A wind farm on Sable Island, Nova Scotia, is meeting its demise this year. Citing further renewable energy advancements since the project was installed, as well as extreme weather on the island, Parks Canada is shutting down the project.
The Canadian government describes Sable Island – known especially for its wild horses – as an “isolated bar of sand far from the mainland [Nova Scotia]” with a “long and fascinating cultural history of settlement and visitation that spans four centuries.”
According to a report from The Canadian Press, the pilot project was first launched back in 2000 by Environment Canada. The turbines got up and running in 2006, and Parks Canada took over project management in 2013; however, Parks Canada says there were “isolated and harsh conditions” on the “environmentally sensitive” site (e.g., lightning strikes and sand dunes). Thus, the turbines were not even running at the time.
The full C$150,000 decommissioning of the five-turbine project (whose battery and switchgear components were already dismantled two years ago) will take place this fall.
Notably, Parks Canada says it is not giving up on having renewable energy on the island and will decide the “best environmentally friendly approach to power generation.”
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