Community WindField News

We have all been deeply saddened by the recent tragic death of our president, Harley Kellock. Anyone who met him will remember Harley for his dedication to task, his endless energy to pursue goals related to the development of wind and alternative energy sources in Nova Scotia and his vision of what these developments could mean for us now and in the future.

On December 10^th 2009  the directors of Northumberland Wind Field Inc. met and shared their grief and profound loss. We quickly came to the realization that to honor and respect all that Harley achieved in the past four years, we owed it to him to pool our skills and to carry our organization forward. Sharon Henderson was elected our new president, Don Butler, our vice president and Tara Morin-Buchanan, our secretary/treasurer. Other directors are Mike Reddick, Bill Teague, Margaret Ann MacFarlane-Leil, and Phil Wyman.

The CCWF has responded to the most recent call for renewable energy by Nova Scotia Power Inc. (NSP). The late 2008 request for proposals looks to acquire 20 MW of distribution interconnected renewable energy. This presents an opportunity for the CCWF to propose their Spidell Hill site which is located next to a power line servicing Tatamagouche. The CCWF presently leases 100 hectares and has had a 50 meter wind speed measurement tower installed on the site for over a year. The wind results have been promising.The CCWF submitted the site for review to NSP with the intention of installing 1 or 1.2 MW wind turbine. The CCWF will prepare a proposal for the site and submit it prior to the July 2009 deadline. The turbine will be installed prior to 2012. 

The CCWF has recently acquired a complete year of wind data from its meteorological tower located on Spidell Hill. The tower has range of sensors used to characterize the wind regime. Anemometers measure wind speed and are placed at 30, 40, and 50 m heights. Additionally, wind vanes located at 40 and 50 m heights and detect wind direction.
 

Based on the recorded annual average wind speeds, the average wind speed at a typical 80 m turbine height is suitable for commercial wind-power. The wind predominately comes from the west. Winter time is a strong wind period with November blowing the hardest and most consistent. Throughout the year, very few icing situations or gust situations occurred that would require shutdown of a turbine.
 

Lukas Swan, a volunteer director for the CCWF who completed the engineering assessment stated, “We are very pleased with the results from Spidell Hill. The measurements indicate that this is an excellent location in Mainland Nova Scotia and we are proud to have selected such a site in the Colchester-Cumberland Counties”. The CCWF will continue to take wind data as it prepares for an upcoming request for renewable energy by Nova Scotia Power.
 

The CCWF recently increased its equity stake in Scotian WindFields Inc. (SWFI) in response to the results of the 2007 request for renewable energy by Nova Scotia Power (NSP). Although initially declined, SWFI pursued their 30 MW wind field proposal for Digby Neck, Nova Scotia, and was ultimately successful. David Swan, president of the CCWF stated, “SWFI’s ability to successfully negotiate a renewable power purchase agreement with NSP has given CCWF the opportunity to be involved in a very large wind field project”. The decision to invest in SWFI was made by consensus at the 2007 CCWF shareholders meeting which exercised options to purchase SWFI shares. “The Digby Neck project is expected to be operating by late 2009 and we look forward to hosting a tour of the wind field”, says CCWF secretary David Stevenson. Further investment into SWFI means the CCWF is participating in both transmission and distribution interconnected wind projects. 

During a recent shareholders meeting in Tatamagouche the following individuals were nominated and installed to the CCWF Board of Directors: Reginald Forbes and Wilf Bean.
 

The following directors continue on the CCWF board: David Swan, David Stevenson, Lukas Swan, Dale Aitchison, Chuck Hunziker, and Michael Latinski.
 

Halifax, NS – February 9^nd 2009 – Chebucto Wind Field Inc., a Community Economic Development Corporation, established to make investments in Nova Scotian renewable energy companies announces a new public share offering and two public information sessions. The Scotian WindFields are a network of eight community corporations throughout Nova Scotia working towards the shared vision of generating renewable energy by and for the community. Since 2002, Chebucto WindField has raised $480,000 over three share offerings and has invested these funds in shares of local renewable energy enterprises which are developing substantial wind and solar infrastructure projects across the Province. This season, Chebucto Wind Field is the only community owned wind field offering available.

Chebucto Windfield Inc. will be holding another round of public meetings within the HRM to promote its upcoming public share offering for the 2009 investment season.

These public meetings will include a concise presentation by Chebucto Windfield's president Dr. Wayne Stobo, featuring current information on the state of Nova Scotia's renewable energy industry, and details about becoming a shareholder with Chebucto Windfield.

This will be followed by a question and answer period, and a meet and greet with several members of Chebucto's board of directors. Learn more about several ways you can choose to invest, like holding your shares in an RRSP, or transferring an existing RRSP over to Chebucto to receive an immediate 30% provincial tax credit.

For more information, please contact the Chebucto Windfield office at:
902-209-5911, or by e-mail: info@CEDIFMgmt.com.

2009 Public Meeting Schedule

Wednesday, January 21st, 7:00pm, Room 101 at the Halifax World Trade and Convention Centre

Thursday, February 5th, 7:00pm, Tantallon Public Library

Wednesday, February 11th, 7:00pm, The Ecology Action Centre - 2705 Fern Lane (Corner of May and Fern, between Robie and Agricola, just North of Robie St. Colonial Honda)
 

Chebucto WindField is pleased to announce a final extension of the current share offering until April 30th 2008, to provide an opportunity to people who were not able to invest prior to the RRSP deadline.   So far the offering has been a resounding success with over $200,000 dollars worth of shares already sold, surpassing our 2007 offering by around 70%.  We have welcomed several new investors into the community as well as receiving further support from our existing shareholders. There is a growing movement afoot to ensure that regular Nova Scotians will benefit from the numerous renewable energy projects that are being regularly announced in the local media.  Please encourage your friends and neighbors to get involved in this historic initiative.  Remember, you can still use it as an RRSP investment and claim the non-refundable provincial tax credit, but you would have to claim these on your 2008 tax submission.