Our Projects, Reports, Toolkits & Activities
Save Money, Save Energy & Cut Emissions: Quick and Easy Steps for Nova Scotia Municipalities Report and Brochure
In 2005, UNSM’s Sustainable Practices Committee commissioned the development of a guidebook and brochure on how to cut greenhouse gas emissions and reduce energy use entitled, Save Money, Save Energy, and Cut Emissions: Quick and Easy Steps for Nova Scotia Municipalities.
You can download the brochure (817 kb) or guidebook (1.3 MB).
Model Wind Turbine By-Laws & Best Practices for Nova Scotia Municipalities Report Background
Nova Scotia municipalities have an interest and stake in the development of renewable energy projects in the province, and as more municipalities look towards wind energy as a viable component of their energy system, it becomes increasingly important to define how these projects will fit within each community. The onus is on municipalities to create by-laws that take into account the concerns of their citizens without unduly hampering the development of this important renewable energy resource.
In partnership Nova Scotia Energy, Service Nova Scotia & Municipal Relations and Halifax Regional Municipality, UNSM commissioned a study to outline best practice guidelines and model wind turbine by-laws to aid municipalities in making important decisions about developing wind projects in their communities.
Electronic Viewing Version: Final Report: Model Wind Turbine By-laws and Best Practices for Nova Scotia Municipalities (click here (711.31 kB) to view the full report with appendices electronically. If you wish to print the report, we recommend you use the print versions of this report)
Print Version: Final Report: Model Wind Turbine By-laws and Best Practices for Nova Scotia Municipalities (click here (575 kB)to print the report, without Appendix A (Bibliography). For best results, print on 8.5 X 11 paper. Remember to print back-to-back to save on paper)
Print Version: Appendix A (Bibliography): Model Wind Turbine By-laws and Best Practices for Nova Scotia Municipalities (click here (150 kB)for a printable version of Appendix A. For best printing results, print on 11 X 17 paper.
Corporate Energy & Emissions Toolkit Background
Many municipal governments struggle to manage energy costs and undertake measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as they often lack the resources, both financial and human, to put into practice energy-saving initiatives even though there is a strong business case to do so. Before municipalities can implement initiatives to conserve energy and reduce emissions, they must calculate their energy use to provide a starting point or baseline for tracking future reductions. In 2007, UNSM, in partnership with Nova Scotia Energy/Conserve Nova Scotia, Service Nova Scotia & Municipal Relations, and Nova Scotia Environment, commissioned the development of an emissions and energy tool-kit for Nova Scotia municipalities to track their energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. The Corporate Energy & Emissions Toolkit has three components: a spreadsheet to calculate energy use and greenhouse gas emission from all municipal operations, an instruction manual to provide guidance on using the spreadsheet and educational materials.
The UNSM Corporate Energy And Emissions Spreadsheet.v1.6 (303 kB) - This is a calculation and quantification tool based on the Inventory Quantification Support Spreadsheet, developed by the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) and administered by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM). The ICLEI tool was modified with permission from FCM and ICLEI. It will assist municipalities in quantifying both their greenhouse gas (GHG) and air pollutant (AP) emissions of their operations. This includes emission from your municipal buildings, fleet and service delivery operations. Please note that an updated version of this spreadsheet was uploaded on October 16th 2008.
The Corporate Energy and Emissions Instruction Manual (125.37 kB) – This manual has been designed specifically to accompany the Corporate Energy and Emissions Spreadsheet. You should read this before you use the Corporate Energy and Emissions Spreadsheet.
The Corporate Energy and Emissions Education Materials (529.36 kB)– This is a power point package to help explain the system for municipalities. It will be used as the basis for training workshops on the Tool-Kit in 2008, however, municipalities may find it a useful to use internally in the coming weeks.
Community Energy & Emissions Toolkit
The Community Energy & Emissions Toolkit is a companion to the corporate version. It allows municipalities to track energy use and community-wide emission levels for its residential, commercial/industrial and transportation sectors. Click here for the latest version.
The Community Energy and Emissions User Guidehas been designed specifically to accompany the Community Energy and Emissions Spreadsheet.
Energy Efficient Street Lighting Strategies for Nova Scotia Municipalities Report
Street lights are a significant expenditure and source of greenhouse gas emissions for municipalities. With in the province, Nova Scotia Power Inc. owns and maintains the majority of street lights and municipalities pay the utility a flat fee based on the number and size of street lights they lease.
To provide Nova Scotia municipalities with options for reducing the costs and energy use associated with street lights, UNSM, in collaboration with Nova Scotia Power Inc., Halifax Regional Municipality and Conserve Nova Scotia, commissioned a study to explore energy-efficient street lighting strategies.
The Energy Efficient Street Lighting Strategies for Nova Scotia Municipalities report contains extensive information on the purposes and benefits of roadway lighting, design standards and practices, and how to determine where and when to light roadways. In addition to the background and technical information, the report offers a review of energy efficient lighting by providing a comparison of the various technologies and practices, along with consideration of barriers and opportunities for their implementation.
In terms of recommendations, the report offers the following to improve street lighting efficiency and design practices within Nova Scotia:
- Consider developing a program to assess and retrofit mercury vapor and metal halide luminaires with more efficient LED or high pressure sodium cobra head luminaires. (currently, approximately 20% of the existing 136,000 street lights in Nova Scotia use less efficient light sources, such as mercury vapor and metal halide).
- Consider assessing and testing new adaptive lighting or dimming controls which vary the levels of lighting during non-peak traffic flow periods.
- Since all street lighting products do not perform equally, use the Canadian Standards Association guide (CSA-C653) to compare products and choose the right one for each application.
- In terms of “how” to light, adopt industry standard design practices and develop a common Street Lighting Design Criteria based on the Transportation Association of Canada’s Roadway Lighting Design Guide.
- In terms of “where and when” to light, develop a standard practice based on the report’s recommendations to create a more consistent application of lighting.
The report generally concludes that a “silver bullet” does not yet exist for energy efficient street lighting. This is due mainly to the lack of proven performance for the newer technologies, such as LED street lights. However, in an effort to help assess the performance of these newer technologies and test their applicability for our municipalities, a number of pilot projects are currently underway in Nova Scotia. For example, LED Roadway Lighting Ltd., a company based in Amherst that manufactures LED street lights, is conducting a pilot program to replace 1,100 high pressure sodium lights with LED lights in 10 municipalities across the province. Also, Nova Scotia Power is in discussions with 2 municipalities regarding a pilot project opportunity through Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) involving a 2-month trial installation of 10 units of adaptive street lighting in each of these municipalities. The Halifax Regional Municipality is also participating in the NRCan initiative which will program 10 modified street lights to light at different levels depending on nighttime pedestrian and motor vehicle traffic patterns. It is hoped that the results of these initiatives will provide information to help assess future opportunities for energy efficient street lighting projects across the province.
Greening UNSM
UNSM realizes that encouraging Nova Scotia municipalities to engage and become leaders in sustainability is only one of our responsibilities. It is also very important we demonstrate our willingness to "walk-the-talk" and "lead by example". As part of our efforts, UNSM is making a commitment to "green" our own internal operations: to look at ways to make our meetings and events, office operation and travel as environmentally responsible as possible. Once we are our “house in order”, we will proceed with developing a green office practices program designed for our municipalities. Stay tuned!
Green Office Procedures Toolkit
A group of Dalhousie University graduate students in the Faculty of Management program worked with the Municipal Sustainability Office to develop a green office procedures toolkit to help municipalities reduce there energy and resource use. The Green Office Procedures Toolkitis the result of the students’ efforts.
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