Emera's Nova Scotia Power, NewPage Plan Co-Generation Project

Nova Scotia Power Inc. and NewPage Port Hawkesbury Corp. have agreed to develop a new 60-megawatt biomass co-generation project in Nova Scotia.

Nova Scotia Power, a unit of Emera Inc. (EMA.T), will invest C$200 million in the project, including C$93 million in construction costs for new facilities, C$80 million to purchase assets from NewPage, and other related costs.

The NewPage Corp. unit will be responsible for the construction and operation of the co-generation facility and will be completely responsible for fuel supply.

Ohio-based NewPage Corp. is the largest coated paper maker in North America. It has operated the NewPage Port Hawkesbury mill in Point Tupper, N.S. since the early 1960s.

The new project is subject to regulatory approval from the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board and has a targeted in-service date of late 2012.

Nova Scotia Power said the co-generation facility could supply the eastern Canadian province with about 400 gigawatt hours of electricity a year, representing about 3% of Nova Scotia's total electricity requirement. The project is expected to create about 150 new jobs in northern Nova Scotia, primarily in the forestry sector, in addition to maintaining the Port Hawkesbury mill's existing workforce of about 550 employees.

-By Judy McKinnon, Dow Jones Newswires; 416-306-2100; [e-mail]