$2.6M on the table for green projects
HALIFAX – Residential windmills and carbon-capturing concrete are two of 21 environmental projects to win government grant money.
Mark Parent, provincial environment minister, made the announcement at the Power of Green conference in Halifax yesterday. “In terms of greenhouse gases, (these projects are) equivalent to taking over 10,000 cars off the road permanently, forever,” Parent explained to reporters after his speech at the Cunard Centre.
These were the winners picked by EcoNova Scotia for clean air and climate change. Applications were placed under two grant-giving programs for environmental technologies and municipal projects.
This group of winners —the third announcement so far for EcoNova Scotia — cost $2.6 million. Parent said that money will leverage into over $8 million with what the projects will bring in. He said he has especially high hopes for the Carbon Sense Solutions project, which captures carbon emissions in concrete. “I dream of the day — because we make concrete in Nova Scotia — instead of importing asphalt from elsewhere, we can build our own concrete roads and we capture carbon at the same time.”
But for some companies, investing in green solutions might take a backseat because of the grim global economic outlook. Some people will be cautious, Parent said, but there are ‘real opportunities’ in the green economy. “We’ve seen a freeze in capital and lending so these programs (like EcoNova Scotia) will be more important for businesses to find the necessary capital to do innovative projects,” he said.
Shawna Eason, energy officer with Cumberland County, got $10,000 from EcoNova Scotia to conduct an energy audit of county properties. “It’s looking at where they’re losing money, but also emissions because anywhere electricity is being used where we can reduce it is going to save them money and is going to save the emissions,” she said.
Taken From The Chronicle Herald
It is great to see initiative being taken in a Green Economy. Over the years I am sure we will see more projects coming on board. If you are in the market for a new house, as a member of Clean Nova Scotia I offer my clients a free energy audit which could save you thousands of dollars for both renovation costs and energy savings. If you are looking to buy or sell Halifax Real Estate contact me at 488-0012.
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Andrew Perkins
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