Nova Scotia Community College Lunenburg Campus, Bridgewater, NS. Photo: NSCC
The Bridgewater Provincial Courthouse is one of six provincial buildings being converted over to wood heat ahead of this winter and it’s proximity to NSCC Lunenburg means they will be included in the plan.
Minister of Lands and Forestry Iain Rankin says that made the project even more appealing, “By having them (NSCC) involved the project becomes much bigger and the efficiency gains are even more significant.”
The project will see a new boiler that runs on wood pellets installed by ACFOR Energy Inc. of Cocagne, New Brunswick.
“These projects help us progress towards a greener economy and reduce the carbon footprint of government buildings by replacing fossil fuels with a renewable resource,” said Rankin.
“Using lower grade wood for heat will create new and stable markets for Nova Scotia’s wood chips and opportunities for private woodlot owners and sawmills to sell lower grade wood locally.”
The province is assessing additional sites to expand the program.
Supporting small-scale wood energy projects and converting some government buildings to wood heat energy was a recommendation from the Independent Review of Forest Practices.
