Wind Turbine Farm in Wentworth Valley (EverWind)

The Wentworth Valley, the Cobequid hills, Folly Mountain, Ski Wentworth, stunning woodland trails and waterfalls all conjure up images of the outdoors and healthy activities in nature – hiking, biking, skiing. Every fall, the Cobequid hills in Colchester County are ablaze with the brilliant colours that attract tourists and nature-lovers to this area.  In the spring, the maple syrup festivals attract visitors from far and wide. The forests and wetlands are home to a rich and diverse population of plants and animals; including humans. And, this is home to the endangered mainland moose.

So why raise concerns about massive wind projects planned for the county? Isn’t wind power supposed to be a crucial alternative for fossil fuel-produced energy, along with solar? Well, yes. But there are a few little sticky details that seem to get overlooked when deciding where and if to erect giant wind turbines. And there are a few little details about these projects that seem to have gone under the radar. Check out “Protect Wentworth Valley” for more details, but here is a quick run-down.

To start with:

To install a turbine, you first need to dig a massive hole and fill it with tonnes and tonnes of concrete- not so environmentally friendly. Not just the assault on the local  environment, but in the production of that much concrete.

You need to build a huge road network to transport the massive turbine parts to their installation location and for maintenance once they are in production.

That’s just for starters. Now, about the EverWind project:

EverWind plans to put up a total of 74 giant turbines spread over more than 32,000 acres of forested land in Colchester County. Each turbine will measure 190m / 623ft in height.

In total, EverWind plans to build 400 giant new turbines in Guysborough, Colchester, and at the intersection of West Hants, Chester and Halifax municipalities. (remember the big holes filled with tonnes of concrete and don’t forget the network of roads that have to be cleared and maintained, which will inevitably lead to still more industrialization of the areas and destruction of wetlands and forests).

EverWind has been very clear in its objectives. The energy produced by their turbines is destined for the EverWind “green” hydrogen and ammonia plants at Point Tupper, and that ammonia is slated for shipping across the ocean to Europe – a million tonnes of it every year. IF there is any electricity left over after producing all that hydrogen and ammonia, and there is no guarantee there will be, it will be available for domestic use. THIS IS NOT A SUSTAINABLE ENERGY SOLUTION FOR NOVA SCOTIANS!!

Hydrogen, according to Dr. Google, is best stored in salt caverns. That is most likely the reason why EverWind and Trent Vichie took out 57 exploration licenses covering a total of 53,500 hectares of Nova Scotia – in search of salt caverns for his “green” hydrogen. If, as seems to be the plan, EverWind or any of the other hydrogen projects that have taken out exploration leases on these salt deposits in Nova Scotia, want to use them to store hydrogen, the salt caverns will need to be flushed out. This is exactly what so concerned First Nations and their allies about the proposed Alton Gas project near Stewiacke, and what eventually killed that project.

Is this yet another scheme to make the most of government subsidies, without any benefit to Nova Scotians and the loss of yet another massive amount of public dollars and important, sensitive ecosystems?

The government just awarded EverWind $125M towards this project (November 20, 2023)

Check out Joan Baxter’s articles on this subject:

Nov. 20, 2023    Feds offer EverWind $125 million despite many unanswered questions about ‘green hydrogen’ project  (this article is behind a paywall with the Halifax Examiner. If you can, you may want to consider a subscription.)

Sept. 18, 2022      EXCLUSIVE: Nova Scotia Start-Up Touts ‘Green’ Hydrogen Plant Powered by Coal

Sept. 19, 2022      EverWind Fuels’ ‘green hydrogen and ammonia’ project in Nova Scotia will be partly powered by coal

Nov. 15, 2022     ‘Green’ hydrogen industry takes aim at Nova Scotia’s underground salt deposits. Hydrogen entrepreneurs have taken out exploration claims to hundreds of thousands of acres in the province, in the hope of finding salt caverns to store green hydrogen that hasn’t been produced yet and won’t be for years to come.