Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced up to $255 million in new clean energy spending Thursday morning in Halifax, money the government says will power hundreds of thousands of homes and create hundreds of new jobs in Nova Scotia.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a news release that $125 million of the funds would be earmarked for new wind energy projects.
“The new wind energy projects will provide clean energy to approximately 350,000 homes in Nova Scotia, create hundreds of good jobs and provide benefits to local Indigenous communities, including jobs and training,” it said.
The rest of the funds, $130 million, will go to four battery sites across the province that will store clean energy.
“With this investment, Nova Scotia will have one of the largest battery systems in North America,” the release said.
The government announced earlier this year a target to reach net zero electricity emissions by 2035.
Canada has also committed to the Paris Agreement goal of reducing its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 40-45 percent from 2005 levels by 2030 and reaching net zero emissions by 2050.
Data from the Canadian Energy Regulator shows that in 2019, 51 percent of Nova Scotia’s electricity was powered by coal.
“This is an investment we’re making in Nova Scotia’s future, recognizing the work that has been done, but must continue to be done, to green the grid here,” Trudeau said at the announcement.
“We are very, very excited about the hundreds of jobs that will be created, the hundreds of thousands of homes and how we are moving towards building a stronger future for everyone.”
The PMO release said the projects are part of a competitive federal and provincial process and exact funding amounts and allocations are not final until the process is complete.
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