Launch of community solar garden at Pine Tree Park

New Dawn Enterprises and the Province of Nova Scotia celebrated the launch of the community solar garden at Pine Tree Park with a ribbon-cutting event on Thursday (October 17).

Residents’ power bills are expected to be cut by almost 50 percent when the array of 1,800 solar panels goes online later this month.

“Energy poverty in the CBRM is among the worst in the province. Mechanisms like community solar enable communities and community organizations, like New Dawn in partnership with the Verschuren Centre, to take actions that help to ease some of this difficulty. The Pine Tree project lowers utility costs and reduces our negative impact on the climate. It is a win-win.”

Erika Shea, CEO, New Dawn Enterprises

The community solar garden will provide 555 kilowatts of energy to Pine Tree Park, which is home to Pine Tree Park Care Home, the Schooner Curling Club, and 28 residential homes.

The Pine Tree Park residents are the first in Nova Scotia to subscribe to the province’s new Community Solar Program, which sets out how much Nova Scotia Power pays for the green energy and provides users with a credit of two cents per kilowatt hour of electricity.

“This is great news for Cape Breton, and great news in our efforts to reduce emissions. Clean, renewable energy is the way of the future, and New Dawn is making this affordable resource available for vulnerable Nova Scotians with the country’s first-ever subscription-based community solar garden.”

Tory Rushton, Minister of Natural Resources and Renewables.

Read the Province of Nova Scotia’s news release here.

Read CBC’s coverage of the ribbon-cutting event here.

Watch the CTV News video here.