Port Hawkesbury Paper installs towers to monitor a potential site for a 112-megawatt wind farm
by CM Staff
Paper manufacturer has been working in collaboration with the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) to determine the proposed wind farm’s financial viability.
One of two meteorological towers erected by Port Hawkesbury Paper to monitor wind for a potential 112-megawatt wind farm in Guysborough county
PORT HAWKESBURY — Port Hawkesbury Paper (PHP) has taken another step in the development process for the 112-megawatt wind farm first announced in December 2019 by directly funding the installation of two meteorological towers on the proposed project site in Guysborough County, Nova Scotia.
These two towers will collect vital wind data over the next twelve months. As part of PHP’s due diligence process, the collected data will serve to verify the wind resource over the project site and facilitate project design in terms of potential turbine distribution and arrangement. Positive results from the due diligence process could enable construction to begin in 2022, subject to all appropriate legislative and regulatory requirements. If built, this project would be the largest wind farm in Nova Scotia and supply green power directly to PHP.
The towers are a critical piece of the due diligence process PHP has been working on in collaboration with the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) to determine the proposed wind farm’s financial viability. This collaboration could lead to a CIB investment in the project, subject to all standard due diligence and decision making.
“We are excited about the potential of this project to contribute to our mission to make Port Hawkesbury Paper the highest quality and most competitive producer of supercalendered paper in North America while at the same time being a great place to work, environmentally responsible and a strong contributor to the province of Nova Scotia,” states Ron Stern, President of Stern Partners.
PHP is the largest industrial employer in the surrounding region and the largest energy consumer on the Nova Scotia grid, representing 10% of the province’s demands. Development of the project could further enhance sustainable energy supply to Nova Scotian industry and also support provincial and federal environmental commitments.
