Canadian utility Nova Scotia Power set a new renewable energy record in 2015, with 26.6% of the electricity used in the province coming from wind, hydro, tidal and biomass.
“We have made remarkable progress in Nova Scotia,” said NS Power VP power generation Mark Sidebottom. “No other utility in Canada has made this rapid of a transition.”
The utility exceeded the 2015 legislated requirement of 25% and is well positioned to meet the 40% by 2020 mandate, said NS Power. The Maritime Link subsea transmission project will deliver hydroelectricity from Muskrat Falls starting in 2018.
There are now 294 commercial wind turbines producing electricity in Nova Scotia. Wind power contributed 14% of the electricity supply last year and at times accounted for as much as 50% of the province’s electricity.
Ten years ago, more than 80% of Nova Scotia’s electricity was generated by burning coal – that has dropped to 56% and Nova Scotia Power forecasts it will decline to 45% by 2020.
Image: Scotian Windfields
