Province implements maximum setbacks for wind turbines

CITYnews halifax / By Natasha O’Neill

Nova Scotia said it is making new maximum setbacks for wind turbines across the province to ensure the projects keep with the characteristics of communities.

According to a press release, the government is amending the regulations to establish maximum allowable setbacks for the turbines.

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“Our government is making it easier for wind energy projects to move forward while ensuring that our communities and the environment are respected and protected,” John Lohr, Minister of Municipal Affairs, said. “These amendments will provide municipalities with clear, consistent standards for setbacks for wind turbines.”

The setbacks for the turbines can’t be more than four times the height of the structure, unless a greater distance is needed to make sure sound levels don’t exceed 40 decibels. Shadows flickering on nearby homes do not exceed limits set out in the amendments.

“The amended regulations include both daily and yearly limits for shadow flicker on nearby residents, at fewer than 30 minutes per day or 30 hours per year,” the release notes.

The changes also include the removal of the ability for a municipality to influence wind turbine placement based on visuals.

Wind turbines key in climate plans

The 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 Jan. 27 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.”

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.

With files from Michael Tutton, The Canadian Press.