Clean, affordable, reliable energy.  

For you. For your town.

The Town of Antigonish is on an exciting journey to create the clean and reliable energy that we need. Producing our own energy helps keep power rates stable and competitive – now and into the future. 

TOA is leading the way in Nova Scotia. The province has a goal to generate 80% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030. We are already at 63 percent! TOA is also proud to say that the Town was ahead of schedule in meeting Nova Scotia’s  40% renewable energy deadline by 2020.

Why are we generating cleaner energy?

Clean energy produced through solar and wind power, along with savings from energy efficiency, create few to no greenhouse gas emissions, significantly reducing our carbon footprint. By transitioning to clean energy, we can help reduce climate change impacts such as extreme weather events.  

TOA has its our own Municipal Electric Utility, so we have the independence and ability to create renewable energy for our residents and earn revenue for the Town. Our utility serves over 3,000 residential customers and more than 500 commercial customers in the Town and in bordering municipal areas, with electricity sales of over $12 million every year!

Alternative energy sources for you

In 2014, TOA and the towns of Berwick and Mahone Bay (which also have their own municipal electric utilities), created the 100% municipalities-owned company Alternative Resource Energy Authority (AREA) to jointly combat rising power costs and achieve green energy targets. The Antigonish Electric Utility receives sustainable energy generated through AREA and purchases additional power on the open market.

Electric Vehicle charging stations

The transportation sector creates more than a quarter of the greenhouse gas emissions in Canada. Electric and hybrid vehicle technologies can help lower emissions, improve air quality in our communities while also reducing noise and pollution. TOA has multiple charging stations installed in community locations across the Town – visit www.plugshare.com for specific locations.

What are we doing to create reliable, clean energy?

Through its collaboration with AREA, TOA enjoys clean energy from the Ellershouse Windfarm. The windfarm started supplying power in December 2015 and now has 10 turbines supplying power to the electricity grid.

The sun doesn’t charge for power

AREA also developed community solar gardens on behalf of each of its partner towns. The TOA Solar Garden will produce 1.65MW of power for the community. That’s the equivalent to powering 187 homes each year and helps stabilize the cost of electricity for the town's Electric Utility customers while reducing our carbon footprint.  

The solar garden was built on the site of the old Brierly Brook Landfill as a way to re-claim the land for the benefit of the environment.

 Every megawatt of power produced through the windfarm and the solar panels reduces the amount of higher-priced electricity TOA must purchase from other sources while helping to reduce our carbon footprint. It’s truly a win-win.

To help integrate more renewable energy onto our electricity grid while reducing the frequency and duration of power outages, TOA is upgrading energy hardware and software systems to create a more efficient, reliable, and resilient electrical grid.

How does clean energy help keep power costs stable and affordable?

The rising costs of energy in Nova Scotia and a world in desperate need of renewable energy powers our commitment to clean and affordable energy. We can continue to provide electricity to the Town at a competitive price when compared to buying imported electricity from other sources.

By adding wind and solar power to the grid, our electric utility can better stabilize rates for its customers. That helps residents better manage the costs of living and doing business in our town. Since the sun and the wind don’t increase their rates every year, renewable energy will save even more money in the future.

Grid modernization for a forward-looking Antigonish

TOA plans to make its local electric grid more resilient, with the ability to integrate more renewable energy into the system. That’s why the Town has started a transformative Grid Modernization project [link to new grid mod webpage when its ready]. An improved smart electricity grid also allows the Town to support more electric vehicles and other electrification initiatives. 

Key benefits of the project include: 

• Reduced frequency and duration of power outages 
• Expanded capacity for cost-effective electrification 
• Greater integration of renewable energy sources

Improving our clean energy infrastructure – and enhancing the ability to produce more local energy – protects us from excessive power rate increases in the future. TOA is also leveraging federal and provincial funding to support energy efficiency and cleaner energy, making our upgrades an even better deal for the residents of the Town.

Seeking solutions, building partnerships

The Town will continue to take advantage of funding opportunities for energy efficiency and clean energy upgrades for community buildings such as the Antigonish Arena. We are also exploring innovative solutions such as: 

• Forging a partnership with St. Francis Xavier University to develop a Community District Energy System. This would replace StFX’s aging, fuel oil-burning steam heating system – the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in TOA – with an electrified, low-carbon alternative. 
• Using the excess heat produced by the town’s sewer treatment plant to keep St. Martha’s Regional Hospital warm while cutting energy costs.  

We are empowering the Town of Antigonish, because we believe it’s in our power to create clean, reliable power, reduce our carbon footprint, and promote energy independence.

Community District Energy System

With a commitment to becoming Canada’s first zero-carbon community, TOA has partnered with St. Francis Xavier University (St. FX) to develop a Community District Energy System (CDES). This initiative aims to replace St. FX’s aging, fuel oil-burning steam heating system—the largest source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Antigonish—with an electrified, low-carbon alternative. WSP was engaged to conduct a feasibility study to identify the most cost-effective and sustainable CDES solution while supporting TOA’s decarbonization goals.

The study analyzed various energy production, distribution, and storage technologies to determine the optimal system design. A central plant solution featuring deep bore geothermal (DBG) exchange, water-source heat pumps (WSHP), and electric boiler backup emerged as the recommended option. This system balances upfront costs, long-term savings, and operational efficiency while enabling future energy integration opportunities. To facilitate implementation, the CDES is structured in a phased approach, ensuring a smooth transition with minimal disruption to St. FX and the Town of Antigonish. The findings, including technical feasibility, financial analysis, and emissions reduction potential, are detailed in this report.

  pdf Click here (9.81 MB) to view the full report.

Ellershouse Windfarm

The rising costs of energy in Nova Scotia and a world in desperate need of moving towards green energy formed the basis for three Towns that own their own electric utilities to come together to form a partnership that led to the creation of the Ellershouse Wind Farm. 

The Towns of Antigonish, Berwick and Mahone Bay have partnered together, creating the Alternative Resource Energy Authority (AREA). The first major project involved building a wind farm to combat rising power costs and to achieve green energy targets proposed by the province of Nova Scotia.

Ellershouse Wind Farm began construction in the summer of 2015. The wind farm started supplying power in December 2015 and all four turbines were working by the end of January 2016. As of 2018, the Ellershouse Wind Farm has a ten turbine, 23.5 MW facility supplying power to the grid. Since the addition of the wind farm, the Town was ahead of schedule in meeting the Province of Nova Scotia's 40% renewable energy deadline by 2020. 

With the addition of this wind farm as a new power source, the municipal utilities are able to stabilize power rates for customers, any profits made from the sale of this green energy resource will stay among the AREA members and the green energy targets set by the province will be met.

The benefits of renewable energy allow the Town to provide lower electricity rates so residents can better manage the cost of living and doing business. As the green energy industry continues to grow, the Town will look for new ways to expand our green energy portfolio in order to build a more environmentally friendly community.

Looking Ahead 

AREA and the Towns have a proven track record of emissions reductions, but there is still more work to be done. AREA will work with the Town’s priorities and project ideas to advance environmental and economic sustainability together. To learn more about AREA's impact and projects, please visit www.areans.ca. 

AREA in Numbers:

Solar Gardens

AREA is developing 9MW of community solar gardens on behalf of each of its partner Towns. Annually, the three community solar gardens will produce enough clean energy to power 1,000 homes and will increase the total installed solar capacity in Nova Scotia by over 30%.The Antigonish Community Solar Garden will produce 1.65MW of power for the community. That is the equivalent to powering 187 homes each year. The solar garden will help us stabilize the cost of electricity for the Town's Electric Utility customers while reducing our carbon footprint. 

Solar Garden Updates and FAQs

With the construction of our Community Solar Garden ongoing, we have gathered some of the most frequently asked questions we get asked to provide you an update on it’s status.  

Q: What is a Community Solar Garden?

A: The Town of Antigonish is building a Community Solar Garden; a cluster of solar panels what will provide clean electricity to the Town’s Electrical Utility and it’s customers.   

Q: Why is the Town building a solar garden?

A: The Community Solar Garden will provide electricity to the Town at a lower cost than buying imported electricity from another source. At the same time, it supports our goals to reduce community greenhouse gas emissions.   

Q: Where is the Community Solar Garden?

A: The solar garden is at 1637 Brierly Brook Road; the site of the old Brierly Brook Landfill where the land is classified as a brownfield site. We choose this location as a way to re-claim the land in a positive way.  

Q: When will the it be complete?

A: We began this project in 2019 and hoped the solar garden would be generating energy by the Spring of 2024 however we have experienced multiple challenges along the way including weather delays, erosion, and damage to panels and other equipment from storms this Winter. Repairs are being planned and we are hoping to have a grand opening in the Fall.   

Q: What happened to the original plan for a subscription model?

A: It was our plan to sell subscriptions for Town electric customers to receive a credit on their power bills, however over time we have come to realize that there are more benefits to allowing the savings to be applied to the whole utility allowing everyone to benefit from lower power costs. All residents will benefit from community solar as it will increase our supply of renewable energy at a lower cost than market alternatives.   

Q: Will I see a reduction on my electric utility bill?

A: The solar garden will help us stabilize the cost of electricity for the Town’s Electric Utility customers. Every megawatt produced with the solar panels reduces the amount of electricity we have to purchase from other sources and contributes to reducing our carbon footprint.

Electric Vehicle Charging Stations

The transportation sector contributes 27% of green house gas emissions in Canada. Electric and hybrid vehicle technologies can help lower emissions, improve air quality in our communities while also reducing noise and pollution.

AREA and the Towns have taken the important step of installing charging infrastructure for electric vehicles. Antigonish has multiple charging stations installed in various community locations including the Library, Arena, Chisholm Park, St. Andrew Junior School, Sydney Street Parking Lot, the Microtel, and Club 60 Parking Lot.

Visit, www.plugshare.com for specific locations. 

Reports

•   pdf AREA Annual Report 2021 (13.63 MB)

To learn more about the start of the Ellershouse Wind Farm and the partners that started the project, watch the video below. 

Ellershouse Wind Farm - As the Wind Blows from PicnicStudios on Vimeo.