A new wind farm in West Hants provides an energy model that other Nova Scotia communities should seriously consider, one of the partners in the project said Friday.

Four turbines providing 9.2 megawatts of power — enough to power 2,800 homes — are now operating at the Ellershouse Wind Farm.

Minas Energy spokesman John Woods said the Ellershouse Wind Farm is an energy model for other Nova Scotia communities. (Stéphanie Blanchet/CBC)

"We believe that renewable assets should be owned by taxpayers, municipalities especially," said John Woods of Minas Energy.

"This is a model that [has] been able to bring three municipal units together plus a fourth to host this ... for the benefit of their constituents and in doing so, lowering the cost of energy."

The energy project, called the Alternative Resource Energy Authority, is a partnership of the towns of Antigonish, Berwick and Mahone Bay, whose residents will pay slightly less for the renewable power.

Business model of the future

Developed by Bullfrog Power, Minas Energy and the authority, the wind farm is the first in the province to be funded and built independently of Nova Scotia Power Corp. or the provincial government.

"This is the first time multiple municipalities have come together in this fashion, in a business consortium to make this affordable to them. This will be the business model of the future for all," Woods said.

He predicted coastal communities will increasingly have a stake in providing their own energy, whether it's through wind or through tidal power, as in ocean turbine projects underway in the Bay of Fundy.

"Minas Energy is trying to sell this model, not only in Nova Scotia but around the world."

Antigonish Mayor Carl Chisholm said the Ellershouse Wind Farm is a good source of power for the town. (Stéphanie Blanchet/CBC) Antigonish Mayor Carl Chisholm said the wind farm has been in the works for about 10 years.

"Different companies had come forward to us to give us a proposal similar to this," he said. "It never worked out but this one worked out."

'The price is right'

"As Bob Barker would say, 'The price is right,' and we're moving forward with it."

There are already expansion plans for the Ellershouse site.

"If everything goes well, next year we will be building three more," said Kris MacLellan, Minas Energy project co-ordinator.

Brooklyn Elementary School students react as the blades of the turbines at Ellershouse Wind Farm begin moving. (Stéphanie Blanchet/CBC) "It is perfect timing, given that world leaders are talking about how they reduce emissions going forward by 2030, 2050, 2100," said Bullfrog CEO Ron Seftel.

"And what we would say is the will power is there, the technology is available. It is making those decisions, so we can build more and more renewable energy and help that transition from conventional fossil fuel-based generation to renewable."

About 100 children from Brooklyn District Elementary School in West Hants were there to see the wind turbines begin rotating at the launch on Friday.

The wind farm is at least one kilometre from any residences in the Ellershouse area, MacLellan said.

Some critics have voiced concerns about the potential impact of wind turbines on health and property values.