Toward a
Greener
Future
Nova Scotia’s 2009 Energy Strategy
January 2009
Toward a
Greener
Future
Nova Scotia’s 2009 Energy Strategy
January 2009
© Crown copyright, Province of Nova Scotia, 2009
This document is available on the Internet at: www.gov.ns.ca/energy/energystrategy. For further information about Nova Scotia’s
2009 Energy Strategy, please contact Nova Scotia Department of Energy, Energy Strategy, 400-5151 George Street, PO Box 2664,
Halifax, Nova Scotia B3J 3P7. Tel: (902) 424-4575
Printed in Canada
ISBN: 978-1-55457-262-5
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
4
1. Change Is Certain
7
2. Where We Are: 2009
8
3. Where We Are Going: 2020
9
4. When We Get There
10
5. The Strategy
5.1 Conservation and Efficiency
11
5.2 Renewable Energy
13
5.3 Electricity
17
5.4 Offshore Petroleum
21
5.5 Onshore Petroleum
25
5.6 Technology and Knowledge-Based Growth
27
5.7 Downstream Energy Opportunities
29
5.8 Social Accountability
31
6. The Outcome
34
Appendix:
Formal 2009 Energy Strategy Framework
35
Thank You
36
4
Nova Scotia’s 2009 Energy Strategy
Toward a Greener Future
Energy is central to almost everything Nova Scotians
do. Our work, our home lives, our essential services,
our transportation systems, and our community activities
all require energy.
Change is sweeping through our energy economy.
World fuel prices have swung wildly, and science has
shown a pressing need for more sustainable energy
sources. Nova Scotia currently produces most of its
electricity by burning imported coal, a fuel that degrades
our air, changes our climate, and leaves us vulnerable to
world prices and supplies.
We have many options. Our coastline experiences
some of the fastest average wind speeds and strongest
tidal currents in the world. We have fallow agricultural
land and forests that may be able to produce sustainable
amounts of biomass to create electricity or be converted
to fuel for cars and trucks. Experts believe we have
significant untapped reserves of natural gas—a cleaner