We are aligned with Nova Scotia Premier Iain Rankin’s goals for climate action and to electrify transportation.
As we continue to clean the electricity grid and consumers move to electric vehicles, we are working with governments and industry to work toward eliminating the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in our province – transportation. This will help us get closer to our province’s end goal of reaching net-zero emissions across the economy.
Even today, when charged on the Nova Scotia Power system, electric vehicles (EV) reduce emissions by 50 per cent. The future will be even better than that but let me first start by explaining where we are in our journey toward decarbonization.
We have been on a decarbonization journey for 15 years. While coal represented 73 per cent of our total energy supply in 2005, this is forecasted to decline to approximately 35 per cent as energy becomes available from Muskrat Falls. We have been clear, while it has been an important part of Nova Scotia history, coal cannot be part of our long-term future. We are looking at ways to accelerate this transition, but we have to balance it with cost. The transition has to be affordable for customers.
We have been reaching notable milestones. We are a Canadian leader in carbon reduction, cutting carbon emissions by 34 per cent since 2005, well ahead of the national goal of 30 per cent reduction by 2030. We have also tripled renewable energy output from nine per cent to 30 per cent of our energy mix over the past decade. We are on track for renewable forms of generation to supply approximately 60 per cent of Nova Scotia’s energy needs by 2022 and we won’t stop there. Customers are telling us they want clean energy solutions. We are listening.
In Nova Scotia, transportation equates to 32 per cent of emissions. By reducing emissions in the electricity sector, we are enabling a cleaner, smarter driving future. As demand rises for EVs, we are ready to meet that demand with infrastructure, power and the technical backbone. We have installed a network of EV Fast-Charging Stations which allows someone to travel across the province in an EV and we are currently testing how EV smart charging can help manage this new demand to operate the system more efficiently. There are financial benefits for customers switching to EVs as well, with drivers able to save up to 75 per cent on fuel costs and even more on maintenance. For more information on EVs visit: www.nspower.ca/ev
We are making strides, yet we know there is always more to do. We look forward to continuing to work with our customers, stakeholders, governments and other utilities as we continue to move to a cleaner energy future, adopt more renewables and connect more customers through innovative, emerging technology.
Peter Gregg
President & CEO
NS Power
