Plan to burn trees for power in Nova Scotia put on hold

A regulatory board hearing has been underway in Nova Scotia this week concerning a plan by NewPage and Nova Scotia Power to build a $208 million biomass energy plant.

Nova Scotia is eager to find green energy alternatives to burning coal, but were told this week, by critics of the plan, that a biomass power generating plant would potentially release even more greenhouses gases than burning coal.

After 4 days of hearings, the regulatory board decided to put a hold on their decision until a review of other renewable energy projects is conducted.

"The door to a proper evaluation of alternatives from the perspective of customer interests over the coming decades is just opening. It would be wrong to see this hearing as beginning the process of closing it."
~regulatory board consultant John Antonuk of Liberty Consulting Group in Pennsylvania

The proposed biomass facility would use an old NewPage burner valued at $80 million. It would burn 650,000 tonnes of wood a year to generate enough electricity to power 50,000 homes.

Source:
Regulators hit pause on biomass - Board suspends hearings to get info on alternatives to $208-million project (Chronicle Herald)