The Town of Antigonish is pioneering Canada's first net-zero emissions community. With initiatives like our wind farm and electric utility, 63% of our energy already comes from green sources. But we’re not stopping there. Now, we're expanding our renewable energy infrastructure, including consolidating substations and implementing an electric district heating system. This partnership with local institutions aims to reduce carbon footprints and promote energy independence. Stay up to date on our projects as we work towards a sustainable future for all.
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Ellershouse Windfarm
The rising costs of energy in Nova Scotia and a world in desperate need of moving towards green energy formed the basis for three Towns that own their own electric utilities to come together to form a partnership that led to the creation of the Ellershouse Wind Farm.
The Towns of Antigonish, Berwick and Mahone Bay have partnered together, creating the Alternative Resource Energy Authority (AREA). The first major project involved building a wind farm to combat rising power costs and to achieve green energy targets proposed by the province of Nova Scotia.
Ellershouse Wind Farm began construction in the summer of 2015. The wind farm started supplying power in December 2015 and all four turbines were working by the end of January 2016. As of 2018, the Ellershouse Wind Farm has a ten turbine, 23.5 MW facility supplying power to the grid. Since the addition of the wind farm, the Town was ahead of schedule in meeting the Province of Nova Scotia's 40% renewable energy deadline by 2020.
With the addition of this wind farm as a new power source, the municipal utilities are able to stabilize power rates for customers, any profits made from the sale of this green energy resource will stay among the AREA members and the green energy targets set by the province will be met.
The benefits of renewable energy allow the Town to provide lower electricity rates so residents can better manage the cost of living and doing business. As the green energy industry continues to grow, the Town will look for new ways to expand our green energy portfolio in order to build a more environmentally friendly community.
Looking Ahead
AREA and the Towns have a proven track record of emissions reductions, but there is still more work to be done. AREA will work with the Town’s priorities and project ideas to advance environmental and economic sustainability together. To learn more about AREA's impact and projects, please visit www.areans.ca.
AREA in Numbers:
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Solar Gardens
AREA is developing 9MW of community solar gardens on behalf of each of its partner Towns. Annually, the three community solar gardens will produce enough clean energy to power 1,000 homes and will increase the total installed solar capacity in Nova Scotia by over 30%.The Antigonish Community Solar Garden will produce 1.65MW of power for the community. That is the equivalent to powering 187 homes each year. The solar garden will help us stabilize the cost of electricity for the Town's Electric Utility customers while reducing our carbon footprint.
Solar Garden Updates and FAQs
With the construction of our Community Solar Garden ongoing, we have gathered some of the most frequently asked questions we get asked to provide you an update on it’s status.
Q: What is a Community Solar Garden?
A: The Town of Antigonish is building a Community Solar Garden; a cluster of solar panels what will provide clean electricity to the Town’s Electrical Utility and it’s customers.
Q: Why is the Town building a solar garden?
A: The Community Solar Garden will provide electricity to the Town at a lower cost than buying imported electricity from another source. At the same time, it supports our goals to reduce community greenhouse gas emissions.
Q: Where is the Community Solar Garden?
A: The solar garden is at 1637 Brierly Brook Road; the site of the old Brierly Brook Landfill where the land is classified as a brownfield site. We choose this location as a way to re-claim the land in a positive way.
Q: When will the it be complete?
A: We began this project in 2019 and hoped the solar garden would be generating energy by the Spring of 2024 however we have experienced multiple challenges along the way including weather delays, erosion, and damage to panels and other equipment from storms this Winter. Repairs are being planned and we are hoping to have a grand opening in the Fall.
Q: What happened to the original plan for a subscription model?
A: It was our plan to sell subscriptions for Town electric customers to receive a credit on their power bills, however over time we have come to realize that there are more benefits to allowing the savings to be applied to the whole utility allowing everyone to benefit from lower power costs. All residents will benefit from community solar as it will increase our supply of renewable energy at a lower cost than market alternatives.
Q: Will I see a reduction on my electric utility bill?
A: The solar garden will help us stabilize the cost of electricity for the Town’s Electric Utility customers. Every megawatt produced with the solar panels reduces the amount of electricity we have to purchase from other sources and contributes to reducing our carbon footprint.
Electric Vehicle Charging Stations
The transportation sector contributes 27% of green house gas emissions in Canada. Electric and hybrid vehicle technologies can help lower emissions, improve air quality in our communities while also reducing noise and pollution.
AREA and the Towns have taken the important step of installing charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. Antigonish has multiple charging stations installed in various community locations including the Library, Arena, Chisholm Park, St. Andrew Junior School, Sydney Street Parking Lot, the Microtel, and Club 60 Parking Lot.
Visit, www.plugshare.com for specific locations.
Reports
To learn more about the start of the Ellershouse Wind Farm and the partners that started the project, watch the video below.
Ellershouse Wind Farm - As the Wind Blows from PicnicStudios on Vimeo.
