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Moose Conservation Association of Nova Scoti

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Antigonish Co. wind farm given ‘ok’ from province

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A wind farm in Antigonish County has been given the green light.

The province said an environmental assessment has been approved for the Eigg Mountain project.

It will bring 22 wind turbines near Connors Mountain Road that would produce up to 150 MW of energy and provide 250 jobs over 35 years.

“It will also reduce Nova Scotia’s annual greenhouse gas emissions by about 271,000 tonnes – the equivalent of taking more than 58,800 gas-powered cars off the road,” said the province.

Moose group opposes

The president of the Moose Conservation Association of Nova Scotia (MCANS) was on pins and needles waiting for the verdict.

The group had a meeting with Renewable Energy Systems (RES) – the company behind the project – Wednesday, in order for RES to explain the farm in more detail.

Al Muir said the meeting was cordial and learned Eigg Mountain was chosen primarily because of wind speeds, but they made clear how serious the situation is while delivering a strong message.

“[Thursday] the environment minister makes a decision on the project. He’s in effect the judge and jury of the fate of the moose up there. It’s our belief that if he accepts [it] he’ll become its executioner also,” said Muir.

In recent weeks, Muir had been desperately trying to put an end to the farm, concerned about detrimental effects to moose in the area.

He even went as far as to start a campaign, putting a face to the moose population, while pushing the public to write to Halman.

“This was a last-ditch urgent message we were trying to get out to the minister of the importance of this area,” explained Muir.

He said, he believed they were successful in getting the point across, but it came down to Halman who he called the “judge and jury”.

Next steps

Now that the project has been approved, what the next steps from MCANS will be, remains unclear.

“I don’t know what could happen and there’s local people in the area that don’t want it there. Who knows what move they’ll make,” said Muir.

Meantime, Muir says RES did ask to meet again with MCANS regardless of the decision made, Thursday.

“We’ll decide our next course of action after we hear.”

Acadia News reached out to RES for a statement.

brown moose on brown grass during daytime

Moose association needs urgent support to save habitat in Antigonish County

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The Moose Conservation Association of Nova Scotia (MCANS) is urgently trying to stop a proposed wind farm in Antigonish County that could be days away from getting the green light from the province. 

Environment Minister Tim Halman is reviewing an Environmental Assessment (EA), which if approved, would give the go ahead to the Eigg Mountain Wind Farm as early as Thursday.

The MCANS president Al Muir says it is detrimental to moose population and that they’ve launched their Harvey’s Last Hope Campaign to give a face of one of the moose that will be affected in the area.

“We’re trying to do is draw attention to Harvey’s plight up there and have people call the minister of the environment to be a voice for Harvey,” Muir explains.

The campaign was developed after the public comment submissions section on the EA was closed last week.

“We don’t know why this site was even considered because it’s probably one of the most sensitive areas in the province. The fingers of the protected area go right up through the middle of this project.”

The Eigg Mountain project would have 22 wind turbines to produce up to 154 megawatts of power near Connors Mountain Road and would not be the only one in the area.

Muir says there are five more, including:

  • Eigg Mountain which is being reviewed
  • Glen Dhu which is already up and running
  • Beaver Mountain which is in the tower erection stage
  • Sugar Maple which has entered the environmental assessment comments stage
  • Yellow Birch which is another proposed location

According to Muir, the cumulative effect of a large number of towers are having an even more profound effect on the moose in general.

Muir says Eigg Mountain is the largest pocket of remaining moose in the in the Pictou Antigonish Highlands and this proposed wind farm would be in wetland and old forest growth areas which would be disastrous for the moose.

“We understand the public’s appetite for green energy, but we cannot ignore the effect this project we’ll have on resident moose like Harvey in this incredibly sensitive area, so we just want the public to convey that message to the minister,” said Muir.

He’s encouraging you to write or call Minister Tim Halman with your concerns about the Eigg Mountain site before the decision is made on Thursday, April 9.

We reached out to the company behind the project for details on why they chose this location.