Solar garden in the works

Southwest Nova Scotia municipalities coming together on project

A five-megawatt solar garden is going to be developed through an intermunicipal agreement between five municipal units in Lunenburg, Shelburne and Yarmouth counties.

The municipalities of Lunenburg, Shelburne and Argyle, as well as the towns of Shelburne and Lockeport have been awarded a $75,000 grant towards the collaborative clean energy project through the provincial Low Carbon Communities Program.

“At this stage, the funding is going towards preparing a submission to go into the provincial competitive bidding process. There is no guarantee of success but we are cautiously optimistic,” says Warren MacLeod, CAO for the Municipality of Shelburne.

If it comes to fruition, the solar garden would be located in the Municipality of Lunenburg.

The Municipality of Argyle has also been granted $56,250 towards hiring a consulting firm to aid in both a fleet conversion study and an infrastructure action plan for charging stations.

“The support for these initiatives reflects our community's strong commitment to a cleaner, more sustainable tomorrow," Argyle

MLA Colton LeBlanc said in a media release.

The grants are part of the provincewide initiative that has earmarked $1.8 million in 2023-2024 for 31 different projects, all aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and advancing clean energy solutions in Nova Scotia.

The Low Carbon Communities Program is open to community groups, municipalities, First Nations, post-secondary institutions, businesses and non-profit organizations with projects that benefit communities within Nova Scotia.

Funding can be used for community planning and designs, feasibility studies, education, public engagement and initiatives that demonstrate positive and innovative low carbon solutions.