Newspaper: Simcoe Reformer
Date: Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Author: Daniel R. Pearce
First Published: Online at www.simcoereformer.ca/2013/11/26/county-bitten-by-the-greenbug
First it was wind turbines. Then solar farms. Now Norfolk is about to become known for another form of green energy: tiny hydro-generating units.
Norfolk is already home to what is believed to be the first water-powered turbine of its kind in North America, known as an “Archimedes screw,” and is about to get its second.
On Tuesday night, council voted to partner with GreenBug Energy Inc. on a proposal to use the old sluice gates at the historic Quance Dam in Delhi to make enough electricity to power 39 homes a year.
Elected officials were told their 15% share of the project will cost them $24,000, pay for itself in three years, and earn town hall more than $266,000 over the next four decades.
But the real appeal to getting on board, they said, is that GreenBug is based in Delhi and this could be the start of a new worldwide industry right here in Norfolk County.