Wind farm near Canso Causeway nears completion

The Port Hawkesbury Paper Mill showed off a wind farm project this week that has been eight years in the making. Just across the water from the mill, it features 24 wind turbines that are spread across nearly 125 hectares of land. This project will supply approximately 60% of the energy needs of the mill on an annual basis, so this is really a fundamental investment in the long-term sustainability of Port Hawkesbury Paper. Nova Scotia Power has fueled the mill for years, but Cave says supplying their own energy will allow them to be more sustainable and have more control over their power costs. Port Hawkesbury paper, 13 Mi'kmaq bands, and the federal government all help fund the 450 million dollar project. Construction began in 2024. Crews transported the nearly 200-metre-tall turbines on dirt roads and four-wheeling paths. Probably the most challenging aspect of it has been just the size of the footprint and dealing with the large transportation distances, etc. Co-manager of the paper mill, Bevan Locke, says the power will be used to create pulp for paper. The energy they don't use will go to Nova Scotia Power. He says 16 of their turbines are already generating power. It's very exciting to be at this stage in what has been an excellent journey for the mill, for this project and for the community. We've had amazing community support and it's really important because these electrons are coming here to sustain the cornerstone industry and that is that of Port Hawkesbury Paper over in Point Upper. Locke says the rest of the turbines will start pumping out electrons in the coming months. Ethan Hunt, CBC News, Monastery.