N.S. government to educate communities on need for wind turbines

Although wind turbines are a key part of Nova Scotia's strategy to reduce emissions to net zero by 2050, a senior official told a legislature committee Tuesday that the provincial government hasn't done a good enough job of explaining the value of renewable energy.

Karen Gatien, deputy minister of Natural Resources and Renewables, told committee members the province needs community buy-in for turbines to meet its legislated targets.

"It's going to take Nova Scotians to understand it and accept it and help us with that," said Gatien. "What we have here is wind. We have lots of wind, really great wind, both onshore and offshore."

"That's our big hydro-electric project," said Gatien, referencing that provinces such as Quebec have an abundance of clean electricity thanks to large dams.

In recent months there have been large, sometimes boisterous, meetings where people have expressed concern about proposed wind turbine sites.

Premier Tim Houston hosted his own just last week to hear how people in his constituency feel about one proposed for Pictou County.

The deputy minister wasn't surprised by the reaction, based on conversations she's had with people about wind turbines.

"Why can't you just go somewhere that wants it? I don't know where that place is, to be frank," Gatien told the committee.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Gatien said her department is in the process of designing a campaign to try to win people over.

"Educating them on a clean power plant, educating on renewable electricity and the benefits of it, both economic as well as the effect it will have on their [power] bills," she said.

"It could be town hall meetings, open houses. It could just be, you know, smaller discussions with key stakeholders and groups. Whatever it will take," said the senior bureaucrat. "At this point we're still trying to develop what that would look like."

"Not everyone likes the look of them. I think they're beautiful but not everyone does."