GUYSBOROUGH – Nova Scotia has approved the largest wind energy project in its history, clearing a major regulatory hurdle for a development that would place up to 158 turbines across a large section of the Municipality of the District of Guysborough (MODG).
Environment and Climate Change Minister Timothy Halman signed the environmental assessment approval July 2 for the Ocean Lake Wind Project, a joint development of EverWind NS Holdings Ltd. and Membertou Development Corporation near New Harbour, Goldboro, Larry’s River, Lundy and Roachvale.
The province says the project would generate about 1,264 megawatts of electricity – enough to power the equivalent of about 404,000 homes – and reduce Nova Scotia’s annual greenhouse gas emissions by about 1.94 million tonnes, the equivalent of taking about 420,000 gas-powered vehicles off the road.
But EverWind’s project summary frames Ocean Lake not as a conventional household-power project, but as part of a larger industrial energy buildout.
Formerly known as Wind Farm 2, the project is part of the company’s second phase of wind development in Guysborough County, being developed to support certified green hydrogen and ammonia production and other industrial uses tied to EverWind’s Point Tupper green fuels facility, including export markets.
Public criticism
That distinction drew sharp criticism from Seal Harbour resident Susan Overmyer, an outspoken critic of EverWind’s large-scale wind projects in Guysborough County.
“I was stunned when I read the description of the Ocean Lake Wind Project in the government’s press release of its environmental assessment approval,” Overmyer said in an email to The Journal.
She argued the project connects directly to EverWind’s ammonia plans, rather than the Nova Scotia grid, and said the province’s household-power comparison misleads the public about what the project is meant to do.
“This is greenwashing by our own government,” Overmyer said. “We are looking at the destruction of a large part of the natural environment of Guysborough County to create ammonia to be exported to Europe and made to believe that this is addressing climate change and our energy issues. It does not.”
Local benefits
Still, Guysborough-Tracadie MLA Greg Morrow welcomed the approval.
“This new project will create jobs and help grow our local economy here in Guysborough-Tracadie,” Morrow said in a July 8 statement. “I am thrilled with today’s announcement as it supports our government’s work to grow the economy and provide clean energy for the province right here at home.”
The province says the project would create between 400 and 500 construction jobs and employ another 40 to 50 people during operations.
The project is also expected to generate about $11 million in annual tax revenue for the MODG. EverWind’s project summary says a voluntarily established community benefits agreement with the municipality is expected to contribute more than $1 million annually.
In a statement Monday to The Journal, MODG Warden Paul Long said, “We expect the project will bring new taxation, and meaningful socio-economic benefits during construction and ongoing operations, including opportunities for local workers, contractors, and businesses to play a critical role in building and operating the project.
He added: “We also recognize that projects of this scale come with both opportunity and responsibility. As the project advances, continued developer engagement with MODG, residents, landowners, and community partners will remain important.
Approval conditions
Halman’s approval does not give the project an unrestricted green light.
His decision letter says the project must comply with 61 terms and conditions designed to protect the environment and human health. The minister wrote that, after reviewing information from the proponent, the Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia and the public, he was satisfied that adverse effects or significant environmental effects could be adequately mitigated through those conditions.
Among other requirements, the project must receive separate wetland and watercourse alteration approvals before work affects those areas.
The decision letter sets limits on operating noise and shadow flicker, two common concerns around large wind developments. Operational noise from the project must not exceed 40 decibels at any permanent or seasonal receptor. Shadow flicker – the moving shadow cast by turbine blades – must not exceed 30 minutes per day or 30 hours per year at any permanent or seasonal receptor.
Halman’s letter notes that EverWind identified potential old-growth forest, species at risk and species-at-risk habitat within the study area. The company must work with the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources and Environment and Climate Change Canada to address or mitigate impacts and meet provincial and federal requirements.
The company is expected to establish a community liaison committee and engage with nearby communities as the project moves ahead.
Project footprint
In its project summary, EverWind says the Ocean Lake layout went through several design changes to reduce environmental effects, meet setbacks and separation distances, use existing roads and place infrastructure in previously disturbed areas where possible.
The company says more than 58 per cent of areas requiring vegetation removal are in previously disturbed or naturally open habitats, such as cutover areas or barrens, and 42 per cent of access roads follow existing routes.
The summary also acknowledges that wetlands would be partly or fully altered where avoidance is not possible, and that birds and bats could be injured or killed in collisions with turbine blades during operations. EverWind says it would use monitoring and adaptive management to respond to bird and bat interactions.
Wider buildout
Ocean Lake is one piece of a wider EverWind buildout tied to green hydrogen and ammonia production in northeastern Nova Scotia.
Earlier this year, the province approved the Upper Afton Wind Project, a 176-megawatt development owned by Membertou Development Corporation and EverWind NS Holdings Ltd. That project would include up to 28 turbines across Antigonish and Guysborough counties and supply power for EverWind’s Point Tupper energy hub.
EverWind’s Phase 2 development is larger and more concentrated in Guysborough County, with additional development extending into the Municipality of the District of St. Mary’s. The already-approved Setapuktuk project in Guysborough County includes 54 turbines and a capacity of 432 megawatts.
Another proposal, Harbour Hills, formerly known as Wind Farm 3, entered the environmental assessment process in June. If approved, that project would include up to 107 turbines capable of generating 856 megawatts across about 24,000 hectares in MODG and St. Mary’s.
Together, Ocean Lake and Harbour Hills alone would involve up to 265 turbines capable of producing about 2.12 gigawatts of renewable electricity.
Landscape concerns
In her submission to the environmental assessment process, Overmyer argued that Ocean Lake would put industrial infrastructure into one of the county’s most sensitive coastal landscapes, near wilderness areas, nature reserves and provincial parks whose value depends on undeveloped coastline, barrens, bogs, beaches and open views.
She argued the project’s turbines, access roads and night lighting would not simply affect individual sites, but redefine the wider landscape as an industrial zone, undermining the area’s tourism appeal and long-term economic potential. She also challenged the assessment’s reliance on mitigation measures qualified by phrases such as “where possible,” “where practical” and “where feasible,” arguing those conditions leave too much uncertainty about what environmental effects would remain.
Next steps
For Ocean Lake, the next steps include detailed design, further permitting and compliance with the province’s approval conditions before construction can begin.
If the project proceeds on its current timeline, construction would start in 2029, continue for about five years and operate for about 35 years before decommissioning.
