Nova Scotia confident it can meet 2030 coal exit strategy as wind projects pick up

The Nova Scotia government says the shift to renewable energy is well underway.

Nova Scotia says it’s on track to meet its 2030 deadline to get off coal-fired electricity, with onshore wind power expected to supply the bulk of the province’s green energy needs in the coming years.

At an update Tuesday, Karen Gatien, the province’s deputy minister of energy, said the transition to renewable power is well underway, despite concerns about the tight timeline, there’s several wind projects in the works that give then confidence that future energy needs will be met.

Gatien says onshore wind development is key to Nova Scotia meeting the regulated green energy targets, as five major wind projects are expected to be completed by the end of 2026, with four additional projects coming online by the end of 2028.

Altogether, Gatien says those projects would bring the province close to 70 or even 75 per cent of the 80 per cent renewable electricity targets. The additional gains are coming from solar and battery storage.

When asked if the province may need to seek an extension from Ottawa for the 2030 coal-phase out, Gatien said it’s not something the province is considering.

“At this point, we don’t think we really need to,” said Gatien. “We’re well on our way to being 80 per cent by 2030. Certainly, if something catastrophic happened, we’d have to open up that conversation.”

To ensure reliability, the province is building two quick-start natural gas plants that can come online during periods of high demand or in emergencies.

The province says those facilities can reach full power in about 10 minutes, compared to coal plants which can take 24 hours to fire up.

The need for backup capacity was highlighted during last weekend’s cold snap, when Nova Scotia Power asked customers to conserve electricity as demand hit a record high of nearly 2,500 megawatts.

Despite the conservation call, no planned power outages were required.

The province says it is not concerned about future grid capacity, pointing to plans to expand transmission infrastructure during this green energy transformation, like the intertie project with New Brunswick and the national Wind West project, that will see Nova Scotia ship offshore wind energy to western provinces.

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