Is Kings County seriously green minded?
On Feb. 18, the Kings County committee of the whole had two opportunities to demonstrate to its citizens that it is truly committed to the principle of sustainable, renewable, green energy and its broad vision expounded in its Kings 2050 Vision which has green energy and sustainability woven through it. Both of these agenda items were fundamentally economic development as well, which is another prominent principle of the Kings 2050 Vision. Neither item past muster. That caused me to reflect on this county’s commitment to sustainable, renewable, green energy as described in one of the principles of the Kings 2050 Vision.
The green energy principle referenced above reads: “Our communities have evolved to exemplify energy conservation, take advantage of green technologies, maximize energy efficiencies, and provide opportunities for renewable energy infrastructure development.”
Two of the goals supporting the energy principle are: encourage the development of renewable energy that makes use of natural advantages and respects shared community values; and enable the development of renewable energy, such as tidal, wind, solar, geothermal and hydro.
The first green energy opportunity before us was a grant application by a local community association with a modest request of $4,950. I will not dwell on this item other than to say that the committee of the whole voted against it.
The second opportunity was around tidal power development. Halcyon Tidal Power has been actively pursuing a tidal power development project at Scots Bay since 2012 or earlier. The development of this project would be around $3.2 billon and could create up to 1,200 jobs during the development phase and many continuous operational jobs thereafter. The potential for green energy and economic development in this project should be exciting to Council and should have our full attention.
Two motions were before the committee of the whole with the objective of having Council becoming informed and involved in this very public tidal power project and to establish relationships with the players. One motion was to invite Halycon Tidal Power to make a presentation to council on their vision, goals and plans for the proposed Scots Bay Tidal Power Development Project. The second related motion was to invite the appropriate approving authorities to attend the Halycon Tidal Power presentation so that councillors’ questions could be directed to the appropriate authorities as part of the discussion. Both motions were defeated.
Although the municipality does not have any approval role in the process it is important that council be up to speed on a project that would have significant social, environmental and economic implications for both this county and our province as a whole. The intent of the motions was not about taking a position for or against the project at this time; the intent was that council become knowledgeable and informed. At certain points along the way it may be appropriate for council to take positions on various aspects of the project in the interest of the citizens we represent.
Some of our citizens and business, including the Annapolis Valley Chamber of Commerce are engaged in this project. Some people are for it and some against it. This is a very important matter that our citizens are interested in and it behooves council likewise to be involved and well informed.
Jim Winsor Councillor, District 11, Kings County