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
- customers of municipal electric utilities are not included in the program; those utilities are increasingly providing clean electricity
- Nova Scotia Power will pay an average of $63.62 per megawatt hour for electricity from the wind farms, which is a substantial fuel cost saving compared with coal
- the wind farms will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least eight per cent and, along with other initiatives, bring the power grid to about 78 per cent renewables by 2028; further initiatives like community, residential and commercial solar will bring the grid to 80 per cent renewables by 2030
- the procurement for the new wind farms was managed independently by Coho Climate Advisors, an ERM Group Company
Additional Resources:
Green Choice Program: https://novascotia.ca/green-choice-program
Green Choice Program procurement: https://novascotiagcp.com/
News release – Green Choice Program for Large-Scale Electricity Customers: https://news.novascotia.ca/en/2023/12/01/green-choice-program-large-scale-electricity-customers
Nova Scotia’s 2030 Clean Power Plan: https://beta.novascotia.ca/sites/default/files/documents/1-3582/nova-scotia-clean-power-plan-presentation-en.pdf
Our Climate, Our Future: Nova Scotia’s Climate Change Plan for Clean Growth: https://climatechange.novascotia.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/ns-climate-change-plan.pdf
Environmental Goals and Climate Change Reduction Act: https://nslegislature.ca/sites/default/files/legc/statutes/environmental%20goals%20and%20climate%20change%20reduction.pdf
Department of Energy on X: https://x.com/NS_Dept_Energy
The Green Choice Program customers are:
- Province of Nova Scotia – government owned buildings and operations including public schools, most of Nova Scotia Health’s hospitals and health centres, the IWK Health Centre and the Nova Scotia Provincial Housing Agency
- Government of Canada – federal departments, agencies and Canada Post’s Crown facilities
- Nova Scotia Universities and Colleges Power Purchasing Partnership: Dalhousie University (all campuses), Acadia University, Cape Breton University, Mount Saint Vincent University, Saint Mary’s University, University of Kings College, Université Sainte-Anne, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design
- all Nova Scotia Community College campuses
- Halifax Regional Municipality
- Halifax Water Commission
- Cape Breton Regional Municipality
- Halifax International Airport Authority
- WalMart Canada Corporation
- Michelin North America (Canada) Inc.
- PSA Canada Ventures Ltd.
The successful wind projects in the independent procurement are:
- Yellow Birch, Pictou County; developed by SWEB in partnership with Glooscap First Nation
- Melvin Lake, Hants and Halifax counties; developed by ABO Energy Canada in partnership with Eskasoni, Potlotek, We’koqma’q L’nue’kati and Wagmatook First Nations
- Rhodena, Inverness County; developed by ABO Energy Canada in partnership with Eskasoni, Potlotek, We’koqma’q L’nue’kati and Wagmatook First Nations
- Blueberry Acres, Cumberland County; developed by SWEB in partnership with Glooscap First Nation
- Sugar Maple, Pictou County; developed by SWEB in partnership with Glooscap First Nation
- Eigg Mountain, Antigonish County; developed by Renewable Energy Systems Canada in partnership with Paq’tnkek and Pictou Landing First Nations