Nova Scotia’s government says a program to bring wind-generated electricity to 11 large customers is keeping the province on track to meet its goal of producing 80 per cent of its electricity with renewables by 2030.

The province announced its latest environmental approval today for 20 turbines in the Melvin Lake wind farm, about 30 kilometres northwest of Halifax.

The province says this approval — along with five other wind projects planned under the “Green choice” program it launched in 2023 — will together yield “the single-largest greenhouse gas reduction in the province’s history.”

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In a news release, the department predicts the six projects will generate a combined 2,000 gigawatt hours of electricity per year by the end of 2028, enough to power over 300,000 homes.

Eleven large-scale electricity customers are participating in the program, including public institutions and some large industrial and commercial businesses, paying Nova Scotia Power directly for the power.

The province says the price paid by Nova Scotia Power for electricity from the wind farms will be substantially lower that what it pays for coal-generated power.

A news release says each wind farm in the Green Choice program is co-owned by a private developer and one or more Mi’kmaq communities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 27, 2025.